I realize when we blog we usually are on some extended backpacking trip, but we both really felt Yellowstone was cool enough to deserve a blog. Plus, we wanted the memories for later so that's why we're adding it to our little online scrapbook, so here goes:
On the way down to Yellowstone we drove the Going-To-The-Sun Road. It was so beautiful! We also lucked out and caught some good weather, which is so important to appreciate the epic views this drive has on offer.
Going-To-The-Sun Mountain is the one above Jared's head
Is that not amazing?!
We drove into the Flathead National Forest and stayed at a campsite there for the night. The rain had caught up with us, but again by some stroke of luck we had just enough of a break to set up camp, make supper and hide in the tent before the rain started again.
Standing on the dock at Swan Lake
We made it to the park by mid-afternoon. We discovered to our distress that all of the campsites were completely full. Rather than turning around and sleeping somewhere outside the park, we decided to try a backcountry campsite. These are much more secluded, you can't drive to them and so you have to pack everything in. Luckily the ever-prepared Jared had brought our little tent along with all the other light sleeping stuff in addition to the regular gear. So we picked a site and made a plan to stay there for the night. Before going there, we checked out the Mammoth Terraces as well as the Boiling River.
The Roosevelt Arch at the North Entrance to the park
After a soak in the hot springs of Boiling River, we drove to the trailhead of our backcountry site. We had a gourmet meal of hot dogs and pasta salad before throwing packs on and heading into the bush. Jared is lucky he has such a badass outdoorsy chick.
On our walk out to the campsite
See what I mean? Bad ass
Hanging our stuff from the bear pole
Where we slept for the night
It wasn't the most comfortable sleep I've ever had, but in the morning we were woken by the sounds of bugling elk- and that was pretty neat. We packed up our little site and stalked some elk on the way out.
Elk through the binoculars
The next day we devoted to geysers. Yellowstone is an incredibly geothermally active place, and there are countless fumaroles, geysers, hot pools and mud pots to check out. There's over 1200 geysers in 9 major geyser basins, so obviously we had to pick just a few. We first headed to the Norris Geyser Basin, which is the area of the park where the crust is thinnest and is the most geothermally active area of the park.
"Jared, take a picture of me drinking tea by the geysers looking super cool" Nailed it.
The first of many wildlife-gawking traffic jams
Next we headed for the Grand Prismatic Spring. Unfortunately the lookout from above was closed, but it was still super impressive from ground level.
Jared stops to ponder it all
Our last stop of the day was to Old Faithful itself, we were just in time to catch an eruption, too!
So many people came to see Old Faithful erupt!
The next day was for wildlife viewing. We had gotten up super early to see wolves, and we did manage to see a pack of 9! It was short lived, as they only appeared on the crest of a hill for about 5 minutes, and then they were gone again. It was so excellent to see them, though. I know the wolf population in Yellowstone is controversial, but it is one of the last few truly wild places in the lower 48, and it's great to see them thriving here.
After some breakfast we headed to a spot we had received a tip about. Apparently there was a carcass (probably bison) about a half mile off the road, and a Grizzly that came to munch on it. We were standing with binoculars, waiting patiently and chatting with another couple on the side of the road. We were going to give up when the Grizzly showed up to snack. We were still pretty far away, but we could just make him out through the binos.
Next we headed to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. It is a very scenic waterfall into a deep gorge formed by the Yellowstone River.
a Black bear we saw from the road
So many bison to see from the road in the Lamar Valley
One of the fires that was burning in the park while we were there
That afternoon we went for a hike, but it was mostly just so Jared could fish. I read my book.
The next morning we had to leave. It went by so fast, but were so glad we got the chance to see it. We saw bears, big horn sheep, wolves, bears, bison, elk and antelope. I highly recommend it, it's such a cool mixture of wildlife, scenery and geothermal.
Elk in the field as we drove out
Next time you hear from us we will be blogging from South America! Not exactly sure which country we are starting from, but we are planning on spending the better part of a year down there. Come join us if you have some time😄
