Day 3 – Rawlins, WY through Grand Teton NP to West Yellowstone, MT

Got up on this very beautiful morning, grabbed some overly sweet breaky, filled the cars and off we went through beautifully green Wyoming. I have never really heard anything of this state before. I only knew that Buffalo Bill came from there and that Yellowstone NP is there. Not much more.

But the green hills and the vast extent of all the meadows is something I really liked. Moreover, the sky seems so close there. You feel like you could touch the clouds any time.

However, Wyoming seems a very boring place – the only pastime people seem to have there is to shoot at road signs. Some look like strainers. Strange. But with all the Buffalo herds gone for good I guess that's what keeps them afloat – and gives people a chance to reminisce about how the past must have been.

In the late afternoon we hit Grand Teton NP. The panorama is dominated by three alpine (and snow covered peaks), lakes and pine covered slopes. When we stopped at a lake I saw someone out there in a canoe. This reminded me of the canoe trip I did in Canada with Patrick in May 2005.

We left Grand Teton Park through the North exit and entered Yellowstone NP. The first hour of driving was (and I know I shouldn't say so, but it really felt that way) boring. You drive along a narrow road through a young pine tree forest. That's it. Nothing there to see.

When we passed by Old Faithful Geyser we figured we might as well stop there today because you never know. So we did that and had to wait for only 10 minutes to witness the geyser erupt. What a sight. I mean Lady Knox in Rotorua is ok, nothing wrong with it, but Old Faithful is just a little louder, higher and what not (in a way a little American).

Ok, here's my fave topic: Wildlife. We didn't see anything up to this point. Not funny. They post signs everywhere: "Watch for wildlife", "Animals crossing", "Elk crossing", "Ped Xing" (ok, saw many of those)… But at one point in time I thought that they might as well put up warning signs for UFO landings… But I was sooo wrong. On the last few miles on our way ot of the park we saw a number of bison (they are HUGE) and elk cows. So, today was a good day!