Whirlwind Travel

We are having a blast.  There are challenges.  We are out of our element in every way -- novice campers, new to the west, first-time national park visitors.  I know from my other adventures that what I'm experiencing is culture shock -- intense delight punctuated with moments of frustration and embarrassment.  We are making so many mistakes!  But we are also wowed by the scenery and amazed by the glory of the landscape in this country.  On one of our hikes, I met a couple who introduced themselves as being "from Europe" so I asked them where.  She was Hungarian and he was English, but they were living in Switzerland.  I was so struck seeing European visitors on my trip at home -- we always go to Europe!  Who are these people who live in the Alps but choose to come to the Grand Tetons?  Well, they don't have bison in the Swiss Alps, or marmots, or elk, or moose, and especially not bear.  They also don't have the Grand Canyon and the Tetons and Yellowstone.  There is no supervolcano caldera in Switzerland.  

I've driven across country as a kid, but wasn't old enough to have the sense of wonder I have now.  Seriously, Yellowstone IS a supervolcano?  The entire park?  THAT is a bison?  It is huge!  It feels prehistoric, or like an exotic elephant...what is it doing here, in my home country?  And the Tetons -- a new mountain range, not yet eroded to smooth mountains, still "sharp"?  New?  Still growing?  The mountains rise AND the "hole" sinks at the same time?  This stuff just amazes me.  This  country is truly amazing.  At one point, faced with the Purple Mountain in Yellowstone, we burst into "America the Beautiful."  On this drive we crossed the fruited plain and there, right in front of us is the purple mountain's majesty.  Seriously.

But there are challenges.  The moments of feeling like an idiot are coming thick and fast.  Parked illegally as everyone else did, and then heard a relayed call from below -- who has a Sienna with Florida plates that is causing a traffic jam?  Well, that is us yokels (though in our defense, it isn't like we parked thoughtlessly.  Just didn't think an RV the size of a Greyhound bus was going to try to navigate the overcrowded parking lot!). I accidentally cut in a line waiting for an electricity plug -- everyone wanted to charge an ipad or a phone, and I got yelled at.  Our tent leaks.  We didn't have the right clothing.  What strikes me is how we are all learning to shake it off.  Even the kids agree vehemently that we should get out of the car in the rain to see the travertine terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs.  We missed out on our extra day of Yellowstone camping because leaving the Tetons at 7am wasn't early enough, but everyone was fine with the extra several hours of driving to stay in West Yellowstone.  Phil and I understand culture shock enough to know that there is a learning curve, and that once we get through it, we will gain the experience to do this right the next time (which we hope is tomorrow), and that we cant take frustration too seriously.  But these kids, they just roll with the punches and cheerfully walk the miles and deal with the cold and wet.