National Parks Loop Day 1 (June 12, 2010)

Ten hours of driving. Left home at 9:30 this morning. I got here to Flagg Ranch Resort, 4 miles south of the Yellowstone South Entrance at 7:30pm. It rained like Hell most of the way. I got out to get gas about an hour west of Laramie outside Rawlins. Within a minute I had major chills and the shivers due to the high wind, the rain and cold (wearing shorts and a t-shirt didn’t help much). There was ground cover snow for a good bit of the drive across southern Wyoming. It was a long drive. When I made it to Flagg Ranch, I got the tent set up and settled. The guy who checked me in was the same guy that checked me in last year. He was from Africa. He recognized my MLK tattoo. Last year when I drove into Teton, I saw a moose at Oxbow bend. This year, about 5 minutes before the campground, everyone was pulled over watching a couple of black bears. I watched for a minute but didn’t stay long as I was ready to get to camp and get set up.

It’s now about 10pm. After I got everything set up, it was time for a nice, hot shower. That’s one of the things I love about this campground…free, hot showers! The temp right now is about 42 so I decided to change into my sweats after the shower. A nice glass of Merlot and time to start writing.


The campground is only about half full tonight. I’m in spot C51. I stayed in this spot last year after moving closer towards the population center of the park. I remember when the guy next to me left and I had no one around me, I started to freak thinking about the bears. The camp host let me move closer in so I wouldn’t be out in the tent loop by myself and I moved to this spot. Funny that after that move, the tent loop filled up in the next hour. The tent loop is pretty empty this time and I really like this spot for its privacy. It’s not quite fully dark yet, but it’s close. The best thing I picked up at the Coleman Outlet sale was the headlamp I’m wearing now as I write this. It makes it much easier to write at night and it is damned bright! Last year at this time, I was probably about a 5 or 6 out of 10 on the SUD scale (measuring my anxiety level). This year I’m sitting here now between a 0 and 1. I remember as I was setting up last year that I spent about 75% of the time watching for bears rather than focusing on what I was doing and staying “in the moment”. This time I barely looked up from my task. Last year, the bear spray was the first thing I pulled out of the car. This year, one of the last. That’s a lot of progress and feels like a great success. I’m very proud of myself for the progress I’ve made over the last 2 years. And I’m really looking forward to this trip.

I feel like I’m finally letting go of work and realizing that I’m here. There was no real excitement or relief as I saw the Tetons today. I don’t think I had let go enough plus they were shrouded in clouds and I couldn’t see the peaks. The low tonight is expected to be around 30 degrees. I brought both the warm and cold weather sleeping bags along with a couple of different knit caps to cover my bald head. The weather tomorrow is expected to be cloudy with a high around 45 with scattered showers. Monday looks good though. Sunny and almost 60 degrees. I will probably hit Old Faithful and Ferry Falls tomorrow and save Teton and Inspiration Point for Monday. Tuesday I’ll try to hit Norris Geyser Basin and the Canyon along with Hayden Valley. I’ll leave Wednesday headed for Wells, NV for the night and Yosemite on Thursday night. I talked to Phil and he and Jessica will meet me Friday morning at the campground outside Yosemite. It would be nice to be sharing Yellowstone with somebody, but I’m not going to “not” make these trips simply because I’m alone. I would like to find someone to share these times with and have actively put it out there. I will do my part and see what happens. Until then, I will be a social camper and will enjoy myself and the life I’ve created without fear or anxiety.

The last of the generators just went off and it’s quiet and dark. Only the sound of the fire, the wind and a few campers headed to bed. I think its time I do the same. Congratulations again to me. Great job!

Good night