No Thru Traffic

Ah, Yellowstone. It was our most anticipated destination and boy were we excited to get there. Unfortunately, the trek required that we ride through yet another windy mess of a thunder/rainstorm.

Along the way, we rode past the guest ranch that I stayed in during my first Red Bull training and the lake that they took me wakeboarding on in very similar terrible weather almost four years ago. Its weird returning to places that you thought for sure you would never see again in your life, and recognizing the details that you’ve forgoten since you left.

We took refuge in a delicious Subway in West Yellowstone and watched two of the most hardcore gamers ever build maps for WOW in the corner with their headphones on. We also discovered that if you work at McDonalds then you are entitled to a discount at Subway as well. Sweet.

The rain let up and we rode into the park at about 5:30, so it was already starting to get a bit dark. In contrast to the weather we have had up until this point, we were surprisingly chilly. And this was before the rain.

We had luckily reserved the last tent site available for a 3-night span and were placed at Bridge Bay campground, about 60 or so miles into the park. Who knew Yellowstone was so big, anyway? Before we could get to our site though we were stuck in a long line of cars that had stopped to look at a lonesome bison. Then it started to rain. So we stood there, straddling our bikes, and got soaked while everyone stopped in the middle of the road to take a blurry picture of a bison’s ass in the dense woods.

It was a good start.

It turns out that the weather is always, or always when we are there, filled with looming clouds and threatening weather. The second day was so wet and hail-y that t-shirt equiped Ryan had to head back to camp to seek refuge as I trudged along in the hail to see Old Faithful bellow steam. While I was out seeing the sights, Ryan’s life was saved as a sensible motorist saw his sorry sight and allowed him to enjoy the dry warmth of their car while the storm passed.

Yellowstone sure is beautiful though – some of the most gorgeous scenery that I’ve ever seen. I loved the diversity of the massive park, the beautiful yet terrifying displays of thermal activity, and the abundant wildlife. It’s just too bad that everyone else loves all these things too as the park was just too damn crowded. Everytime a bison was withing telescope range the road would turn into a parking lot and you would have to sit and wait for sometimes half an hour at a time.

We could have done without the rain greeting us at camp everynight too… it wouldn’t have been so bad if we had some escape other than the tent, as even that refuge became suffocating after a while.

In the end, we both loved Yellowstone, but we would have loved it more if the weather were nicer or if we were the only ones there. It was truly one of the most beautiful places we both have ever seen.

So long, Yellowstone.