Day 3: Zion to Jackson Hole

 
“Thanks to the interstate highway system, it is now possible to travel from coast to coast without seeing anything.” – Charles Kuralt

590 miles.
2 more states: Utah, Idaho, Wyoming

Today was a long, but beautiful, travel day. We decided to heed the words of Mr. Kuralt and travel most of the way on the Scenic Byways (Route 89) rather than our original route on the 15. We headed out of Zion to the top of the mountain and through the mile-long tunnel. (M, with her white knuckles and sick expression: "I'm not scared of your driving. I'm just scared of dying!")

We drove through hours of beautiful and varied scenery -- from amazing rock formations, to forests, and through green farmlands. We had to get back on the highway from Provo to Brigham City -- an ugly, congested stretch of road before we ventured back onto the 89. The weather has been perfect -- clear, sunny, and mostly in the '80's today.


The drive and the scenery were so amazing, we decided to just keep driving, and arrived in Jackson Hole at dark (9:20 p.m. -- a 12-hour driving day).

Some of the sights today:

1 herd of buffalo
2 dead deer on the side of the road ("Who gets the deer?")
5 Mormon temples (those Mormons do it right -- some pretty impressive buildings!) 
Maybe the most beautiful rest stop in the country (see picture below)
A runaway horse galloping down the middle of the road
Lots of cows
2 giant lakes (the Great Salt Lake and Bear Lake) 
Miles and miles of the Snake River

I told you we were "On our way to the Perfect Place."  I guess we found it -- the most fabulous rest stop high above Blue Lake in Utah/Idaho.

This first night without reservations was a little stressful as we pulled into Teton Village at 9:30 p.m., but the charmed trip continued as the hotel we tried to book online coming into town turned out to have rooms at $60 less a night than advertised. The night was capped off by a quick burger in the bar next door, eavesdropping on a quartet of young women comparing their "lists" of requirements for a man. The cute, young bartender offered his own short list: "humble and smart." The girls were charmed until Mimi told them he was lying, and offered to set him up with Madeleine Albright!

Tomorrow we head into Yellowstone for 2 nights. The new plan is to stay off the major highways as much as possible!