Like I said, there was so much to see in WYO that I had to split it into 2 pages here.  I pulled into town to see my pal Eric from Dubuque who now lives in Jackson.  Just in case you were wondering, because I sure was, there is no actual "Hole" there -- I half-expected there might just be some giant hole in the ground the place was named after -- but no, "Hole" just means "Valley", a "hole" in the mountains.  So it was about 36 hours without driving, a much-needed rest.  Jackson is a very neat town, a haven to the glitterati, including resident Harrison Ford, and other successful and slacker ski bums, outdoorsmen and women, against a background of the pioneer and cowboy heritage.

Mile 6040 in Jackson / Grand Tetons

Jackson was great... and I got to relax.  We had a nice barbeque that evening, went to a very interesting party, rafted in one of the Teton lakes, went to the county fair, and I got to feed some cows that one of Eric's roommate is preparing to ride across Wisconsin next year in a fund-raising effort.  What a fun time... Scenes from Jackson (Mile 6040) 

We also went to the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, where all the seats are saddles, but the guy taking our picture didn't get it in the shot!!!

I also went jogging in the national elk refuge near Eric's house, though in summer they weren't around -- probably for the best!

And now, for a tad of history and conjecture.  When we last left Lewis & Clark in North Dakota, they were still following the Missouri River.  We'll get back to them in Montana, but if you look on a map, you'll see that the Missouri has a very long tributary, the Yellowstone River, which is, by the way, the longest undammed river in the US.   Had L&C followed the Y-Stone instead of the Big Mo, they could have practically walked across a pretty flat and easy pass over the Continental Divide and jumped on the Snake River, then cruised down that -- given and odd waterfall and rapids here and there -- until they reached the Columbia and then the Pacific.  If the railroads and other ground transportation had never been invented -- and if steam engines on rivers had been developed further, it's not inconceivable that Yellowstone Lake and the nexus of the Snake & Yellowstone Rivers could have been a huge transportation hub for east-west traffic across the US.  I may be totally off-base here, but it's something to consider...

Top Left and Right: The Snake River in Yellowstone, Below, View of Yellowstone Lake (Mile 6117 to 6124)

Next, it was off to another American icon... Old Faithful.  I vaguely remembered being there when I was 5 or 6, but it was definitely worth a trip back. Some might scoff that this is the ultimate in nature pre-packaged-for-the-masses -- and, well, it is, but it's still very enjoyable.  I got there having just missed an eruption -- so I wandered around the other geysers & springs in the area before it was next scheduled to blow 90 minutes later or so.  I was surprised to have learned in the brochure that the reason for Y-Stone being so full of interesting and wild geological features is that it sits on the still-smoldering caldera of an ancient volcano -- wow, who knew?  Anyway, I didn't read the lengthy description of how and why they know that old faithful and some of the other geysers are going to go off like clockwork -- but they do!

Old Faithful... Going, Going, Thar She Blows! (Mile 6142)

Above Right and Below -- Some of the other Geysers and Springs (Mile 6142)

Next, I visited the "Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone" featuring the spectacular waterfalls and the actual "Yellow Stone" from which the park takes its name.  You can see this yellow in the pictures below. It was pretty spectacular.

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone (Mile 6193)

The Actual Yellow Stone!!! (Mile 6193)

This was a very neat sign just as I was leaving the park heading into 
Montana...I did not actually go this far north or south! (Mile 6234)

Important Safety Tip

Don't Get Tired Now... Montana is Next!!!