Road trip to remember - Yellowstone & Grand Teton

Having experienced it now, I can say it’s both deeply unsettling and deeply comforting to drive in the mountains. It’s as if dearly departed ancestors were watching over us from all directions.

There are the majestic mountains, like grandpa with regal bearing who always liked to show the way. Then there are the pale and beautiful mountains - that would be mom, omnipresent. Some mountains have a dark shadow fall over them such as the uncle who's likely berating me for going 10 over speed limit to make time. Shadowy mountain behind a mountain such as the relative you hero worshiped and then found him to be a closet smoker. All of them though giving guidance, especially in the crazy 60 mi stretch through the mountain pass from Wyoming to Idaho that had 10 grade inclines. Due to tad bad planning and some route compulsions, we had to drive that way not once, not twice, but thrice.

We just completed a 1900 mi road trip starting from Salt Lake and covering the length and breadth of Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. In doing so, we traversed the states of Wyoming, Montana, Utah, and Idaho. It was a trip that left us alternately shaking our heads in disbelief and bowled over by the dazzling show nature rolled out for us. Seeing rugged mountains, rolling meadows and falls, and sighting wildlife, geysers & springs all over the space of a week felt unreal and dreamlike. No, felt too unreal even for a dream. Add to that, we saw some stunning architecture such as the Salt Lake City library and the Grand Teton visitor center.

For someone who never longed to or enjoyed driving in Mumbai (I would hail a cab even for some doctor visits for mom, that's how wretched), this new found love of driving and road trips feels both a curse and a blessing. 

If I had seen a mud pot or caldera or geyser eruption when I was say 9, that event would have been life changing. And instilled a life-long love for the sciences, instead of the semi struggle that was engineering. And I wonder why my favorite TV show characters are from the geek comedy show Big Bang theory.

The irony of a nature road-trip though is this: vast stretches of rugged wilderness throw us off, even frighten us a bit; give us our expressway oasis and fast food joints and we're in our comfort zone.

There’s a lot of idle chatter on road trips of course - from cooking styles of family members (everything on slow simmer for max flavor vs boiling the heck out of everything for the last filter coffee/ chai before guests leave) to how third grade class will be like. But road trip conversations also take on the syntax of places being seen. The biggest geyser in Yellowstone is called Old Faithful. After seeing that, Usha started calling the never ending big bag of Costco veggie straws as the "old faithful".

There were other sparkling moments too. 

Aakash picking up a stuffed owl from the visitor center at Jackson Hole MT because it reminded him of Hedwig from Harry Potter.

Meeting a lady (who incidentally had 20 grandkids, 4 of Aakash' age) who was writing a novel with her story climaxing at the bottom of the Canyon Falls. I learned later that there is an entire genre of novels for children that are set in and around National parks.

Usha has recently started using a wearable exercise and sleep tracker called Fitbit. Some mornings in the rush to hit the road, she will forget to change it from sleep to regular mode. And Fitbit will continue to track her day trekking as if its sleep mode. Does that make her a Superwoman sleep walking around the canyons and springs in Yellowstone?

I don’t know what it is about vacation destinations, the more of the wilderness variety, the more it attracts the preening and posing tourist. I do not envy the poor boyfriends who are constantly clicking their ladies in numerous Facebook worthy pics. Once, we saw a moose rubbing its antlers against a tree and when it was throwing its head back, my thought was: had it picked a tip or two over the years and was mocking the much photographed female Asian tourists?

Speaking of geysers, vaca is also a good time to blow steam - something the daily grind does not afford. Usha, Aakash and I are a small, tight family unit and that can sometimes be a tinderbox:) (As an aside, I am convinced the average # of kids in each YW vacationing family was 4 – way to show us up, you guys:). The grind of juggling important work meetings with piano and swimming schedules can leave unfinished conversations in its trail. A vacation, while all happiness and light, and a road trip at that should give the time and space to finish anything that flares up.

As a sign of what a vulnerable and volatile natural spot YW is, we saw carbon craters and geysers at numerous random places on the way and not just the designated tourist spots such as Old Faithful and Midway geyser. Ever so often there'll be another rumor of how YW is going down because of a massive geyser eruption, and the park service will have to put out another clarification that all is well. During our trip, we also saw blackened patches amidst the mountain greens, due to forest fires not uncommon in this area. Made us wonder if all this would still be around in a generation or two, and that lent urgency and seriousness to our trip.

These parks are quite popular and so clearly, a large number of picture-takers [oops, tourists:)] everywhere. However, I imagine you could hear the gasps [of being stunned by the sights] as frequently as the clicks of pictures being taken. I will confess that the SLR I tend to lug around on vacations did not see much action this trip. Most captures were from my handy Samsung S5 phone camera: started with a few pictures and was so happy with results, kept going that way. It was liberating to use the phone camera and not have to worry about the right lens and A & S specs in an SLR camera. That can sometimes bog you down, especially for amateur photographers such as me, and come in the way of enjoying the sights. 

Then there were the road trip rituals. For us, it means Costco was the first destination we sought out after landing in Salt lake. Plenty of juicy fruits to balance the fried snacks is how we roll. Bear sighting is the rare but big thing in these parts and everyone is advised to take precautions. We took care not to stock any Indian food in the car, who's to say that the American grizzly and black bears are not as enamored by curries and spices as many American people these days are:)?

Winding the road trip with a fabulous Indian dinner is starting to become another ritual. This time, it was at Bombay House in Salt lake city. The origin of their two main chefs - one from Patiala and one Afghani - meant the food was going to be an authentic delight. We were told they even grind their own spices, no wonder then - and no kidding - that the aroma wafted in even as we were just turning into the strip mall where it was located.

A memorable vacation is when you have dreams about what has happened even as the vacation is on, not just after. That said, a vacation does not change the course of life or make us better human beings. We are obliged to return to the same grind and one-upmanship: about one’s career, life and kids. But while it’s on, a vacation should be about better attention spans, to listen more and to rejoice often. It’s a chance to slow the pace and bottle memories for little whiffs later on.

In the process, maybe - just maybe, travel has broadened our minds and helped us appreciate more our fellow travelers.

Driving in the flat Chicagoland area after our return home, we keep thinking the mountains will loom up soon. Maybe at the next turn. Likely not.