Crazy Moebius Explores the Americas: Too much beauty

Day 62

Current Location: Calgary, Alberta (Canada)

Total Countries visited: 2

Total Miles Driven: 9,282

Hi everyone ! Today is my 2 month anniversary, can you believe it ? I can't - sometimes it feels like I left just last week... I am starting to think that 6 months will go by very fast !

Everything is going great, and I am in very good spirits. This last portion of the road has been especially great, packed with adventure and beauty.

But first things first.

Itinerary Update

The following Google Earth picture shows my itinerary over the last 2 months. Phase I was Canada / USA Northeast. I am now in Phase II which consists of travelling to the Great American (and Canadian) West and visiting all the glorious national parks I can get Large Marge into. Then I will head South.

Over 9,000 miles to date !

Beard Update

Now we can see the monthly progression of my beard and hair !!!

8/2 - 1 day of growth

9/2 - 1 month of growth

10/2 - 2 months of growth

The progression is quite dramatic isn't it ? Do you think I'm going to last 6 months without shaving ? Believe it or not, I have had 3 different people (boys and girls) over the last 2 weeks come to me and tell me that they like my beard. So at least 3 people like it :)

Trip Update

Since my last post I have done a lot of driving through South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana, and I have visited 4 of the most amazing National Parks in the US - Badlands, Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Glacier.

South Dakota & Badlands

Most of South Dakota is just flat and boring - I remember driving for about 2 days straight and seeing nothing but cornfields and cows. I'm not complaining, it was quite relaxing and definitely prepared me for the excitements ahead !

Corn palace was the most exciting thing around.

South Dakota serenery.

Things start getting more interesting when you get to the western side of the state. There you can see interesting rock formations and some national monuments.

First I went to Badlands National Park which is just how I imagine the moon would be (I hear that they filmed some old Star Trek episodes out there - quite fitting !). It looks like a vast desert that caved in, leaving mountains of sheer rock and not much else behind. It's amazing that some things manage to grow and live there !

Rattling it up in the Badlands.

I think this guy was in Star Trek too.

After the badlands I saw two National monuments - one which is world-famous but only mildly impressive (Mt. Rushmore), and one that is not as well known but far more impressive (Crazy Horse). Crazy Horse was an old indian chief, and they are currently carving his entire body and horse on the side of a mountain - a 600 foot tall sculpture, taller than the tallest of the Pyramids and taller than the Washington monument. You can fit the entire cast of Mt. Rushmore on the forehead of the Crazy Horse statue. Only the head has been carved up until now, and I don't know how long it will take them to complete the rest (probably 20 years), but I really want to be there when it's completed - it will be a most amazing sight.

Mt. Rushmore

Crazy Horse work in progress.

Last but not least, I must make special mention of a very small town which caused me a large amount of amusement. The most fun I had in South Dakota occurred when I drove through the town of Emblem which officially has 10 inhabitants. I thought that was really funny. I even thought of some jokes to make about the town (really not much else to do) - try to top this:

- Last time Emblem had elections, the mayor won by only one vote. No recount was necessary.

- Last year Emblem asked the State for financing to repair the city roads. The State sent them a $50 bill and told them to keep the change.

- In Emblem, whenever a baby is born someone has to leave. Easier than changing the sign every time.

- Usually when you have a date with the hottest girl in town, that's a good thing. In Emblem, not so much.

Smallest town in the West !

Hottest girl in Emblem. Not really my style.

Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Glacier National Parks

The road then took me to Wyoming and Montana, to visit Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Glacier National Parks. I expected lots of beauty and excitement, and I was more than rewarded by the experience. Those Parks were all unique in their own way, and quite amazing !

Yellowstone was by far the largest of the three parks and had the most things to see... First, most of Yellowstone is elevated above 7,000 feet (2,000 meters) so the roads are quite scenic (and a bit scary as you're driving on a cliff for much of the ride). I saw there more wildlife than I ever could have imagined - bison, elk, deer, all sorts of little critters, birds and more (just no bears, thank god)! And to top it all, Yellowstone is located on the largest dormant volcano in the world and the volcano finds all sorts of ways to show off - with hot springs, bubbling ponds, and geysers all over the place. All of it eerie and unique in its own way. Especially the smell - water mixes with sulphur as it gets boiled by the volcano, so there is this farty smell everywhere you go. That was good for me, because I had eaten a couple hot dogs one of the nights and had no qualms about letting go in crowded areas without fear of reprisal :)

Beautiful Yellowstone scenery.

Steaming waterfalls.

Hot springs.

Old Fartful going nuts.

One thing happened to me in Yellowstone that proved my superior intelligence levels once again. I had been hiking all day and was really tired, driving to the campsite in the dark. I must tell you, there is nothing more annoying when you drive at night than drivers on the high beams who are too lazy to switch them off when they see you. So after encountering 3 of those high-beam drivers, I got pretty pissed off and decided that the next one wouldn't get away with it. And here comes the next guy beaming in my face - as he was about to pass me, I flashed him my highest beaming smile. Except that...

1) He wasn't on the high beams; and

2) He was a cop.

Of course, he pulled me over. And made me feel pretty stupid. But I didn't get a ticket :) Lesson learned. Shine your high beams on me all you want, I won't fight back !

I find it interesting how beauty and excitement are all relative... for example, 15 minutes after entering Yellowstone I saw my first bison. With 500 of his brothers and sisters, peacefully grazing away. I had never seen a wild bison before, boy was I excited ! Such an imposing, beautiful beast! I stopped on the shoulder and gaped at them for about 20 minutes. Then 5 miles later down the road, a bison crossing - all traffic stopped for 10 minutes. When those guys decide to cross, they cross! Still, pretty cool. Except that there were 4 more bison crossings after that. My level of excitement quickly wore off... I was almost tempted to honk at them so they would cross faster but I was afraid one of them would be a cop, so I refrained myself.

Get off the road, @#$@# bison !

After Yellowstone I crossed south into the Grand Teton National Park. It's dominated by the Grand Teton mountain range which you can see from everywhere in the park. These mountains are just gorgeous, and I had a magnificent hike around them. The most interesting thing about the Park, however, is its name. All my frenchies will know exactly what I mean here - did you know that Teton in french meant um... well...

(excuse the language, but I gotta call it by its name!)

Tit !

So I visited the Great Tit National Park. Quite original isn't it? And the mountains are called Great Tit, Middle Tit, and Small Tit. I climbed a couple of the Tits, boy I really love those Tits!

Hiking through the Tits.

A beautiful Tit reflecting on itself in the water.

Finally, I visited Glacier National Park in Northern Montana near the US / Canada border. This Park had the most dramatic mountain landscapes, with snow at the highest altitudes. I had a great hike there as well.