I haven't been to a ton of national parks (yet), but I have to say - Yellowstone, geologically speaking is pretty amazing.
I can practically hear Dan laugh out loud with what I'm about to acknowledge - I'm not fast. I mean, 10 times out of ten, if we're going somewhere, I'm the last one in the car. But this nice little fact about myself is difficult to ignore as we are always last out of the campground. Granted I haven't been in a rush, and I
am solo, but it would be nice to hit the road before 8am. I'll get back to you tomorrow.
Today's plan included some serious finger crossing to score a camp site in Yellowstone. As we (once again) entered the north entrance, the ranger said to me "we're filling up fast, you better hustle!" Story of my life.
We made it! We landed ourselves a perfect little spot about 20 miles in at Indian Creek. I'm not gonna lie, being in the heart of bear country, I'm pretty stoked to be 5 ft off the ground.
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| I can feel Montana just looking at this |
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| The reality of hanging in their hood. I'll never forget when my friend Tilea from home came to visit me in MT for the first time and we realized something - Tilea is way more comfortable in the city dealing with questionable peoples, and I'm way more comfortable in the woods dealing with questionable animals |
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| If I have enough energy at the end of the night and don't pass out with the kids, I try to sit and write or just have a few minutes of quiet. |
Once we secured a camp site, we jumped
back in the car to check out Yellowstone. It was a bit frustrating, after all the time we've spent in the car, to spend a full day driving - but we had to maximize our experience.
It was about 20 years ago that some friends and I drove down from Bozeman and spent my 20th birthday backpacking in Yellowstone and camping on Grebe Lake. It was truly a magical night as we fell asleep listening to the elk bugling and rubbing their racks on the trees. This trip was a little more mainstream. A little more hanging with the masses. The girls loved all the wild animals. For the record - any photo below with a child relatively close to a beast, note that the car is right behind them.... I wasn't using my children as bait. Other people..... not so much. If you've ever heard of animal maulings - I promise they are very real.
We did the full main loop, it was a very long day, but totally worth it. Multiple geysers, waterfalls, and hot springs and an abundance of wildness and beauty.
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| Our 1st buffalo - pretty exciting. He was a big boy! |
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| Norris Geyser |
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| Can't remember the name of this waterfall.... but it was enjoyed |
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| Lunch playing in the Yellowstone River. Warm-ish thanks to hot springs. |
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| You can't go to YNP and not check out Old Faithful |
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| I have to admit, I felt like Mother Earth was laughing at us stupid humans |
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| Checking out beautiful elk |
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| This whole family was so lucky. Honestly. |
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| At Grand Canyon at Yellowstone |
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| WE are safe in the car...... |
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| SHE is not. |
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| This guy was awesome. No comments from my hunting friends..... |
So many amazing YNP fotos! We did that loop with the kids last fall and it was a total blast. And good job staying safe ;-)
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