Day 12

Gillette is a peculiar place. We were informed in the morning that workers travel into the town during the week, fill the hotels, and then return to their homes on the weekend. Huh? So that explains the "No Vacancy" signs the night before, and all of the massive trucks in the parking lots. Still, it felt a little Twilight Zone-ish, so we didn't spend any time sightseeing.


Andrew had a big phone call to make. All Music, whom he interviewed with in Ann Arbor, set up a phone interview for him with the head Pop Music Editor in L.A., so I insisted on spending 45 minutes in the Gillette Kmart so he could have some alone time in Goldie for the phone call. I found us a tarp for our tent, some mouthwash, some cream for our bug bites, and nearly bought Andrew some ridiculous boxer shorts with squirrels exclaiming "Ah, Nuts!" before he swept in and took me away from it all. Kmart is having HUGE sales, by the way. And Andrew came in glowing from his conversation, but unwilling to make a call on its long term results.


We swore off fast food before the trip - actually, both of us had sworn off fast food long before the trip - but knew it would be a challenge on the road. And the questions come, like "If we eat veggie burritos from Taco Bell without cheese and sour cream, does that count as fast food?" and "If you really have to go to the bathroom, and Burger King is the first thing you find, and they shriek 'How can I help you??' the second you walk in the door, and you order the new BK Veggie, without cheese or mayonnaise, and only eat half of it, does that count as fast food?" Well, the answer is YES. I realized with a sinking feeling that I had eaten fast food twice in one day - then I realized the sinking feeling was actually a very unhappy stomach.



This is the state in which Andrew and I entered Yellowstone National Park, ready for a change. From even before we entered the park, the Grand Tetons were visible, the trees full, and the air cool. We couldn't believe we were only a few hours away from the 101 degree Badlands. Once inside the park, we had a 45 minute drive to our campground. Suddenly, Andrew was as excited about this leg of our journey as I was.


Actually, not as excited. He looked at me with an open mouth and raised eyebrows when, with a somewhat choked voice, I said:


"I'm gonna cry. I'm so happy we're here. I've always wanted to come here! We did it!!!"


The drive through the eastern part of the park took us past the Yellowstone Lake and through many of the winding hills. Outside of our campground - where we got the last spot! (And yes, it's that organized, you have to check in and everything)- a buffalo was chillin', watching the sun go down.

We found the tent is much easier to put up the second time around, especially when there are less bugs and enough light to easily find the top, and finished setting up house early enough to buy some fire wood and attend the nightly lecture by a camp ranger, equipped with giant slides of the park.

The lecture taught us about the past and present of Yellowstone Wildlife, and was brilliant and accurate until the emotional closing...


"As you head back to your homes, you may whisper of the magic that you have discovered in Yellowstone...."


Before bed, Andrew showed his true calling as a fire-tender. The warmth was welcome because the weather forecast told us it would drop into the 30s overnight. We put on as many layers of cloths as possible, pulled our hoods up, and crawled into our sleeping bags.

- Emily