Yellowstone Diary: Part 3

As you saw at the end of Part 2 we had to cut our trip short because of mom's heart problem. As a result, I did not keep a complete journal of the trip home. This page is a summary of where traveled on the way home.

6:15 a.m. - What a cold night. It's 38 degrees on July 31st! We leave camp at 6:35.

7:26 a.m. - We enter Idaho and cross the Continental Divide at 7072 feet. We are in the Centennial Mountains.

8:30 a.m. - We stop at the Upper and Lower Mesa Falls in the Taghee National Forest in Idaho. Dad has never been here before and it is a good time to stretch our legs a bit. This is a beautiful canyon!

9:37 a.m. - We enter Tetonia, Idaho (Pop. 487) at the base of the Teton Mountains. We cross Teton Pass!

11:00 a.m. - Stop in Jackson Hole WY for an early lunch at Wendy's. This must be the Gatlinburg of the west. It is a beautiful town...very crowded.

12:22 p.m. - We are in Daniel, WY. (Pop. 110).

1:30 p.m. (approx.) - We turn off on to a side road outside LaBarge,WY to go through a "game reserve" this is the last town we will se in a while. As a matter of fact, we will only see 3 towns in the next 150 miles!

3:36 p.m. - Get on I-80 outsaide Rock Springs heading toward Cheyenne.

7:05 p.m. - Stop in Larmine for fuel. We get off I-80 and head south toward Colorado.

7:29 p.m. - We got "through" Buford, WY (Pop. 2 - yup, that's right! Elev. 8000')

7:55 p.m. - Enter Colorado.

9:09 p.m. - We pull into a semi-lit "Park and Ride" lot to spend the night. We are on I-25 at exit 240 north of Denver. We tried to get a space at a nearby state park, but it was all filled up. Others are here sleeping too. No bathrooms - thank goodness this place is only semi-lit!

6:28 a.m. (MT) - Wake up and have doughnuts and coffee for breakfast at a Shell station. We'll go to Denver and then head east on I-70.

10:58 a.m. (CT) - We are in Kansas!

12:19 p.m. - Break at a rest area along I-70 near Cloby, Ks.

2:30 p.m. - Stopped 65 miles west of Salina, KS. at a rest area for lunch and a nap. It's 94 degrees inside the truck, but the wind helps keep us cool as we try to sleep for about 20 minutes.

6:30 p.m. - Lawrence Ks. - It reminds me of the 80's mini-series "The Day After" - I remember that most of it took place in Lawrence.

7:15 p.m. - We are in Kansas City, MO.

8:30 p.m. - Stop for a KFC dinner in Columbia, KS. We got the buffet and about ate the place closed! Dad has shared alot of his childhood memories along the way today (don't worry dad, your secrets are safe with me). We are both getting tired, but we want to get as close to home as we can, so we'll go a little farther.

 10:00 p.m. (approx.) - We stop for the night at a rest area outside Danville, Mo. What a long day! This morning we were 30 miles north of Denver! (Miles today: 800.3   Total miles: 3912.6)

This day was like a sprint to the finish line (except it was a 400+ mile sprint). We left our rest area at 6:15 a.m. - around 8:00 a.m. we were in downtown St. Louis. then finally that afternoon we got home!

Dad and I immediately headed for the showers (our 2nd one in 9 days)! By the time I was through with mine he was one the couch asleep. About 1/2 hour later he was pulling out of the driveway and heading for Louisa.

We had a great time, even if the trip was cut short. The great part of it all is that our prayers were answered and mom is fine! She felt bad about us coming home early but we wouldn't have had it any other way...besides, those lakes in Colorado are still there, and the fish are still waiting to be caught!

Total miles (for me) 4320.5