A few days behind. We have been off the grid for a few days as cell service was limited and slow in Yellowstone.
Day 10 – Not all days go as planned. We only needed to drive 100 miles today, but we only made it halfway before we were driving directly into a monster storm. We took refuge in the small town of Ashton, ID. First, at a local pizza parlor where the staff went beyond expectations to help two stranded, cold, wet travellers. We used a break in the rain to run down to the local public library and spent the afternoon charging devices, using the internet, and planning for the next week. Around dinner time, the clouds cleared and we were able to finish our drive into West Yellowstone in Montana (my 46th state visited). After two days of dodging rain clouds and sleeping in a wet tent, we splurged on a camping cabin at the KOA and got a good night sleep.
Day 11 – Yellowstone was amazing. 😍 If you have not yet been there, you need to put it on your bucket list. I knew about Old Faithful and expected lots of trees….. but the park is HUGE and has everything…. mountains, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, canyons, geysers, mud pots, and steam vents. The wildlife is everywhere. We saw plenty of bison (which I learned Mark is scared of), a herd of bighorn sheep, osprey, hawks and several elk (one of which decided to visit our campsite). He came within 10-15 feet of our picnic table (which I quickly evacuated and hid behind our trusty trailer). Thankfully, there was no bear encounter as we felt pretty vulnerable without a vehicle to hide inside 😀. Of course, we waited to watch Old Faithful, and then got to see Beehive Geyser erupt right afterward (which was lucky because it only erupts twice a day). There was still quite a bit of snow at the higher elevations and we spend a frosty night in our tent (we both concluded our sleeping bag is not really rated to 20 degrees as REI claimed). I apologize in advance for the number of pictures. Still, they don’t do justice to the true beauty of the park.
Day 12 – Driving out of Yellowstone is as spectacular as the park itself. After you leave the park, you immediately enter Shoshane National Park, followed by Buffalo Bill State Park and Dam (a must-see), so the scenery continues. Drove back into Montana and settled at a campground in Billings. Took the tandem out on a local municipal bike path, 10 miles out and then back. Enjoying the evening at the pool (we are back at a lower elevation and back to warmer temperatures).
