A Yellowstone Summer

    June and July were good months to be in Yellowstone, and even though August was the stormy season, it had cooler temperatures while still being warm.  The wildflowers were blooming, the days were sunny, and it hardly ever rained (except up in Canyon--if you ever plan to go to the Canyon area of Yellowstone, get everything done in the morning.  It almost always rains in the afternoons.)  But then we had a flash flood mixed with snowmelt that closed the park down for 2 week.  It was strange driving through the park and seeing the roads empty.  We weren't allowed to do any "adventuring" in the park in the days right after the flood, so we booked a hotel in Cody for two nights and went on a mini vacation.  We visited the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, which was really cool.  The five-museums-in-one was really cool, and I learned a lot about the Buffalo Bill and the Wild West.  I definitely recommend it--you get your money's worth. My favorite section was the Draper Natural History Museum, but there was also an art museum, firearms museum, Native American museum, and of course; a Buffalo Bill museum.  On our second trip into Cody, we went to a Western photo parlor, which was one of my favorite things I've done while RV-ing.  I'm a big 1800s girl and history buff, so wearing one of the fancy Victorian dresses and boots was so awesome I teared up--no joke. 

The first RV! This covered wagon had a bed, stove, and storage.

Replica of Buffalo Bill Cody's tent while he was traveling with his Wild West show. Several items in the tent were ones he actually owned, like the buffalo rug and desk on the left side of the picture.

Draper Natural History museum. It had dioramas of all the levels of Yellowstone, like alpine and mountain forest.

Mine and Mia's costumes at the Cody photo parlor

    Some of the notable hikes we did during our summer in Yellowstone included Fairy Falls, Yellowstone Lake Overlook Trail, Monument Gesyer Basin hike, and Mount Washburn.  There was so much diversity in Yellowstone.  You could find canyons and cliffs, waterfalls and mountains, and hot springs and geyser basins all in the same park.  

The sign at the top of Washburn

The meadows below Mount Washburn were covered in yellow, purple, pink, and orange wildflowers

A close up of the wildflowers

Grand Prismatic Overlook is a path off of Fairy Falls trail, and is absolutely beautiful. When she sun shone on the hot spring, the colors really popped.

Fairy Falls

I love taking pictures and experimenting with different subjects, backgrounds, angles, and frames

We went past Fairy Falls to Excelsior Geyser, which was so beautiful. It goes off frequently, and since it was a backcountry geyser it wasn't crowded or fenced off. 

We climbed this big hill, which was a challenge but I felt accomplished when I reached the top.

This shows how close I was able to get to a hot spring (of course I was still careful and respectful)

Yellowstone Lake Overlook

Mia my model; today in her cowgirl outfit

She came up with the idea to sprinkle dandelions on the ground in front of her, and it looked so good

Another photography experiment on our way back down the Yellowstone Overlook Trail 😉

Happy to take a break. The hike was super steep, but the view at the top was cool 

The beautiful sky at the top of the Monument Gesyer Basin hike 

The actual Monument geyser basin. This was another back country geyser basin

Natural Bridge is a short but steep hike to-you guessed it- a natural bridge with a tiny waterfall running underneath it. 

One windy day we hiked Storm Point trail near Fishing Bridge, and I got this awesome shot of Mia looking out over the wind-whipped Yellowstone Lake

    We went to Grand Teton to hike Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point.  This was a six mile hike (roughly) but was a beautiful trail.  It went partway around Jenny Lake, where several people were paddle-boarding and swimming.  

I took a picture of Mia taking a picture 🤣🤣

If you take a picture of a waterfall on LIVE mode and then turn it on Long Exposure, it makes a gorgeous picture like the one above

This chipmunk was fearless, he came right up to us wanting food

We saw a young bear near Fishing Bridge, it ran right out in front of our truck

There were lots of bison at Mud Volcano, and this one was lying right next to the Volcano itself!

                I got some gorgeous sunset/sunrise photos this summer in Yellowstone, and I'll caption each photo below with where it was taken. 

I took this shot on our way back from Canyon one night

After a long day in Bozeman, Montana, we got to stop and see the sun set over the river and tepees in the distance

This pretty sunset I captured in Island Park, Idaho, was very subtle, but beautiful

On our way to Hayden Valley one morning to go wolf-watching, we got to watch a lovely sunrise over Yellowstone Lake

                

                One weekend we went to Lone Star Geyser, which was a backcountry gesyer that became my mom's favorite.  The geyser was very unique, with two or three minor eruptions before its major erruption, which was powerful and lasted for a long time.  Another day my mom and Mia and I went out to explore the geyser basins around Old Faithful.  We watched Daisy Geyser go off, and then hiked up a small, half-mile trail to watch Old Faithful go off.  We also got to see tiny Solitary Geyser, which is tucked away in the woods, erupt. Its single eruption was caused back in 1915, when park workers decided to tap water from a hot spring.  The water level dropped three feet and the hot spring became Solitary Geyser.  It was such a cool story that gave the little hot spring an unique factor. 

Daisy Geyser

                On one of our last weekends in Yellowstone, we went to Grand Teton for the day.  We had a yummy lunch at the Signal Mountain Lodge, and went to several pull-offs in the park, including Schwabacker's Landing, Chapel of Transfiguration, and Jackson Lake Lodge.  Jackson Lake Lodge was absolutely gorgeous, and definitely worth visiting during a trip to Grand Teton.  Its lobby boasted 60-foot windows looking out on the Grand Teton mountains, and huge fireplaces in the opposite corners of the room.  I could only imagine how cozy the lobby would be in the winter, with snow covering the Tetons and fires lit in the huge hearths.  

Waiting for our lunch at Signal Mountain Lodge

Schwabacker's Landing

Chapel of Transfiguration

                    While we were in Yellowstone, Mia built herself a hut at our campsite.  It was so cute and she loved making it and playing in it.  She made her own appliances, chairs, and toys and we were so proud of how creative she was. 

My mom enjoying a hut-made sandwich 

               On our last weekend in Yellowstone, we did Beartooth Highway.  Due to the flood a couple months back, we had to go out the east entrance through Cody and Red Lodge instead of out the northeast entrance through Cooke City.  However, the drive was lovely, and Red Lodge was a very cute town.  The Beartooth Highway was very high up-my ears kept popping- and had some great views of the surrounding and distant mountains, lakes, and boulder fields.  

One of the beautiful blue lakes on the Beartooth Highway

                So here we are, less than a week from leaving Yellowstone on September 17.  Once we leave Yellowstone, we are headed to California to visit Lake Tahoe and Yosemite National Park; and then to Nevada for my first trip to Las Vegas.  Then we will stop in Cottonwood, Arizona (see my previous post, Caverns, Sand Dunes, and Red Rocks); before heading back to the East Coast to spend Thanksgiving with my family.  Looking back on our past five months in Yellowstone, I am glad we chose to come here and workcamp.  There were definitely challenges, but we got to see the park in a whole new way that would not have happened as just visitors.  I got my first job, and met so many amazing people from all over the globe.  And now I have money to spend on the road!  Though I've enjoyed being in Yellowstone, I've missed traveling. But not much longer to wait now!