Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Nebraska and South Dakota have all seen our faces this month. Minor league baseball games, Kansas City barbeque, Wild Bill Hickok Days and Rodeo and Gab’s first sighting of the Rockies have been major highlights. Nothing quite prepared us for this week.
Yellowstone National Park. The first National Park. Ever. Anywhere. You’ll have to excuse us if we are feeling a little reverential. In our minds, Yellowstone is the Granddaddy of All Parks and one of the reasons we are taking this two-year sojourn. We had high expectations; Yellowstone did not disappoint.
At the insistence of people we met in Billings, Montana, we entered the park from the northeast through the Custer and Shoshone National Forests and over the Beartooth Pass. When we could bear to look down, it was a spectacular view. As soon as we drove through the gate, we were pelted with hail. Hail! This place is no joke.
The next four days did not fade our first impressions of Yellowstone as a powerful and magnificent place. As Gab was exploring the Mammoth Hot Springs Visitors Center, she walked past a herd of Elk hanging out in the front lawn. Is this normal? The Ranger laughed and said yes. The Park Service waters the grass. It is much more appetizing than dry stuff in the fields, so they make their way here for dinner almost every night. Oh. I see.
As we hiked to Beaver Lake the following day, we met even more Elk. This time running towards us at what seemed like full speed. Were they late for dinner? Or was there something else down the pass that we didn’t want to encounter? Another Ranger had warned us that a bear and her two cubs were often spotted on this hike. Gab had flashbacks of Tasmanian Devil cartoon scenes but decided to stay calm.
Soon enough, we saw another couple walking our way. If they haven’t seen anything, we thought, we are bear-free. But no. The couple stopped us to let us know they were retreating because the cubs were on the trail, about a mile ahead. What now? We decided to press our luck and forge ahead, talking as much as we could.
- “So, Gab. How’s it going?”
- “Pretty good. You?”
- “Oh just fine. Nice day, huh?
- “Sure is. Sure is.”
Rangers insisted that talking is the best thing to do. It warns the bears that you are there. Is that good? Our discussion went on for the next two hours. Small talk was never so difficult. We recounted all the books we had read in the past few months, talked about the weather, and blabbed and blabbed.
Soon enough, the Visitor Center came back into sight. Our loud mouths must have done the trick. No bears. Which is just fine with us.
Each day at Yellowstone was exciting and different. Everything is variable. Including the weather. Things looked a little ominous the morning of our fourth day, but it wasn’t until 7:00pm when two inches of freezing rain coated our tent, while we were still in it, that we decided to cut our camping trip short. In our last two days camping, the “high” has been 45 degrees. Only Point Barrow, Alaska has been colder.
Yes. It’s August.
Today we are thawing out and cleaning up in Helena, Montana, planning the next excursion which will be into Glacier National Park. After that, we will return to Yellowstone to see Old Faithful and the rest of its southern region. Hopefully, warmer days will be in store.
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