Jeff almost walked into a geyser...

Wyoming is gorgeous. plain and simple.

i realize that most of the people that i'll know in my lifetime probably will not have ever had the pleasure of driving through the great state of Wyoming in the fall. Its landscape is something to really marvel. Massive sweeping plains, canyons, ridges, plateaus. We saw cowboys, mines, and an amazing amount of wildlife just chilling by the side of the road.

I woke up to a chilly bus yesterday. The bus has no heat, save the ceramic space heater we bought from walmart, so the day was spent in our sweatshirts, knit hats, and long pants. I made the call to take the "scenic route" to Moscow, ID. Rather than skirt around on major highways, we decided to take some smaller roads that would set us straight through Yellowstone National Park. Going through these small towns was a real trip, life is slower. We walked through one of the towns to have locals literally slow down their cars and gawk at us. We must have looked pretty out of place, and out of our environment.

Fun Moment for me: Seeing a marker for the Oregon Trail. I have died of dysentery!!! haha!

We had a bit of a tense moment when we passed a few signs warning us that the one road we could take thru the park would be closed, and we would potentially be backtracking about 6 hours.... but luck was on our side, and we cruised through Yellowstone at nightfall, where i had the distinct pleasure of spotting not only elk, but a wolf!

At around 10:45pm MST we began to see signs for Old Faithful, and by 11:00 we were standing at the mouth of the "thermal zone" freezing our asses off, but in awe of where we were. We waited nearly an hour on the dot, and then we were treated to its explosion, visible only be the moonlight, and its silhouette on the horizon. We all stayed perfectly silent, listening to it erupt...an experience that i bet few get to have when seeing the attraction with large crowds of people.

I write you now from the front lounge, rather than my usual rack. I woke up before anyone else, so im sitting up here with Izzy, Jeff's dog, just watching Montana go by (i'm fairly sure i witnessed a stamped a moment ago.) I've come to like these periods of pure travel, its a welcome break from night after night of gigging. Tonight will be our last gig before the west coast run, which im greatly looking forward to, not only for its awesome shows, but because of all the friends that ill get to see.

I made a wish on the most incredible shooting star that i have ever witnessed last night waiting for old faithful to go off, ill keep you posted.

Life is a succession of moments. To live each one is to succeed.

-b

PS. The sox are going to the World Series... life is sweet.