Yellowstone
In December
Traveling-
We left the house in our unplanned matching outfits, which I not so secretly loved. I would match Josh all the time if he would let me. We took the day to fly into Bozeman and drive to our bnb in Livingston. Once we landed and saw the mountains and snow, we grabbed pizza and went straight to REI because we realized we were not prepared at all. I bought bibs and Josh bought snow pants and we did not regret this. We snuggled up in our cabin and watched the Holiday before bed.
Day one-
The sun sets super early this time of year, so it was dark when we got in at 5:30, but it was also starting to snow and just felt like a movie. We woke early the next morning, packed our snacks and drank coffee on the way to the park. Our cabin was pretty remote, which I loved, so the drive was about 40 minutes to Gardiner and then a few more minutes past that into Yellowstone. The drive was a journey itself. Beautiful mountains and ranches. SO many horses. Our first day was the least snowy, which was nice looking back because we were able to have a clear view of the mountains and valleys.
Once in the park, we drove to Lamar Valley where wildlife is typically spotted. On our way, we saw plenty of Bison and that was the only wildlife we spotted our first day. This has to be because we were just taking in the views and not stopping much. We drove straight through to the NE entrance and it got pretty snowy so we turned around before we got all the way to silver gate. It was so beautiful everywhere we went. We stopped in Lamar Valley and walked as much as we could in the wind then we went to Mammoth Hotsprings. We did zero research on these hot springs so we had no expectations at all and they were incredible - of course. The steam amid the snow, the colors of the rocks the water was flowing down. I’m sure in the warm months the terraces are probably so beautiful, but it was just as stunning in the middle of the snow. It started to snow on our walk around the Mammoth Springs boardwalk, feeling so serene.
We finished our walk and then went to the visitor center for our patches, pins, and postcards. This is a tradition for us at each new park, and I will say it was a bit sad without the kids telling us what to pick out. This was our first trip all year without them- and while we needed the alone time, I definitely missed them. For dinner we went to Gardiner and ate at the Wonderland Cafe, this was our first of three dinners there. It was so yum, especially after a day of snacking on almonds and popcorn in the car. We ate Elk Chili, Jalapeño cornbread, plus an Elk burger. The burger had peppers and spicy sauce so I took one bite and left it alone. The chili and cornbread though, wow. The perfect cozy dinner after a cold day. After dinner, we ran into Park Fly Shop on a whim and rented some snowshoes.
Day two-
Another early morning! Our first stop was the visitor center for a specific map of ski/snowshoe trails. It was a frigid and snowy day and visibility from the car was not near as good as the day before. We drove to Blacktail Platue and figured out how to put on snowshoes. It really wasn’t as hard as we expected, so off we went. It was all white in view, snow still coming down, and so incredibly quiet. Other than our breathing and the snow crunching beneath our feet, there were no other sounds.
I kept stopping just to listen to the silence. We went for a while and eventually saw Elk resting on the hills and heard a lot of howling. We didn’t see anything but it was loud, they must have been close. We followed the trail for about 2 miles before turning around, my legs are tired just typing this out. Listen, josh runs and lifts and does things and I have not in quite some time. We were both a bit surprised at how well I did. Snowshoeing is like hiking with giant feet on uneven ground and through snow. So the extra effort makes two miles feel like five, but it was so worth it. I think my adrenaline was up and it just felt so once in a lifetime that I didn’t give myself a chance to think about being tired. On our way back we passed some cross country skiers and that was cool to see. Maybe one day we'll try it! I would need a lesson first though!
Back at the car we drove more and now it was really frozen outside. Josh was my hero driving in this much snow. The roads were totally ice and thankfully we had good tired and he just did amazing keeping us going. We passed probably 7 cars that had slid off or crashed into one another. They all were getting help and no one was hurt, but it definitely could have been that way with those roads. We eventually saw something scurry on the side of the road near the valley and we both freaked out and said WOLF! (we found out the next day that this was in fact- not a wolf. But we did end up seeing wolves!)
We followed it for a while, always sticking its nose in the snow and just hopping around. So fluffy and cute and it matches the brush perfectly with the gray and red tips. We were so stoked. We drove a bit more and saw another and Josh got so excited that he went to turn around and drove straight off the road. Thankfully we were in the valley and also thankfully we were only stuck for like 60 seconds. With no shovel to dig us out and no phone service, we would have had to just sit and wait it out. Instead, we got to follow our fluffy friends and we ended up seeing 4 that day!
We eventually started noticing a few cars heading out of the park. There were hardly any people in Yellowstone so when the only few cars you do see are headed out, you notice. It was getting really snowy so we decided we should leave too. We saw plenty of cars off the road and we were silent the entire way back. No wonder everyone was leaving, the roads were frozen solid!
Eventually we made it to our spot at the wonderland cafe and ate another warm dinner before heading home to our cozy bed.
Day three-
Ten years married. We planned a guided snowshoe safari trip for this day and it was incredible. Every second was more than worth it. We learned and saw so much. Our guide, Matt, had so much experience and knowledge and we just spent the day asking him questions and letting him show us around.
Our tour started with coffee and homemade scones, while Matt drove us around. We told him we may have seen a wolf and he just said oh do you want to show me a photo? well of course we want to brag about our wolves. Yeah, it was a coyote.... Still cool but hilarious that we truly thought it was a wolf. Within a few more minutes of driving Matt pulled off and showed us a bear hibernating in a little den.
The funniest thing we learned about bears and their dens are that some prepare more than others. Some will remember that winter is coming and they will dig out their dens with plenty of time to spare or even find a naturally carved spot, which is considered the penthouse suite for bears. While others kind of panic and seem to say "oh crap its snowing already" and through something together pretty quick. I loved this thought of bears being a bit like people in their preparations. Some taking their time, making home, and some like oh no here we go!
After seeing the cute sleeping teddy bear that could easily kill us, we drove a few more minutes and Matt passed a friend. We stopped and he shared a scone and his friend shared some wolf information. Turns out that this friend of Matts was Rick Macntire. The wolf master. He writes books of wolves, he studies and knows them and has seen wolves thousands of times. So of course we followed his advice, and went to a special spot and were able to see 8 out of the 100 wolves that live in Yellowstone. One of them also being the current oldest wolf in the park. (Shes only 11, but for wolves I guess that’s basically 98)
They were incredible. They were wagging their tails and happy to see each other, then laying down in the snow, walking all around, it was cute. They were also huge, we could easily see that they were real wolves, unlike our tiny coyote friends.
We stuck with the wolves for a bit and while there we noticed a carcass being eaten nearby, a coyote grabbed a huge elk leg and ran off with it while some Ravens were eating the rest.
When the wolves seemed to be leaving, we kept driving too. We looked for moose but didn’t find any, we drove to Silvergate and the amount of snow was just insane. Up to the windows and covering cars! After our moose hunt, we went to have lunch and hike. Matt set up a picnic lunch under a big douglas fir and we ate and talked.
A few minutes later we put on our snowshoes and went straight out towards the mountains on the untouched land of Yellowstone. We hiked through sage brush, which smelt amazing, then stopped for water on some rocks where a bison skull surprised us all. We kept going around a mountain and followed the Lamar river which met the Yellowstone river.
The views will live in my mind forever and hopefully be framed on my walls one day soon. I’ve never experienced a quiet and a beauty like this. Josh kept asking if I was okay because he would turn around to me smiling. We went for four miles before our loop around the mountain was done and our legs were on fire. The first and last hills were the hardest but when you’re in the middle of beauty like that, you don’t feel the pain.
The day was over and it was time for our anniversary dinner at .... wonderland cafe! I had a Breva with bison raviolli and Josh ate a steak. I still cannot believe these days happened. We both are living in this very aware state of mind that these are once-in-a-lifetime memories. We don’t deserve them, we didn’t earn them, but it is truly a gift from God that we get to experience his earth together. I hope our memories urge others to get out and explore too! Whether it’s across the world, across the country, or across your state.
It’s all worth it and it puts a new sense or worship and wonder in me that wakes me up. It puts me in my right place when I see the mountain tops from down below, how a bear can sleep for months without waking up and still be sustained, smelling sage and juniper trees in the middle of a snowy hike, or how a wolf pack will greet one another with wags and nuzzles. The last few days I kept thinking that if it's this good now, how much better eden must have been. We are only a breath in the grand scheme of things- here on purpose and known deeply, but only here for a moment. I hope we can spend our moments in awe, worshiping, serving, loving, and holding one another up. Passing it from generation to generation - that all may know and tell of the glory of the lord.
