Leg 10

What is there left to write about this part of our country that hasn't already been written. Words that Hemingway, Emerson, or even L'amour couldn't capture?

The American West is a fascinating place. It's big, wild, humbling, and inspiring all in equal measures that it's no wonder that millions of people flock to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks each year. It's this cross-section of the great wildness of our country that both inspires and draws people to this area, that it not only popularizes this wonderful place, but crowds and overwhelms it.

So, out of respect of all those brilliant writers that have better captured the American West, from Wyoming to Montana, I won't attempt to portray how rare this area is. Instead, what stands out to me is the dycotomy of how crowded these places have become BECAUSE of the popularization that the great writers have painted and the gravity that that attention brings to preserving their wildness.

Jackson, Wyoming is a city that a Super 8 motel can charge $300 a night and be the 'affordable' option.

Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Parks are ones that can see 1.5 hour traffic backups just to get to the visitor centers.

And yet, in spite of the crush of humanity that floods these areas, you can hike 15 minutes away from Old Faithful, lose all but 10 other people and sit in quiet solitude, staring among the western rolling hills of the park, do focused breathing, and immerse yourself in the wonder that has entranced people for hundreds of years, from the first indigenous peoples to the family from Alberta down for the weekend. You can wander and be smelling distance to bison and grizzly bears. And, you can awake from your tent in the dawn hours among a field of wild flowers and alpine firs, gaze westward, and watch the morning light cast itself upon glaciers hanging fourteen thousand feet above you from craggy mountain spires.

It's no wonder that more people visit these two parks every year than the entire population of Wisconsin.

So, in spite of the annoyance of the traffic and crowds, I can't help but reflect on the incredible beauty I was so fortunate to witness over the course of today. The solitude found at the center of society.

400 miles, 7 hours, and three distinct highways passes, and all my mind can hold onto from today is the feeling of isolation while in the middle of all of those people.