Trek West Part Three

On our way to Jackson, Wyoming now. We had originally planned just to do a drive by if we could, but circumstances caused us to book a last minute room at a hostel there. I am more than delighted with this since, from what I hear, Jackson is an amazing place. My brother actually spent some time there a few summers ago, and indeed it seems every outdoorsman of sorts has pilgrimaged there at one time or another. Not only that, but we'll be doing it hostel style which I haven't done since my backpacking days in Europe 3 years ago. Traveling in hostels was definitely one of the many amazing experiences that I had and such a great way to meet fascinating people, and I'm psyched to be doing it with such an amazing background. It should be around an eight hour drive from where we were in Colorado, but then we're home free with only 4 hours left to go till our final destination – our future home. As much as I'm ready to already be in our cozy little cabin, I'm excited for the last minute adventure. Besides, we can't really get to our place anyway. Reason? A freak blizzard. Since we'll be living right outside the Yellowstone Park's west entrance (hence the name of our town, West Yellowstone), the shortest and most direct way to reach the town is through the park. Unfortunately, the park is closed because of poor road conditions due to Mother Nature dumping a late April snow. Our landlord called a couple days ago and asked when we'd be arriving, and when we told him the next day he said it'd be best to wait it out down there and come later in the weekend. He also assured us that this wasn't the norm for this time of the year. As of yesterday, they had 8 inches of snow with a forecast of at least 7 more. We knew it'd be cold when we got there, but little did we know it'd be white out conditions! I immediately stressed. I did not pack my week bag for this. Maybe, if I put every article clothing on at the same time I'd be fine, but it wouldn't make for a very comfortable MK. We were already spending the day in Boulder, Colorado (a mere 2 hours from where we were staying) when we got that call, so Kevin took me to REI, outfitting me in the appropriate attire: a mid-layer lightweight fleece base top and bottom, some wind and water resistant shell pants, and gloves. (side note: Casey – Kevin's bud and my new friend! - has a killer roommate who GAVE me some waterproof boots – hollah!) Whew... I was ready now! I've actually been wearing the base top for a couple days now since we've had weather in the 20s here. It snowed off and on all day yesterday. And when it was on, it was ON – dumping snow. Kevin and his buddy, Casey (our gracious host), actually went fishing in it. I opted out to stay indoors and go to the public library and get my internet fix.

It's funny/interesting how normal everything is when it snows here. Coming from Western North Carolina where the infrastructure completely shuts down with 2 inches of snow, these people thrive on driving to the local pub when there's 4 feet on the ground with more on the way. It's inspiring really. Guys in NC – we're wusses. Then again, they are way more equipped and proficient about maintaining the roads. And snow is kinda their life. Casey was just dying to go down the local ski resort mountain, but unfortunately, it's all shut down. That's another intriguing fact about this place – Winter Park, Colorado. There's a huge ski resort that operates and caters to over 14,000 at one time during the peak of the winter season – which finished up about 2 weeks ago (too bad they missed this storm). Now it's like a ghost town, with just the locals, who have worked their butts off during the season and are enjoying a nice break. Most of them just go backcountry skiing or snowboarding, so not having the ski lifts isn't too big of a deal. We saw most of them last night at the bar.

All in all, my first impression of Colorado is that it is kick ass – everything I imagined it would be! Our day we spent in Boulder was amazing (enhanced by the near perfect weather we were greeted with). The scenery is to die for. I've filled my belly with some delicious brews the Rockies had to offer. And the company couldn't be beat. Casey really showed us everything his imposing little mountain town had to offer (except, of course, the slopes but we'll come back for that)!

Despite our fun stay, we're ready to be back on the road again, and back to driving to Montana. We'll be home tomorrow!