A rough start to a good day

Cumulative Miles: 3,608

Number of Speeding Tickets: 1

States Visited: 11

Lesson Learned: When you're wrong, admit it, cut your losses, and move on.

I mentioned in my last post the dinner last night was to be reconstituted dehydrated beef stroganoff. Not too bad, honestly. I also had some carrots and broccoli, all prepared on my little campstove. I cleaned up and went to bed.

Now here's where i have to admit my mistake. I had in my head that Labor Day weekend in Yellowstone would be mild and temperate. Let me be clear, it was not. Last night it got down into the forties. I thought I was prepared, going to bed wearing two sets of socks, two sets of sweats, a t-shirt, covered by a sweatshirt, covered by another hoodie. I climbed in my sleeping bag and things weren't too bad at first. However, by 1 am I was cold and by 3 am I was freezing. Add rain to that. Not a downpour, but a slow shower that came and went. By 6 am I was miserable, couldn't "sleep" anymore (if by sleep you mean tossing, turning, and trying to roll up into a ball to keep warm.) I crawled out of the tent and every bone in my body hurt. I had developed a cough and my head was aching and stuffy. I craved a hot shower, but the shower facility didn't open until 8 am. I did find a restaurant that opened at 7 and I got myself seated. When that cup of coffee came I almost cried. It was the best coffee I've ever had and it started to warm me up a bit. I had an egg and toast and when I went to pay, I had trouble getting my wallet out of my pocket. Turns out I had put the top layer of sweatpants on backwards. I have no idea if anyone noticed and at that point, frankly, I didn't care.

I showered and it was great. Took an ibuprofen and drank a lot of water and began to feel somewhat better. When I checked the forecast, it said tonight would go down to 43 degrees.

Friends, I just could not face that another night. I sometimes forget that I'm not 30 anymore and that I can't endure some things physically that I could when I was younger. I admitted defeat and accepted the fact that I needed a hotel. I checked with the local lodge - no vacancy. I tried to look up other lodgings on my phone but the internet is terrible in Yellowstone. I guess that's to be expected because it is some of the most remote area in a state that's very remote to begin with. I found a place behind the gas station where I blessedly got three bars and could get online. It felt like I was doing something illicit, hunched over my phone in a back parking lot! The pages took ages to load, reminding me of dial-up internet. I kept up the encouraging words, telling my phone, "C'mon buddy - you can do it!" and rejoicing each time a page finally loaded.

So there was nothing available in the park that wasn't astronomical. Not surprising for last minute during Labor Day week. I checked outside the park and found some places in Idaho. I called the first one and booked a cabin for two nights.

With the prospect of a warm bed, hot shower, and in-room coffee service ahead for the night, I decided to assess my options for the day. I was feeling 50% better and decided I could explore the park some, and if I got tired, I'd head for the hotel when I could check in at 3 pm.

I spent the day cruising through the park. I saw a small herd of bison, several stunning waterfalls, lots of geothermal sites, including Old Faithful, of course. It goes off somewhere between each 60 and 90 minutes. I timed it perfectly and got to the site, waited only five minutes, and thar she blowed. Pretty impressive. A thunderstorm blew up and we had twenty minutes of intense rain and some hail. Was I glad I had broken camp before I set out. The temperature dropped from 67 degrees to 46 degrees. Then, as soon as the storm passed, it shot back up to 70. I'm wondering if these yo-yoing temps might be causing my sinus issues?

I left the west exit of the park, headed for my reserved cabin in Idaho. Little did I know that I had to cross a little portion of Montana to get to Idaho. Now I can cross off TWO new states.

I'm going to sleep in and let tomorrow be whatever it wants to be. I was going to get some decongestant and a covid test, but the nearest pharmacy is 20 miles away, so that ain't gonna happen tonight. There are a few local restaurants. I don't know what one wears when going out to dinner in Idaho, but I'll pull out the butchest duds I have and hope I don't stick out too much.

Cheers, friends, and thanks for reading, for your comments, and your suggestions.