May 8, 2018

US 89 just keeps getting better and better with each new mile. There is so much spectacular scenery all bunched together in Wyoming's share of the highway.

Coming from the south, Wyoming's stretch of US 89 starts off with a bang at Salt River Pass when eye-popping, gleaming white mountains seem to reach around the entire horizon.

The vivid vistas then carry on through Star Valley and then into The Grand Canyon of The Snake River north of Alpine, Wyoming.  The river's canyon was such a formidable obstacle that most of it resisted road building until 1939 and some of the canyon wasn't tamed by a two-lane highway until well into the 1940's!

After coming out of the canyon where the Hoback River joins the Snake, US 89 enter Jackson Hole only a few miles north. Once again, the snow-studded peaks march relentlessly along the horizon.

Jackson's Old West Town Square sits serenely alongside US 89 looking forever like it always  has for many decades.

A short distance north of Jackson the highway crests a small rise and the power and magesty of The Grand Teton Crest fill the windsheild with uncommon drama.  To say the sudden appearance of The Grand Tetons is breathtaking is an udnerstatement.

No matter how  many time we have experience the glorious debut of those mighty mountains, they never cease to thrill us.

Old US 89 traveled as close as possible to the basee of these soaring peaks.  The highway wasn't moved many miles to the east until the 1950's.  Today Highway Heritage tourists can drive Old US 89 on what's now known as the Jenny Lake Road between Moose and Jackson Lake.

The hit parade of stunning scenes continues to the north side of Grand Teton National Prk and along the Rockefeller Parkway.

We've driven this road many time into Yellowstone but were stopped short on May 7 because it's still blocked with snow and won't open until later in May.

We detoured back into Jackson and drove over Teton Pass into Victo, Idaho, and Teton Valley on the west side of the Teton Range.  We drove through Island Park and into Montana to the West Yellowstone gateway community.  From there, our travel took us up the Madison River to once again rejoin US 89 at Madison Junction.

Turning north once again, we drove past the ignature steaming geysers so common along the highway.  Gibbon Falls is a captivating sideshow along the highway.

Road contruction is a Way Of Life in Yellowstone and always has been--dating back to the horse and wagon days.  Autos were allowed into the park until 1915 but the need for roads to carry wagons and stage coaches was a major priority dating from the early 1880's.   

There's a long-term project to rebuilding the rotting Norris-Mammoth Road and much progress has been made recent years.  This year the constructioin delays only spanned a five-mile stretch of the highway.

Dropping down toward Mammoth, the spectacular scenery resume s in many different forms and styles.  Mammoth Hot Springs itself is justifiably world famous and has been since before Yellowstone was made America's first National Park in 1872. The historic community that grew up next to Mammoth Hot Springs is quite a visual treat unto itself.

We camped for two nights at the Mammoth campground.  Currently, it's only one of two campgrouin the entire park that's open.  Even though the other open campground is seemingly close at 35 miles south, it takes anywhere from 90 minutes to 2 hours to get there because of the construction delays and random wildlife jams.

Today's a fun detour.  We're heading to Lamar Valley, one of the many Stars of The Show here in Yellowstone.  The landscape is fantastic, of course, but Lamar is better known for it's amazing cast of characters of wildlife.  Bear, wolves, elk, deer and bazillions of bison are to be seen.  It's an electric place to visit and we're stoked.  This will be only our third visit to Lamar.

Early May is Prime Time in Lamar and you just never what you might see over there.  If we get back to camp early enough, we're going to explore more of Mammoth and the Hot Springs.  You could easily spend a few days here and not run out of things to do on the north sided of Yellowstone.

Tomorrow, we're heading north through Gardiner, Livingston and White Sulphur Springs to camp beside the small Newlan Creek Reservoir on the south foothills of the Little Belt Mountains.

We thought driving US 89 was going to be exciting but we had no idea just how far the experiences would exceed our lofty expectations.  It's everything we hoped it would be and so much more.