Day 29: My Day at Yellowstone
A-MAZ-ING! If you’ve never been, you must go. If you have been, you should go again. Soon.
Along with a pet elephant and an ostrich ranch, I would also like to have some buffalo one day. I saw more bison today than I did at the bison refuge earlier in the week. They just roam around freely in the park. In fact, sometimes you have to wait for long periods, until they get out of the road, so you can drive by. One got so close that I thought he was going to stick his head through the car window! (Admittedly, I got a little scared - after all, the rangers make a big deal about all the tourists getting gored to death each year.)
We drove a little over 150 miles through the 2 million+ acre park. We saw the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and several vista points/views of the lower falls; the paintpots; and old faithful. All the wildlife, trees, geysers, and hot spring are breathtaking. We left the park through the East Entrance, which I think had only been open a week or so this year. There was still a lot of snow on both sides of the road. The drive down the mountain was a little steeper than I anticipated. Of course, my mom started freaking out again. I tried to explain that they would not open such a road unless it was safe, but she was certainly not convinced.
Once we left Yellowstone, we drove towards Cody, WY. Naively, I kept commenting how beautiful the drive was. Finally, I had to stop for some picts once we reached the lake. After we got to the hotel, I read that President Theodore Roosevelt had declared this particular stretch of highway the “most scenic 52 miles in America.” Well, I am glad he liked it, too.
Tonight we’re in Cody, WY. Cody is a quite the bustling metropolis in the summer. Right now they are still gearing up for the season. Tomorrow we’ll drive to see Devils Tower.
