Chapter 4

We woke by six thirty, made trips to the bathroom and then set to finding some fast food for breakfast. After this we would be fixing meals ourselves most of the time and we had stopped the day before to get some groceries so we had enough in the cooler and car to last us several days. Now we headed back into the park.

Yellowstone is a huge park, about 3500 square miles. The road around it is about one hundred forty miles, so we weren't going to see everything in one day. Actually we had another three nights before we had anywhere in particular to be. I had a reservation at Signal Mountain Lodge in the Grand Teton park on Saturday. This was Tuesday so we decided to just camp and explore Yellowstone for the next three days.

That is exactly what we did. We found a campground and picked out a spot and quickly set up a tent. I had brought my own small back packing tent and Matt had the larger dome tent he and Tyler had planned to share, but since we had already shared a motel room, Matt and I decided to share a tent as well. If I am honest I'm sure part of this was because we both liked the idea of sleeping so near to each other. Once our campsite was established we set off to see some of the wonders of the park.

Each day we would drive to some part of the park. We spent time looking at several geyser basins where water suddenly spurted many feet in the air. There were also a number of hot springs where the temperature of the pools of water ranged from just slightly warm to near boiling. Each temperature had its own ecosystem with the color varying from greens and blues in the cooler ones to reds and browns in the hotter regions.

There were herds of bison, some moose, and a variety of other wildlife. There were the Paint Pots which were another set of hot pools with colored muds of a whole spectrum of colors. At Mammoth Hot Springs we walked among the vast "frozen falls" of white mineral deposits left by the overflowing springs. At the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River we followed Uncle Tom's Trail down towards the river. This trail is only a half mile long but drops a thousand feet in that short distance. At the altitude of the park - more than seven thousand feet above sea level - it is quite a work out for even people in great shape if they are not used to the thinner air.

We had camped at Mammoth but decided to move to Grant Village towards the south end of the park so we wouldn't have so far to go to see things in that area. Most of the campgrounds are aimed at people with RVs. Not what I consider "real" camping - I'm a backpacker, after all. Not to mention that they cost about twenty-five dollars a night. Still, they did have showers and nice restrooms.

There was one other thing about that week. On Thursday I decided I had better call my parents and let them know that Tyler had left us. I didn't want them finding out from, say, my uncle. I had dreaded this task but surprisingly it turned out not to be too bad. I made the call about six in the evening when I knew they would both be home. After about a thousand questions and answers about how the trip was going and if I was enjoying myself and so on, I finally managed to bring up the real subject of the call. I told them about how Tyler had taken off the second morning with a girl he met. Both of my parents were on the line and I heard my father laugh. Then he said, "I'm not too surprised. I've told my brother he was going to have trouble with him if he kept letting him get away with things so easily."

My mom asked, "What about you? What are you doing about it?"

I replied, "Matt and I decided to continue on as planned. As you pointed out, my rooms are already paid for and there can be no refund. We have the camping gear so the only real change is that Matt will be by himself." I didn't dare mention that we were now sharing rooms.

I couldn't hear just what they said but I could hear my parents talk with each other for a little bit. Then my dad asked, "You sure everything is all right? You're OK for money and everything?"

I let my breath out. "Sure. Nothing has really changed for me." While not completely true, nothing was changing as far as expenses were concerned.

They spoke to each other quietly again for a few seconds and then mom said, "Well, you're eighteen and I guess you can handle things just as well. If you run into any problems, don't be afraid to give us a call."

Maybe they did realize I was growing up. Maybe even more than I had myself. I thanked them and assured them I'd let them know if there was any problem. As for as my sleeping arrangements, I decided they didn't really need to know.