Day 53: Outside Jackson, Wy. to Wind Rivers
Alright. I'm sorry for the break and I'm back at it now even though there isn't much left!
We woke up to sunny skies but they turned overcast before we left the campsite. As I did most mornings, I popped the hood and went through my fluids and bolts checklist. I like to check air pressure, important nuts and bolts and fluids on a daily basis to catch any problems as early as possible. When you are living in a car everyday, when it's your home, you get tuned-in in to what's going on with it. Anyway, this morning when I popped the hood there was a small field mouse standing on my cleaning rag that I keep under the hood. As light entered the engine bay that mouse nonchalantly looked at me from his perch on my oily rag and munched some morsel contemplatively. He obviously had no business being in there and I began imagining worst case scenarios in my head, counting how many wires he could have chewed through and how many lights might not work now. I yelled at him and started banging on the body panels. He took off down into the engine and I hoped that he hopped out but couldn't be sure.; If he was still in there I felt certain he would run for his life when I started the engine.
We drove along the Grey River which was not as grey as the clouds. There were plenty of fisherman along the banks and camping nearby but it did not seem crowded.
The scenery was pretty but resembled many river valleys that we had already passed through. I always enjoyed the first few hours of driving in the morning. The weather was always cooler, the light wasn't harsh or washing out the landscape yet and the kids were most often happy and able to entertain themselves. This morning was no different though it was colder than normal - no open windows.
I remember that there were many steep side trails through this area that looked prime for two-wheeled exploration. But we kept to the main road, passing few other people and watching the clouds darken.
It wasn't long before we encountered two very rare sights - a small strip of pavement leading nowhere in the middle of a gravelly and dusty valley and rain. We could count on one hand the number of times we'd seen rain and so, even surrounded by grey storm clouds, we were surprised when rain started falling.
After some quick miles on the Grey River road we turned east onto a smaller side road that headed up into and eventually over the Bridger Mountains. The scenery became spectacular as we gained altitude. The light was great as the rain would clear and the sun shine for a few minutes in between the strong showers.