Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Day 15 - Yellowstone (Part 2)

Hi everyone!! Today was our second day here in Yellowstone NP. Ryan and I woke up around 8:30, got all of our gear packed, ate some pop-tarts (thanks ash) and headed out to Yellowstone Lake. We arrived around 11:30 am and rented a motor boat to explore the lake. Ryan’s excitement was beyond containment because he wanted to drive a motor boat ever since we were in Chicago. So we headed out on the lake and had a great time taking in all of the beautiful sights and sounds. The lake was like a sheet of glass and we were one of the few boats out on the lake. All we could see for miles and miles were trees, snow covered mountains, and beautiful sunshine. However, the weather at Yellowstone is quite tricky, so within 45 minutes of us being out on the lake the weather changed. A storm started forming in the south so Ryan and I had to cut our boat trip short and head back into the Marina. So instead of spending 2 hours on the lake we only spent one. It sure was one fun hour on the lake! Later on we found out that the storm would have just skirted past us and we could have stayed out longer. Oh well…

After our boat journey Ryan and I made our way towards Old Faithful to rent some bikes. We stopped off alongside the road to have a picnic. Ryan and I just hung out by the lake, eating our sandwiches, and taking in the awesome view (check out the pictures). After lunch we traveled the rest of the way to Old Faithful and rented some bikes. We took this trail (about 2 miles) down to the main road and decided to do some hiking. We were told there was this awesome waterfall down this trail so we tried to find it. However, after 40 minutes of walking and 100 bug bites later we didn’t see a waterfall anywhere and decided to turn back. On our way back we passed by this HUGE Bison about 10 feet off of the bike trail. I didn’t even stop to take a photo because we just wanted to get past it as fast as possible. The Bison look harmless but they can go from 1-30 mph in the blink of an eye (or so we were told). About a half mile before we got back to Old Faithful the gear box on my bike broke and I had to walk the bike back to the station. It sorta sucked! It just seemed like everything was going half right all day long with the broken gear box and the rain storm on the lake.

After Ryan and I returned the bikes we were famished and went to the General store again for dinner. We had the same waitress Robyn (who was really nice and friendly) from the day before. We told her all about our crazy day, but said things could have been worse. She was telling us how she and her husband travel around in an RV all year and how she has worked at Yellowstone the past 3 summers and has yet to see a bear. I was very surprised by this, and told her that maybe her luck would change. After dinner, around 6pm, we headed back to our Cabin in Mammoth. On our way home we saw a serious motorcycle accident. This woman had apparently lost control of her bike and skidded off the road. There was blood all over the road and people trying to help her. Ryan and I tried to find a park ranger just down the road, but the station had already closed. The accident looked really bad and I’m not sure if the women made it. Ryan and I both agreed that if you get hurt out in Yellowstone your pretty much screwed. The closes hospital isn’t for hundreds of miles!!! After we saw the accident we came across some Bison in the road. One came right up to our car and we could have touched it!! Check out the pictures, it was WAY close!

Ryan and I finally got back to our cabin. I decided to take my first shower in 2 days in the communal shower. It honestly wasn’t too bad. Ryan just didn’t want to have any part of the shared showers and he definitely smells like Buffalo doo right now. After my shower Ryan and I sat out on our porch and watched the full moon rise. We could see so many stars in Yellowstone with very little light pollution around. I could even see the big dipper clear as day. Soon our cabin neighbors came back from their Harley ride and we chatted with them. We told them about our day and they told us how they had seen lots of Buffalo, 2 black bears and a Moose. I told them how lucky they were to see a Moose because apparently it’s pretty rare in Yellowstone. I also found out that the two brothers were Mets fans and I rubbed it in that the Phillies swept the Mets this weekend. Then the brothers from Illinois told us how they have relatives in Ocean City, NJ and how they visit them all the time. I told them how much I loved Mac and Manko and Knor Brothers. They started to rave about Mac and Mankos Pizza. I thought it was so cool that I could be chillin outside of a cabin in Yellowstone Wyoming having a conversation about pizza at the Jersey shore with complete strangers. How crazy!!! Well, off to bed, Ryan and I have a long ride to Seattle tomorrow. Goodnight everyone!

1 comment:

  1. This was my sister in the motorcycle accident and she did survive the accident. An elk ran in front of her and her boyfriend who was driving his Harley. Needless to say she had to be airlifted out of the park to the hospital and she is very lucky to be alive.

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