Gillette, WY to Bozeman, MT

Ugh, definitely should have written these last few entries right after we experienced them, but we got to Bozeman really late at night and then the connection in Moses Lake was really slow. So, I’m sure that I’m going to miss things, but I’ll try.

On the way through Wyoming we went through Big Horn National Forest, Buffalo Bill State Park, Shoshone National Forest, and Yellowstone National Park. We drove through sunshine, hail, sleet, snow, and rain. Big Horn/Buffalo Bill/Shoshone were all areas that I wasn’t really planning on going through until the night before and decided to hit the routes that traveled through the conserved areas to have a break from I-90. They were definitely worth the detour. Big Horn was pretty cool. I kept waiting to see big horn sheep, but when we go to the very end there was a sign that said that they have been killed off by disease and humans. The sign also said they are working to reintroduce them to the park. It would be really cool to look up onto the cliffs and see sheep running around. Buffalo Bill/Shoshone had a really cool tunnel you had to drive through and when you came out, you could see across this huge reservoir that was this intense teal. Along the side of the road there were plenty of signs warning you of danger and fines if you tried to approach a grizzly bear, but we never saw one.

Yellowstone was amazing. It’s weird because like so many other times, the terrain changed abruptly. After we got through the previous areas we saw rolling hills and rock again. There were hardly any trees. Then we go around this bend and we’re back in a valley of huge mountains. This time rocky, but covered with pine trees. When you enter the park they give you a door knob hanger that says to keep away from buffalo because they’ll gore you. The sign also says to stay away from the hot springs because you’ll fall through the mineral crust that surrounds them. We were intrigued by the buffalo warning… I didn’t even realize we’d get to see buffalo. Sure enough, we came around a bend by the lake and there was a huge buffalo laying next to the road. At first John thought it was fake, but another 30 seconds went by and we drove past a second buffalo. About 15 minutes after that we came up on a whole herd of buffalo roaming in the fields. Then it was nothing but buffalo. Buffalo in the road, buffalo snorting and charging each other 2 feet from a bunch of parked RVs, buffalo in fields, and buffalo roaming in between the trees in the forest… about 10 feet from this little frail woman walking down a trail towards a point of interest. We didn’t see the outcome of that meeting. We saw quite a few people get taken away by park rangers for  stepping outside of their vehicle right next to buffalo. Then we saw a little field FULL of people with video cameras trying to get a few feet from the buffalo on foot. The park rangers hadn’t gotten there yet… or maybe the figured they should let a few people get gored.

The hot springs were awesome. I had pictured one or two next to each other here and there. I couldn’t have been more wrong. They were everywhere! Here and there next to the road, ten over there in the woods, 2 hot springs on either side of the road so you drove through the steam, etc. We got out and walked on a designated pathway for a bit and took some photos/video. Then we headed towards Old Faithful. It’s weird to drive through the park trying to rush to see something before it gets dark… knowing that dusk is the best time to see one of those buffalo, or an elk cross the road. Got there in one piece. Old Faithful was cool, but what was even better is that they have a walkway from Old Faithful to a whole field of hot springs. We didn’t take the time to walk it all, but I’m definitely planning on going back some day.

As we drove from Old Faithful it was about 8:15 and just starting to get dark. We didn’t get out of the park until around 11… when it was really dark. Don’t drive through Yellowstone in the dark unless you really want to test your driving skills. It was sharp corner after sharp corner after incredibly steep hill after AHHH elk in the road. Yeah, so we saw plenty of female elk throughout the ride through the park, but around 10pm, we almost hit one that decided he’d like to hang out in the road. He was huge. He moved quickly and ran beside the road so we could see him very well. Luckily I was driving with the anticipation of seeing something in the road and the car behind me was giving me enough room for braking quickly. Towards the end we came to a random street light with a guy holding a SLOW sign underneath it. We waited and waited and waited. Then this line of cars comes out of the darkness with this construction pick up in the lead with a flashing yellow light. He turns around and all the other cars keep going past us. The truck swings around and pulls into the road in front of us with a sign that read Pilot Vehicle. Follow Me. That was a pretty strange experience. The road was really steep and winding and it was really dark. All you could see next to the car were construction cones and cliffs the whole way.

The real bummer was coming through Mammoth Springs. Completely dark. What was interesting is that we were headed on a steep decline for what felt like an hour. What the heck did we miss? I have no idea. I have a feeling that we went through some pretty cool mountains, but we couldn’t see a thing. The only things we saw after Mammouth Springs was a coyote crossing the road and a whole mess of oil and coal refineries along the side of the road.