Before I get to what I want to tell you about I thought you might enjoy this rendition of “What a Difference a Day Makes”. Pretty impressive for a 9 year old girl. I guess that’s pretty impressive regardless of age.

OK, maybe it’s actually what a difference two days makes. It began raining on Tuesday, off and on, so we took a drive up the west side of Yellowstone toward Madison Junction with a stop at Old Faithful where the air was brisk and raining. Definitely feels like this country is on the cusp of winter. The change in colors has been most dramatic since we arrived. It is begging to look really spectacular.

I don’t know whose idea it was that this time of year is the best time to see Yellowstone. That was the case about 15 years ago when we came up here in September but today it was very crowded. So crowded in fact it was surprising. Kathy and I just stared at all of the people .Tour buses seem to be the big things these days. When one or two of these massive vehicles pulls up to an exhibit, and attraction or someplace to eat and the doors empty you best just get out of the way and find someplace else because the swarm of people will quickly displace you.

While the weather hasn’t been conducive to painting, picnicking or canoeing we managed to get some nice photos and at least the smoke was washed out of the skies so it made for some great views of areas where the rain clouds weren’t real low. Skies did break open a bit in the afternoon but the air was very brisk with a stiff wind.

Yesterday, Wednesday, was forecast for rain most of the day which was the case. We decided to go back into Jackson and take in the Art Festival, show at the National Museum of Wildlife Art and then tour the various galleries to see what the state of art is here. First stop was the Wildlife Art museum where a tour bus was unloading as we arrived. I have to say that I was amazed that the parking lot was full with folks circling like buzzards waiting for a space to open up. Fortunately one did for us as we made our first pass and it was even large enough for the behemoth truck I was driving. Inside the museum it was nuts. Very, very crowded. The good news is the art show was first class. Kathy and I really enjoyed touring the show which had paintings by several fellow artists that I know personally as well as many that are know to me. I was surprised however by how many I was unfamiliar with. I felt like I was getting reacquainted with the art scene all over again. Well worth the stop even though we had to contend with the crowds. It’d be nice to come back and view the show at our leisure with to all of the others.

On into Jackson where we had lunch at the historic Silver Dollar Grill and Saloon in the renown Wort Hotel. When I lived up here in the mid 70’s I used to frequent this place and it brought back great memories. It hasn’t changed much. What has changed is the art scene in Jackson. While there are still a couple of the traditional galleries with largely representational art, there are a number of others that are dealing in more colorful fanciful wall decor, or so it seemed to me. Probably a sign of the times. What I was surprised about with the museum attendance and those in the galleries were the numbers of people out and about taking in the arts. I know that this was the Arts Festival but I was amazed at how well attended it was. Whether anyone was buying anything or not was hard to say but there sure was a lot of enthusiasm. Great to see.

By late afternoon the rain had let up and the clouds began to lift enough so that on the way back to Flagg Ranch where we are camped in Teton National Park, the drive along the flats with views of the Tetons was quite dramatic. The clouds hadn’t lifted quite enough to fully expose the peaks but hung in there just tempting us. To our great surprise, there was snow on them that was not much higher than the valley floor. Oh boy. If the sun ever shines again, there will be some great painting awaiting.

UPDATE! We are sitting in the parking lot of Artists Point on the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Just happened to have cell service here so I thought I’send this off to you good folks while Kathy got a weather update. 1-3 inches of snow expected tonight. I’ll keep you posted.