We drove up to the Bozeman, Montana last month to visit with my doctor. I needed to get some tests done and an in person visit was well over due. We checked out flights and they were not the greatest, the drive looked more appealing since it was one of the best times of the year to drive around Montana. So we drove. North through Utah, Idaho, a quick side step into Wyoming and then into Montana.
The most important thing I have personally learned from traveling....always bring Superman.
We enjoyed a leisurely drive north, both of us glued to the ever changing landscape. I have created a wish list of geology books so I can learn about all the geological wonders in this part of the country. I had SO many questions that I must have driven Chris nuts! But, in the mean time, we thoroughly enjoyed the dramatic landscape, ever changing as we drove on, and always commanding full attention....even in the dark at 1am (but we will get to that later...)
This picture was taken just east of Bozeman as we were driving home via Yellowstone National Park. I have always known Montana would totally capture my heart, it did and I did not want to leave.
We stayed in the hotel near the airport that we found by accident back in February. It is fairly new and I do not react there, which is such a lovely thing! We arrived in Bozeman late in the evening and we woke up to fine a nice light layer of frost and cold crisp air. My appointment went well, tests were taken, I was poked, prodded, and asked a billion questions. I in turn asked my questions and we came up with a new game plan. We left and found ourselves at the local food co-op (a safe building too!) That place REALLY made me not want to leave Bozeman. It was the coolest health food co-op I have been to yet. Yes, even better than ones in Oregon. We got ourselves some warm soup and shopped around.
Chris finally was able to get me out of the co-op so we could start driving home. Just outside Yellowstone we came across Devil's Slide. We stopped to get a better look and snapped a few pictures.
We ventured into Yellowstone National Park via the North Gate. Words can not describe what emotions came over me as we entered the park. We still have a difficult time describing what the park looked like to us as we drove deeper and deeper into the park. The only words I could get out was, "Pop-Pop, I finally made it, I am here!" and then promptly cried. I always wanted to visit Yellowstone and had many conversations with my Grandfather about traveling to that area.
We made it. We also had only four or five hours of daylight left to see anything...let alone drive home. Crazy, I know.
We spent some time at Mammoth Springs.
We found our first Bison on the banks of the Yellowstone River. We have see so many since then, it's a rather normal sight now. But, they are still pretty cool!
It was a little after 6pm when we made it to Old Faithful Area. We figured we missed the eruption when we noticed a sign that said 6:18pm was the next one. It was 6:15 and we ran from the parking lot to the viewing area (yes, ran.) We sat there with about 200 or more people. Waiting, watching, in total silence. We found that all over the park, a quiet hush. Total (mostly) reverence and awe. A quiet respect. This is my type of park. It quietly commands silence.
After waiting for what seemed to be an age, we felt the ground rumble and heard a deep and quite frankly scary, roar. Then....
It was amazing, The whole park was amazing. I felt like I was on another planet, yet standing on very old and untouched ground. Ground that was not developed. A landscape that has not changed because of man. My soul found another happy place, a place where I feel like I can commune with history (not to sound weird or anything, I just don't know how else to explain it.)
I don't normally post a picture of just myself. But, I consider this one photographic evidence of another victory. I felt amazing that day, energetic, excited, and adventurous. It might have been the trial of the next medication that I hope to start soon, the one that will kick some hormones into gear and let my body do more...but I also thrive in the air up there.
We were still in the park when the sun set, right near Lewis Lake. We still had a good 6 hours or so yet to drive. We drug our feet a little too much around Yellowstone, but it was totally worth it.
As we drove south towards Jackson, Wyoming, we could sense that we were missing great and marvelous things. Especially when we were passing the Tetons. The sky was breathtaking and I caught a glimpse of a shooting star and the Milky Way. We stopped at the first gas station as we entered Jackson. It was around 9:30pm and the gentleman in the shop was so kind (we stopped in two weeks later and he remembered us!) He asked where we were headed and we said Salt Lake. He looked at us rather wide eyed and said "TONIGHT?!?!?" After he got over his shock and saw our determination to get home, he gave us some friendly local advice on which road was better to take at night. We promised him we would come back to Jackson to check it out.
We drove and drove and drove in the dark. Not passing another car or even at times houses for miles. I tried to sleep a little, but most of the time my eyes were wide open and watching for wildlife near the road. We finally made it home at 2:00am on the dot. No wild encounters with wildlife or rocks thank goodness.
The drive home took a toll on both of us, but we recovered well. Well enough (or crazy enough) to go back up to Jackson two weeks later.
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