That afternoon, we navigate through Disneyland . . . er, Yellowstone. We crawl past carloads of tourists with binoculars aimed at imaginary wildlife. Then we get mired in a traffic jam. But this is Wyoming! All this land. A traffic jam? We get out and discover that it was caused by buffalo in the road-a bison logjam. A bull stares at us impassively as we skirt by.
We rise early the next morning to find that, even though it is early summer, the tops of the mountains in Grand Teton Park, just south of Yellowstone, are swaddled in snow clouds. We're planning to spend the next couple of days hiking and camping up there. I soon discover why Jason rented snowshoes. After three nights in a snow-covered tent, I'm pleased to get back to driving. We stop in Jackson Hole to get a bison burger (sweet, sweet revenge) and then head to Highway 191. Any road based on the curves and caprices of a river is good, and this one follows the Snake. A hawk drops from over our hood, skims the river, and rises with a thrashing trout in its claws. Then we slow down for a roadside obstruction: a wild goat. It's a great road. The trees eventually give way to open plains and enormous skies. The road dwindles to the perspective point, and we open the Audi to its upper reaches.
We are headed to the Wind River Range, one of the most undeveloped and pristine mountain ranges in all the Lower Forty-eight. We'll do more hiking and exploring. But as we keep pace with foamy, cream-colored clouds arcing across the massive sky, the hum of tires on asphalt the only sound, I feel expansive, thrilled. I could drive on forever on this road, and it would never end. The world is open and free. There's not a stoplight anywhere.
Trip Notes
Location: Northwestern Wyoming.
General information: Wyoming Travel and Tourism (www.wyomingtourism.org).
Where to stay: Snake River Lodge and Spa, 7710 Granite Loop Road, Teton Village (800-445-4655; www.rockresorts.com); Red Lion Wyoming Inn, 930 West Broadway, Jackson (800-844-0035, www.redlion.com).