All right... we made it to Yellowstone... barely. We left Saturday afternoon and settled in to the car for what we thought was going to be a 5 hour drive to West Yellowstone. 8 hours later we finally pulled into the Worldmark parking lot. It got quite scary at times with white out conditions along the way. We even stopped to help one lady who had slid off the road and rolled her car. I have never been so glad to get to our destination. It was 11:00 when we pulled in so we unloaded the truck and went to bed.
Yesterday, we drove around town to see what is going on... not a whole lot. A lot of the local stores close up for the winter due to low traffic. It is a shame because West Yellowstone has that old time Mayberry feel. I am excited to stroll through the stores that are open and see what they have to offer. We also spent a lot of time in the indoor pool which the kids loved! Aaron and I sat on the side and actually had time to read! It was a pretty lazy day but very much needed.
Today we decided to take a snow coach ride through Yellowstone. It is basically a van that has been outfitted like a snow-mobile. Our guide drove us through Yellowstone stopping at various spots along the way to see wildlife, geysers, hot spots, waterfalls, bubbling mud, and Old Faithful. Alex's favorite animal we saw was the Bison. Every time he saw one he would yell out "Bi-en." We also saw a coyote, elk, 2 bald eagles, swans, mule deer, and lots of birds- the ravens here are huge. They tried to take a box of Eggo waffles out of the back of our truck.
I must say Old Faithful was kind of a dud for me. We stood out in the freezing snowy temperatures and waited for it to go off for 20 minutes. (Alex and Abbi didn't quite make it- they got too cold so Aaron took them into a warming hut). When it finally did go off, you could barely see it because the sky was white, the steam was white, and the water was white. There was no contrast to actually see it- bummer! Oh well, our guide was very good and he led us to some other geysers that erupted right as we got to them. Those were very cool! All in all it was a great expedition and we all had a great time in snowy Yellowstone. The scenery was so beautiful and I loved looking at all the hot pools.
Firehole Falls
The Great American Bald Eagle
Sapphire Pool
5 comments:
You've got some really cool pictures there! Yellowstone is one of our favorite vacations - although I've never been in the winter. You are adventurous :)! I'm looking forward to the 9th, I hope it's still on!
One word: Summer.
Old Faithful is really a spectacular event, when enjoyed and viewed in the warmth of summer! :)
It looks cold, but fun! I am so missing the snow! We're jealous!
Sounds like you are having an awesome adventure! Be careful, stay warm, have fun and ENJOY your vacation!
I love your winter layout! It's great!
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