Lake Village, continued

Yesterday I hung around this lodge most of the afternoon waiting for a cancellation on a room.  I was pretty much marooned because of the winds and impending cold.  Something came up that was $200 and 15 miles back where I came from.  I didn't take it.  As it got dark, I chatted with some employees who turned out to have an extra room at their place, and invited me to stay.  I was very grateful to have a warm place to sleep, but I had to get up before dawn when everybody went to work.  So I pedaled back to this lodge.

Fog was hanging over the lake and the sun was peeking through.  The lakeshore is a couple of hundred yards down from the lodge, so I took a walk.  There was a lady from Utah standing outside the lodge.  As I walked by, she warned me that I should be very careful.  She was very worried that I would be gored by a sneaky buffalo.  I invited her to follow me down the lake, promising that I would die first while she ran.  She nervously accepted.  

The lodge is a beautiful building but a bit cloying.  It is mostly full of the tour bus set.  New-age music is playing on the PA and there is a gift shop selling useless crap at inflated prices.  I am hoping to get out of this park today since I am obviously having trouble finding somewhere to sleep, and am getting robbed every time I get something to eat at the park grocery.  All lodges and services in the park are run by a company called Xanterra, who has their green leafy earth-friendy brochures and advertisements everywhere.

I have to stay in Teton tonight since it is an unbroken national park almost all the way to Jackson 100 miles away.  The sleeping situation is bothersome and it is totally my fault, which is frustrating.  I have an awesome winter sleeping bag at home.  Maybe I will pick up a medium-duty one somewhere to replace my decades-old Snoopy bag (ok not really), in which the insulating fill has long since collapsed.

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.  It's much, much huger than the picture indicates.  It's one of those spaces where the vastness compresses your vision from 3-D to 2-D as the depth and breadth is too much.

Balancing tourism with nature at the park.  The park is totally set up for automobiles, with no public transportation (and no bike lanes).  Xanterra runs a bus that goes around.

Ubiquitous warning sign by the thermal features.  This boy's sister is obviously laughing at him while he gets broiled.

Windy and grim by the lake in the afternoon.

The Lake Lodge, where I hung around in the lobby

Fog lifting over the lake at sunrise