Day 9: Yellowstone (pt 1)

Day 9. P got up before I did and went to the ranger station in to verify the daily forecast was snow. Yep, snow. I played with my suffering voice all morning until I realized it was a little painful, at which point we mutually decided to take the morning leisurely. We unpacked our scarves and gloves and head out to find an early lunch before going into the park:

P tried to cheer me up, little did we know we were about to have one of the most magical lunches of the entire trip. Not long after the food arrived, a couple came into the diner and asked if they could share our table. Richard and Mary from England proceeded to entertain us with adventure stories from Yellowstone, their own cross-country, as well as a smattering of Britishisms that were seriously, incredibly adorable.

It turns out these two had also been driving I-80 across America ("We came over on the Queen Mary! We should have hopped a ride with you!") from New York to Seattle, where their grandchildren lived. They might be horrified to see their morning selves on the internet, but it was so wonderful to meet such friendly fellow travelers. It was their second time to Yellowstone, they warned us of all the expenses in the park yet again, and they laughed as they told us all about the marvels of the American landscape. Like our waitress in Billings the previous day, it was such a comfort to meet such open and enthusiastic people willing to share their experience while far away from home. Mary and Richard, may you both live golden lives.

* * *

From lunch, it was straight into the park, the mountains (even further), and the snow. We saw a herd of elk along the road driving in, and pulled over at the first sign of a nature walk. This lead us to the hot springs:

I took another video entering into this part of the park, but I babbled pretty relentlessly in it... so I'm still not quite sure if I will post it here or just in my Flickr. Anyway, the hot springs were beautiful, such a range of colors! It was raining a fat, heavy snow (see below), so we got back to the car and drove for a while, stopping only to pull over by the curb. in Yellowstone they understand that you'll be amazed every 20 feet or so, and provide areas along the road to pull over and take pictures, or just stand in awe (we did a lot of that). Meanwhile, consulting the map... and hoping for a pause in snow, you see how cinematic the whole effect was:

The deeper we got into the park, of course, the bigger the trees...

It did stop snowing after several miles, more from those photographs later... I'm all blogged-out for today.

Also, this:

Now that I've finally finished some of the photo editing, and my first post, just a little reminder that I'll be doing some guest blogging over at Travels with Swatchy too. If you haven't been over to the Swatchy blog, there are more than a few Swatchy owners writing in about their news and adventures around the globe to bring awareness to Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome. To learn more follow this link here. Celeste has posted on Swatchy blog frequently in the past... Swatchy was handed down to come along on my first cross-country journey.

As you know, I had planned this trip with my sister who then couldn't travel by car and had to fly out ahead of time. My parents, too, are still on the east coast and I am so impatient for them to see these sights! On top of that, having a friend with CFS who has welcomed me to post on Swatchy among such exotic locations as Thailand or Zambia or China, even though I'm just traveling through the States... (and another friend I know would just absolutely love this kind of adventure)... so many people I felt we were bringing along with us in spirit through the trip. I can't help but feel like these friends and loved ones helped to get us here safely.

I'm looking forward to the next couple days of Yellowstone posts, though posting has slowed down while I'm job hunting here in Portland. More soon, both here and on Travels with Swatchy, and thanks!

Gardiner, Montana: lost and found

From Billings P and I drove into the mountains for several hours to our destination right on the border of Montana and Wyoming, the town of Gardiner. We stopped quite often to take pictures, explore the changing landscape, and enjoy the 87 degree afternoon before arriving in the colder mountain town. These are pictures from the highway:



Beside myself with a new-found enthusiasm for mountains, we arrived in Gardiner just before sunset (and just before the freezing rain) all charged-up and ready to take on the town. It was still warm, our Comfort Inn was so reasonably priced and had an actual wooden interior (we later were proven correct on all the stories we had heard about prices for... well, everything once you enter Yellowstone), and we still had full hearts and bellies left over from Billings. Our curiosity and excitement brought us out int the surrounding town for a long walk.

There is another town to the south west that also has a gateway to Yellowstone in Wyoming called West Yellowstone that we saw the next day while leaving, but that down was overwhelming in it's tourist-y-ness. The town of Gardiner was small, nestled in the mountains, and more of an RV park/ greasy spoon type town. If P was smitten enough to think about living in Billings, it was Gardiner that charmed me (and still haunts my dreams, I say, with contented sighs).



It was this afternoon I shot a video that was posted here a couple weeks ago (I was probably catching you up with Iowa at the time) where you can hear my fading voice, although at the time I didn't feel sick at all. After the video and these pictures were taken, the winds picked up fast... clouds moved over the mountains... and within no time it was raining a cold, cold rain. At this point in the trip, however, I was so charmed and in awe that even looking back on this part of the trip puts a twinkle in my eye. I may have lost my voice there, but felt incredibly awake and alive. Thank you, Montana!

(currently, in Portland)

Hi all! Just a little check-in from Portland.

This past week I've been getting to know Celeste's friends in the area, and generally absorbing the whirlwind of travel, changes, and socializing over the last month and a half. It is now June, the roses have come into bloom all around the city this week making an even more delicious palate for the eye. Celeste had her first visit with a midwife, I've been looking around at job possibilities, and Lost had it's season finale (whew!) this past week.

I'm doing my best to work on some sketches when I can, very much aware of the trove of paints, inks, pens, papers and general supplies I dug up while in Massachusetts... awaiting my attention. Slowly I'm coming out of travel-mode, considering projects to take up in my evenings and roads leading back to opening the shop.

We have just come back from a delicious brunch at Marcos Cafe here in SW Portland, looking forward to a leisurely day of chores and craft. The blogging from the road trip is almost at an end, though most everything after Little Bighorn was the most fun around every corner. More soon!