West Yellowstone

It was a lazy day today. We are sort of snowed in here West Yellowstone; the passes down to Jackson are either closed or covered with snow and ice. We did manage to make our way over to Yellowstone Falls and back; a distance of about 80 miles. The idea was to hike there, but when we arrived we realized that there was no safe place to put our motorcycle jackets, helmets and pants as they would not fit in our saddlebags. All of this could have been determined earlier before we left -- another example of my lack of attention to detail that has resulted in a total loss of necessary technology (intercoms for constant banter; GPS for directions; converters to charge cell phones, etc), making this a very different type of trip.
George's cell phone was saturated yesterday and did not survive. He has managed this well and we are fortunate that a new one will be there for him in Jackson Hole when we arrive there tomorrow. I am impressed with just how well he is handling this interruption of services; however, this is truly an emergency situation so it looks like we will have to miss Old Faithful and the Grand Tetons to take the most direct route to the AT and T store. No big deal. Just a collection of large rocks and spitting hot water.
I must say that the National Park Service does an excellent job of providing accessibility to the major tourist attractions to the major parks. The Park Service lets you park really really close and has helpful signs telling how many yards to the great view (and how many for an even better one but few get that far). And it is a good thing too, judging by the girth of most Americans. It is striking and each trip it becomes even more apparent. I know my body is far from perfect, but this is really scary, particularly when the Surgeon General says that obesity will be far worse for the next generation. Today I was observing the people walking by at Yellowstone Falls, looking for a fit senior citizen. I eventually saw a health looking couple walking toward me. My spirits sank as I heard them speak French.
Spend a little time at the "free breakfast" of a Best Western or Holiday Inn sometime and when you are not trying to fight your way to the sausage gravy dispenser, just observe the amount of "free" food that Americans are eating. It is quite striking.
We stopped at a small hot spring today and met two very nice Chinese men from Beijing. They wanted me to tell them where they were and were impressed with my four word Chinese vocabulary. As our conversation was coming to an end, one of them noticed a small cut on finger. He said "medicine in car" and I said it was not necessary. He ran to his car and insisted in not only giving me a bandaid but in wrapping it around my finger. Very nice. There are many Chinese tourists here and I have to think that is a good thing -- our countries are completely dependent on each other.
I have tried to avoid e mail and news but have not been totally successful. It's great to be coming back home with news of the impending government shutdown over the debt ceiling and Obamacare (Didn't that law pass?). The same tired, lame arguments -- it's truly pathetic. It's time for my 28th Amendment which would eliminate the influence of special interests, (or at least their money), get the extremists out by banning gerrymandering and impose reasonable term limits so that politics and the federal government would not be a career goal for those choosing to go to Washington. Could you imagine never seeing John Boehner or Nancy Pelosi on TV again? If you have any doubt about the above, please read the hilarious new book about Washington called "This Town" -- which so effectively captures the money grubbing, ego maniacal suck ups that make DC "their town." A great read.
Uh-oh. I better go. A massive tour bus just pulled up to the outside of the motel. The exhaust pipe is conveniently pointing to exactly where I am sitting. This is another pet peeve and such a simple issue to solve. Why do empty buses (or in this case emptying) have to sit there idling with the motor going? It's an issue for George as well; buses and trucks that just spew out needless hydrocarbons for no reason -- because the driver does not want to join his passengers in viewing Yellowstone Falls or won't exit the bus to watch the team he transported play their game.
Too much ranting, I know. I should be kinder. But I increasingly find myself agreeing with that thug Vladmir Putin that we are not an exceptional nation. I think we used to be, but I am not so sure any more.
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Location:Madison Ave,West Yellowstone, MT