Yellowstone

Since moving to Montana, one of the things I have really wanted to do was see some of the unique wonders of the world that can only be seen in Yellowstone.  Some things you cannot find anywhere else in the world.  Living so close, I thought it would be a tragedy not to go.

My parents were super helpful putting the trip together.  They have some friends that own a cabin just outside of Yellowstone and were gracious enough to let us stay there - which was awesome.  One of the great benefits of staying there was we drove through a part of the park every day that doesn't see a lot of traffic, and therefore were able to see more wildlife.

Getting to Yellowstone was a journey on it's own.  Another bucket list item was to drive the Beartooth Pass.  The drive is a lot of fun and you get to see some beautiful scenery/vistas.  It's not for those who don't like narrow roads with huge drop-offs though.  If it bothers you that the only thing keeping you from certain death is the skill of the driver a thin piece of sheet metal...this is not for you.  If you look at the pictures below you will be able to see all of the snow.  The pass is only open part of the year...and even in the middle of summer there are parts with 10+ft of snow.  I think the funnest part was driving above the timberline.  It was very weird to be driving on top of the world with not a single tree in sight...it was like another world.

Another great part of the trip was no cell coverage.  AT&T, Verizon, and TMobile had no coverage.  It was awesome.

I did not appreciate the size of Yellowstone.  The place is huge.  It takes hours to cross the park.  I didn't mind the driving, it was just more than I was expecting.  The views were great along the way, so it was no problem.

We were able to see lots of bear, bear cubs, elk, deer, antelope, fox, bison, snakes, birds...lots of wildlife.  There was a buffalo that was blocking the road and wouldn't let us pass.  Once he finally got off the road we slowly started to drive past and as we were passing, Emily rolled down her window and the bison did not like that!  I thought I was going to get a bison horn signature on the side of our van.  Thankfully we made it out okay.  

One thing we have been trying to do for a long time is show Audrey stars - lots of them, like you only see out in the country. We woke Audrey up in the middle of the night so we could go outside and look at the stars.  Using my dad's telescope we saw the moons of Jupiter and a bunch of other stars.  Audrey thought it was amazing.

Driving home we got to see a bunch of waterfalls and the remains of an old hydro power plant that supplied power to an old mining town.  That was really cool.

Overall it was a great time with amazing people, beautiful views, and wildlife.  I am so glad we went.

-Paul