Making the best of car troubles

So it is day 4 of my cross country road trip and my car is already broken. Part of me was laughing that my car was still causing me problems and part of me wanted to cry. I quickly adjusted my attitude and was so thankful that it was fixable and would be ready on Friday. It could have been way worse as I was already thinking of how would I get my trailer home if my car could no longer pull it. Also I would no longer be able to visit Banff since we lost two days, but I will make it there sometime in the future.

We took our rental and the suggestion to go to Mesa Falls and ran with it. The amazing people at KOA West Yellowstone towed my trailer to a site and we reset and enjoyed a nice lunch before driving the hour to Mesa Falls. On a very positive note, this was the shortest driving day so far (and no gas breaks!). Mesa Falls was dog friendly (the national parks don't allow dogs on the hiking trails) so Callie could join for all of the adventure this time. It was a nice drive down Mesa Falls Scenic Byway to the falls. It was a short walk to the overlook and the falls were beautiful. It was a very relaxing spot and Callie enjoyed running up and down the stairs in the park. We decided to do the 1.5 mile nature hike through the woods to see the lower falls. Callie took in all the smells and it was perfect weather. We got back to the KOA early and started a fire and cooked chicken over the fire. We enjoyed a bottle of wine and a great dinner. I never love car trouble, but it did force us to slow down and relax. As I was trying to get over my cold, rest was a good thing.

Mesa Falls

Callie didn't love picture time but enjoyed the stairs to the outlook

Beautiful sky and changing colors

Enjoying the view from the end of the trail

Relaxing night at the campsite

Adorable trailer cookie for Callie

Day 5 was spent at the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. My friend Kara had recommended a hike in the Elk Reserve area just outside of Jackson Hole that was dog friendly so we set out for there. As we were driving south, the dark clouds started to roll in and suddenly it was raining pretty hard, but thankfully only for a short time. Suddenly my mom yells, look and points out the window. There was a beautiful full double rainbow lighting up the sky. Incredible! We kept driving and enjoyed seeing all the smaller towns around Jackson Hole and of course, the views.

Double rainbow

The Elk Reserve was a nice area and we got up to the start of the hike to find out that trail was closed for the season. So of course, I kept driving up the mountain and scaring my mom to death. It provided a good view though and Callie enjoyed the slow speeds so she could put her head out the window. Since we didn't know another dog friendly hike, we went into town to grab some tea and walk around a little.

View from the top of the Elk Reserve

Callie enjoying the slower car speeds through the Elk Reserve

I had been to the Grand Tetons two years ago and absolutely loved it. Like I said before, mountains and water are my thing so this was heaven. It was perfect timing for the trees to be changing colors and I feel like I am repeating myself, but it was beautiful! We hit the visitor center, Jenny Lake, String Lake, the Dam, and several pull outs because I just need to take it all in. And the weather was perfect around 65 degrees. I couldn't have asked for a better day.

The Grand Tetons!

Love traveling with my pup

View from the visitor center....incredible

I was so excited that she sat for the picture

This is still my happy place

At Jenny Lake

Beautiful

We had to pass through Yellowstone to get back to our KOA and we were hoping to view some more animals. First though we desperately needed gas (I guess I didn't learn my lesson from before). The closest gas station at Grant was closed for the season so I needed to get the rental to Old Faithful before it ran out of gas. We quickly hit a traffic jam where the ranger was stopping traffic because of a car accident so I turned the car off. Every mile seemed so long and I really was afraid it might not make it. I am happy to say that it made it safely and we followed it up with more ice cream (to help my sore throat). Back on the road again and we found another traffic jam, this time caused by bison. There was a huge group of them enjoying the field and several trying to cross the street. The park ranger nicely used some noises on his car to get them out of the road but it provided the perfect photo opportunity for us to see them up close and personal. We figured that was the end of our luck for the day but then hit one more spot where most were pulled off the road and we found a family of elk right along the river. We pulled over to get some pictures. My mom and I went down the river towards two elk standing by themselves when suddenly one charged towards my mom. It was entertaining watching my mom quickly try to get out of the way. The elk was just trying to get back to its family but it was still entertaining. We had another good dinner and I went to bed early hoping to feel better in the morning and praying that my car was ready early so we could keep going with our journey.