Travel
Nature's Exquisite Beauty and Variety
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.
In late-June of this year we traversed by car the beautiful expanse of the landscape in South Dakota and Wyoming in North-Western region of the United States. With its rugged snow-capped mountains, studded by green pine and silvery leaved trees, wild flowers, crystal-clear streams, musical fountains and big and small lakes that abound in this area, it was an unforgettably serene experience. But the most spectacular scene to me was the clear medium-blue sky in which clusters of white clouds of infinite size and shape floated on both sides of the road, as if dancing their way through. Like Tagore, we wondered who indeed had crafted these scenes! These made us go into a contemplative mood, which was deepened by the devotional songs of Tagore playing in the car. The cup of beauty and satisfaction was indeed filled to the brim!
A picnic stop by the roadside.
The journey - driving over eleven hundred miles, would take us from Rapid City in South Dakota in the east, then going west through six to ten thousand feet granite mountains to the vast Yellowstone National Park and beyond to Jackson Hole and the Grand Teton Mountains. At places and at great heights the road had horseshoe turns and sharp bends protected only by low metal rails, occasionally strengthened by wood posts bolted to the rails.
We went by air to Rapid City to visit the Mount Rushmore National Memorial- a 25 miles drive from the city. The airport shuttle took us from the pretty airport in the midst of barren and flat land, surrounded by the low Black Hill Mountains to our hotel. The shuttle driver quipped that the name Rapid City was a good, white lie! The people there were not rapid but slow and the city was not a city at all as it had a small population of only seventy thousand. We proceeded the same afternoon in pouring rain for a look at the giant-sized heads of four US presidents - an impressive and imaginative tribute to Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt. They seemed to be affirming the ideals of the great nation and calling for hard, sustained work. Nearly 3 million tourists from across the USA and the world are attracted by these monumental sculptures. Carved with ingenuity at a height of 6000 feet on granite, over 14 years and at a cost of $1 million, Gutzon Borglum and his son, Lincoln Borglum, were the sculptors, who began work on it in 1927. There is a visitors' centre and an amphitheatre at the top of the Mount Rushmore. After dinner in Kent, a small township nearby, we went back to the Memorial after 9.30 PM to see the faces of the presidents being gradually and lovingly illuminated. Their profiles stood out against the dark backdrop of the mountains- a truly spectacular sight which evokes reverence for their selfless service to the nation.
We returned the next morning for a day-view of the Memorial. Our attempts to visit the Badlands National Park 50 miles east of Rapid City next, failed, as we got lost. When we asked a Texan driver where he was going, he calmly said that he was merely driving there “to find out what was going on.” No doubt he was equally lost! We saw in the same area a ghost town, once inhabited by a Red Indian community. The boarded - up houses and shops had signs indicating that they were once a grocery store, a tailoring shop or a furniture and hardware store. The land around was barren, devoid of trees and looked empty and abandoned.
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.
We then began our nearly 500-miles road journey to the Yellowstone National Park, the largest of the U.S national parks and recognized as a World Heritage Site. We drove through the scenic route and and halted for the night at a small town, Buffalo in Wyoming at an altitude of 4500 feet and a population of 6000. Next day we left for Cody, which was at the eastern gate for entrance into the Park. As we passed the gate, we saw the big Yellowstone Lake-covering 132 square miles at an elevation of 7700 feet. It is the world's highest lake and the largest freshwater lake in North America. Because of its size, altitude and surrounding high mountains and the forests, the lake creates its own weather. Clouds gather on it, there are occasional storms and rain and then it quickly goes away. The scenic beauty of the drive to Cody and then inside the park was indescribable.
We drove about eighty miles from Cody around the unending lake side road until we reached the Grant Village. Everywhere you go in the park the structures are all made of wood and in a distinct local style. The Lake View Café where we had our breakfast and the restaurant where we went for dinner appeared to float like a giant glass boat with a wonderful view of the lake and the mountain range. Our rooms were beside the lake hidden from it by a row of pine trees. On the edges of the lakes and on the sides of the road, were wild flowers- yellow Heartleaf Arnica, violet coloured Lupine and orange coloured flowers blooming in profusion.
At the Park, we visited the Old Faithful Geyser, the Mammoth Hot Springs, the Mud Volcano and other craters spewing mud and mineral water and emitting sulfurous smoke all around. The Mammoth Springs has walkways encompassing the area, which allows one to spot the bright colours on the springs that are produced by algae and bacteria. While driving around, whenever we found a few cars stopping to see the animals, we would follow them. We were fortunate to see deer- some with big antlers, bear (we saw a not-so-big Cinnamon Bear but not the Grizzly), Moose and Bison, of which the last one was plentiful at most places, this being a Bison-country. Though there are 300 documented bird species in the Park, we did not see many birds.
The Old Faithful, true to its name, did not fail us. We were told that it erupted approximately sixty to ninety minutes apart and it did just that. You sit on benches arranged as an amphitheatre awaiting the geyser to do its miracle. As it erupts it slowly starts by rising in a silvery cascade of steaming water up to ten feet but after a few such attempts, it rises higher and becomes bigger with a lot of sound. I estimated the height during our time there at 70 feet but records indicate heights of up to 150 feet. As in other parts of the Park, there was a General Store at this site selling souvenirs, gift items, food, drinks and groceries.
After two days, we reluctantly left the Park, exiting through its south gate towards Jackson Hole, 120 miles away. On both sides were high mountains. Sculpted by erosion, some of these had an elevation of 10,000 feet or more, with lingering snow and canyons, patches of plants in crevices and fragile meadows transitioning to bare rocks higher up. With magnificent views of the Lewis Falls and the Jackson Lake on the way, it was a pleasant and scenic drive. At an altitude of 6500 feet, Jackson Hole was a pretty little town chartered about a hundred years ago. The Grand Teton and Provence Mountains surrounded the valley. The town, popular for skiing and visited in the winter by the rich and the famous, has wooden structures, most of which were not more than two-stories high. Jackson Hole town square was most interesting with its fancy stores and restaurants arranged in straight blocks. Its unique sidewalks made of wooden planks were similar to the board-walks along the beaches in the USA. The square and the shops were illuminated - perhaps it is so throughout the year and it was fun to walk around and dine.
Jackson Lake, Mountains and clouds in Wyoming.
The ski slopes, cut through the pine forests in straight lines, were clearly visible from our hotel. Our better halves wanted to see the rich man's abode but they lived far away from the ordinary crowd in gated communities, their big villas hidden in their private forests. Both in Jackson Hole and the Grand Teton Village, also an attractive Ski resort, we caught only glimpses of the these villas on the mountain-sides. Grand Teton Village had cattle and horse ranches as well as large resort-type hotels, chair lifts for skiing and other sports. From Jackson Hole we managed a quick trip to the National Museum of Wildlife Art at a truly unique site on a hill overlooking the meadows, the animals and the streams in the nearby mountains. The graceful museum building was decorated with life-size bronze sculptures of Bison, Deer, Moose and Wolves. Inside, were large paintings of these beautiful animals. An informal outdoor café provided us a restful, scenic stop for snacks and drinks in the lap of nature.
The six days passed quickly and pleasantly but the emotions and impressions of the trip would be recollected in tranquility for a very long time.
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