Yellowstone Adventures 2022, DAY 1
Yellowstone has been on my and Travis’s list of places to go for a while now. After our Alaskan Cruise in May 2019, we knew this would be the next big trip. As soon as Travis gave me the go ahead, I got busy planning.
PLANNING
First thing to do was ask the Digby’s if they could/would go. Then I contacted my “Old Faithful Friend” Journeys with Jamie. Jamie helped me get the travel arrangements all worked out. Hotel, rental car, and flights were all discussed and planned. Then she replanned the flight after the Yellowstone Airport completely closed down for several months to resurface the runway.
The third part of my planning was just to see what all we would do while in Yellowstone. I mean if you are going to spend that much money to visit, you want to make the most of it and see all that you can and do as much as possible, right?????? Well, I got lucky while I was doing research and discovered the website https://www.dirtinmyshoes.com/ . I recommend this website for anyone planning to visit a national park. It has itineraries written by a park ranger who has traveled to the parks and can give you all the tips and advice needed to make your trip the best. Well worth the money spent!
AND WE ARE OFF TO THE AIRPORT…
After all that planning we were set to go. What was I thinking with a 3:00 am departure from my house to make a 6:05 flight!!!!! Our group departed from Memphis and journeyed to Minneapolis, then Bozeman, Montana. Yes, we had to have a little fun and goofiness on the way. Travis found a “Prince” store in Minneapolis. I didn’t know that he was born there. Of course Travis knew since he is such a FAN.
BREAKFAST … I THINK
Weird collection of breakfast food for sure…from Dunkin Doughnuts to Asian noodles. It was 9:30 am and we had been awake 7 hours so anything goes at this point of travel. RIGHT??????
Everyone knows I take LOTS of pictures so they have all learned to just pose when I say SMILE!!!! Random shots from around the airport, plane, even the bathroom art.
BOZEMAN
Upon departure from the plane, we had no trouble getting our rental van. Travis was not sure on driving a van again but went along with it for the team. The nice lady at the Alamo rental recommended we eat at Sidewinders. Seldom pass on food recommendations so off we went to Sidewinders.
While waiting on food I took pictures of the restaurant. The brussel sprouts were a little tough and they gave them to us free. Travis had pasta and I ate a burger. The ambiance was better than the food.
COOL DECOR….. BETTER THAN THE FOOD
Can anyone go on vacation without going to Walmart??? We try but only have about a 50/50 success rate. Stocked up on cases of water and snacks to take with us while driving through Yellowstone.
After checking in to our hotel in West Yellowstone, we decided to just take a preview trip into the park. Little did we realize……. The temperature was in the mid 40’s when we arrived in West Yellowstone to check in but it dropped quickly and started snowing. I don’t mean light snow either. Travis, who is the trip chauffeur, would have turned around if the three of us riding had not been so excited. The cold weather and snow must have been an incentive for the animals to wander out. We were able to see a grizzly bear and bison on the way to Old Faithful. Surprise, surprise there was NO ONE standing out by the geyser. Could it be because the temperature had dropped into the high 20’s? None of our group was dressed for the turn in weather. Everyone’s feet got wet, toes and fingers froze and overall chilled to the bone.
However, we were dedicated. After driving all that way, we wanted to stay to see Old Faithful erupt. Sadly, it got dark about 5 minutes before the eruption. When it finally blew, I thought it resembled a tornado. At 9:30 we headed back to the hotel with the heat blowing on HIGH. I do believe that Travis drove over the speed limit of 45!! The slightly warmer but still wet crew arrived back at the hotel around 10:45 pm. Remember this is about 21 hours since the journey began with only short naps on the plane. Everyone CRASHED since we had to begin again tomorrow before 8.
It was a great start to a fantastic trip. The weather was crazy but beautiful. Watching the steam from the geyser, the snow falling, the grizzly bear, bison, elk, and an eagle before we every even started our itinerary was all so wonderful. Can’t wait to see what the rest of the trip brings!!!
