Nomad News-Vol.5-No.103

ANYONE FOR ESCARGOTS? NO. 4 OF 4
     In Nomad News No. 102 we finished in the Painted Desert so will continue from there.
          Sedona, about 30 miles from Flagstaff was next on our list.  Spectacular rock formations of red sandstone was the main attraction.  These formations appear to glow in brilliant red when illuminated by the setting or rising sun.
     It was now time to pack up and leave beautiful Arizona.  Because we had arrived two days late, I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask if we could stay an extra day if no following reservation had been made.  The person I spoke with said it would be alright.  So, the next day, which was Saturday, we took off for some destination that I do not recall.
     On the way back we passed a field of wild flowers that extended as far as the eye could see.  As we passed, we heard a loud buzzing sound so we pulled off on the road shoulder.  It was then that we saw the hundreds , maybe thousands, of Humming birds; again, as far as the eye could see.  They were like a huge swarm of hornets.
     When we returned to our quarters, a little after midday, our packed luggage was on the front porch.  So much for the assurance that we could stay another day. We had to scramble for a hotel room as our flight to Boise would be the following day.  After several "full house" calls we booked the last available room at the Holiday Inn.
     We were of to Boise, Idaho where we spent a few days with my Air Corps buddy Mike Spero and his wife Annette.  The Speros had an adopted son who they raised with their conservative beliefs and faith, who went off to college and was thoroughly indoctrinated in liberalism when he returned.  When his father died at age 100, the son didn't have the respect to notify me.
     In the beginning of the four series on our Western trip, I wrote that we flew to Salt Lake City and then rented a car and drove to Yellowstone.  On second thought I believe we rented a car in Boise and drove to Jackson Hole, Wyoming; gateway to Yellowstone Park and the Grand Teton Mountain range.  Located near Jackson Hole is the National Elk Refuge. I believe this to be home to the largest Elk herd in the country.  The herd shed their antlers every year and the local park has four archway entrances made of antlers.  Under the auspices of the Boy Scouts of America, nearly 14 thousand pounds of antlers are auctioned off in 2014, with  75-percent of the receipts returned to the Refuge.
     We stayed overnight in Jackson Hole and then off to Yellowstone National Park, home grazing ground for about 3700 Bison.  This herd was never extirpated (has never reached the point of extinction).  Old Faithful Geyser is a must, even if you have to wait a half hour for the next eruption which reaches over 100-feet in the air.  Yellowstone boasts of over 10,000 thermal features, over 500 of which are geysers.  The rest are Mudpots, small thermal areas where water-saturated sediment is affected by super-heated steam and they burst, sending showers of mud into the air.
     About ten miles south of Yellowstone is Grand Teton National Park and the 40-mile long range of sharply pointed mountains reaching 7000-feet in height.  An interesting background of the name:  French-speaking trappers named them Trois Tetons (three teats).  Later this was anglicized and shortened to Tetons.
     It was a wonderful trip and we saw a lot of the West but it was now time to head back to New Jersey.(copyright - 2014) Andrew M. Dolan
   
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