Westward 2011, Day 6

So, today was a more chill day regarding travel. In the morning, we walked around one of a series of reservoirs in Beck Lake Park just outside Cody. There were tons of birds, several of which are native almost solely to Western sagebrush habitats, so it was pretty cool to see them.

After this, I started getting a pretty awful headache. This happens with some regularity with me, and I've been trying to figure it out this summer. During the afternoon, I rested and checked out possible reasons for this online. I've been thinking it might have something to do with barometric pressure changes, and some research today along with firsthand experience makes me think my hypothesis is accurate. I felt increasingly terrible in the early afternoon, then a storm rolled in, and as it left, my headache started to slowly subside. A lot of people online say that high barometric pressure can cause headaches, as the strong pressure can cause blood vessels in your head to constrict. Some people offered up some effective-sounding home remedies for it, but most sources agreed there is little which can be done about it, other than drugging yourself up. Sad day.

Anways, we couldn't really go looking around the town much today because of how crappy I felt, which was too bad. After I started feeling better toward the evening, we went for another walk around the reservoir. We took an alternate trail off the main paved trail this time and walked through the sagebrush. It was sweet. My mom suggested I look for job opportunities out here, and I'm inclined to think it would be a good idea. I love the scenery, the people, and the climate out here. It's been very hot each day, but the humidity is very low, which makes the heat a lot more bearable, and actually somewhat comfortable. I could definitely spend my life out here.

Tomorrow we're heading to Jackson Hole, spending the morning in Yellowstone. We'll be spending the next few days in the Grand Teton/Yellowstone area, so my lack of photos today will be made up for.

Here's my one picture for the day:

Peace.

Westward 2011, Day 5

So, we finally made it to Wyoming today. Holy cow, it's very different from entering South Dakota. We couldn't really see a difference in South Dakota from other places in the Midwest at first. Once we entered Wyoming, however, the scenery completely changed. We definitely felt like we were in Wyoming when we got here. Low, rocky hills covered in yellow grass and green shrubs, beautiful rock formations off in the distance, and a clear, blue sky above us...it was amazing. I instantly fell in love with Wyoming...and my mom and I both agreed that Glacier National Park might be less of a priority...enough so that we might just skip it entirely. It's sad to say it...but I'm feeling so at home here, and I can't imagine Yellowstone and Grand Teton are going to make me change my mind about it.

Right in the middle of the state, we ran into the Bighorn Mountains. Not the Rockies, but the first snow-capped mountains I've ever seen. While we were driving through them, we found a little rest stop with a couple viewing points over the Shell Falls. We were practically the only people there, and it didn't seem like a huge tourist attraction...but I thought it was cooler than the Tahquamenon Falls. Hilarious. Also saw a yellow-bellied marmot on a cliff on the opposite side of the river, which was pretty cool. We then drove through the Shell Canyon out of the Bighorn Mtns., which was also an amazing experience. The highest edges of the canyon were sheer rock faces, but they turned into grassy, rocky slopes for most of the way down until they came close to the Shell River, where they turned back into small cliffs.

Tonight we're staying in Cody, which is about fifty miles east of Yellowstone National Park. We went to the world famous Cody Rodeo when we got here, which was pretty cool. After all day of being in a car, though, I was pretty sick of sitting and looking at stuff, so we left after it was about halfway over. Tomorrow, we're just going to check out the town and chill. Should be a good time.

Here's a picture of part of the Shell Canyon:

Peace.