We got up and packed the truck and said goodbye to our little cabin at 7:30 and started the drive out of Yellowstone.
It was still very foggy but beautiful. On the way to Fishing Bridge we got stuck behind a buffalo that decided to walk directly in the middle of the road for a while, blocking both lanes of traffic. He finally got moving off the road and we made it to Grant Village for a bit of a pit stop.
Grant Village is a bit smaller than Canyon and less commercialized. It's on the Yellowstone Lake so it has beautiful views and everything is nestled in the trees. We looked through the Visitor's Center at the info about the wildfires in Yellowstone which was really interesting.
We got back on the road and we were back in the Tetons a short while later. We still had some time to kill before I needed to be at the airport so we stopped at the Jackson Lake Dam, that we had passed yesterday, and walked around for a while, watching the heron and osprey catch fish. It was very relaxing.
Dad and I had to investigate the handcranked cart for crossing the Snake River. Did not test it!
We got back on our way and Dad and Jenifer dropped me off at Jackson Hole Airport right at 11:30 for my 1:30 flight. Jackson Hole Airport is easily the nicest airport I've ever been in. The entire thing is like a posh lounge. I got some snacks and downloaded some movies while I waited and they boarded us right on time. I was able to take my carry on with me (thankfully) since I didn't want to have to wait for it in DC at 1 am... The flight to Denver was nice and short and I had three hours before the next flight.
Beautiful airport, beautiful view.
I got a small Pizza Hut pizza as I walked to my next gate and then settled down to watch Red, White, and Royal Blue (So. Good.). The flight was a bit delayed but we got out around 6:30 and landed in DC around 11:30 pm (EDT). We got into DC, waited on the tram for what seemed like ages, and finally got to ground transportation where I picked up a Lyft. It took about 45 minutes to get back to DC and I got back around 12:30 am. And I have to go to work tomorrow. What was I thinking...