Yellowstone Adventure

Yellowstone in winter. Great animal spotting and no crowds. You can ski to geysers! Sounds great. This trip to me actually sounds Bucket List worthy. Then I realized there was only one entrance, and to reach the Lamar Valley would take two days hard driving pulling our winter prepped Vintage travel trailer that Marsh and I have affectionately named Calamity Jane. We knew our heater would keep us warm. We knew we had the the proper clothes. We were concerned about winter driving conditions and bitter cold. The trip has been postponed a few times over the years, but finally we decided this was an appropriate Covid destination, and getaway.

Our route took us through Couer d’Alene first and then we stopped at a small mountain on our way to Missoula, called Lookout Pass. For $50 we had a great few runs. We spent a few hours in Missoula, and Bozeman and then headed toward Gardiner, MT. and Yellowstone.

We camped at Mammoth Hotsprings. It was $10 a night and there were heated bathrooms! We were alone. We hiked to the hot springs almost immediately, and saw our first Elk. We skied that night and everyday afterwards. Cross country cruising with binoculars around our neck. Deer, Elk, Bison, Antelope, Golden Eagles and Bald Eagles. What we really wanted to see was a Wolf. Yellowstone reintroduced wolves in 1995. There were wolf trackers in the park. Most with spotting scopes, some with collar tracking equipment. We followed their cars and searched with binoculars. Stopping at pullouts through the Lamar Valley. The first night we heard them, and it was clearly NOT a pack of coyotes.

For three days we cruised the Lamar highway, stopping to ski at Black Tail Deer Rd. We ate lunch in Cooke City. One night we drove out of the park and soaked at Yellowstone Hot Springs. That night we ate dinner at my new fave cafe Wonderland. Lots of distance between us and the other diners, and we enjoyed wine and someone else’s cooking.

On our last morning we decided to sneak in one last ski and one last cruise looking for my “bucket list” wolf. At 8 am and the temperature reading 1 degree we found him. Can you see him?

So despite the wind, the cold, the miles, the lack of restaurants, the close quarters, and the troubling National news we occasionally turned on, Yellowstone was amazing.

A true once in a lifetime experiance. The next get away will likely involve a warm surf….