The trip to Montana/Wyoming was dual-purpose: to attend Henry and Kyra’s wedding (yay!) and to see Yellowstone for the first time (yay!).
The rented Ford Fiesta!
Arriving at Henry and Kyra’s wedding includes a free hay ride across a field.
The wedding reception. The first thing you see is this bouncy house.
The cake!
Henry and Kyra! In what I would nominate as one of the most creative parts of their ceremony and reception, the bride and groom served water to their guests as a symbol of their future lives of service.
The getaway car.
Fearless leader number one. I owe Josh a big “Thank You!!” for yet another awesome whirlwind tour of the Northwest.
Fearless leader number two. Another huge “Thank You!!” to Traci and her parents for being Yellowstone experts and saving us from having to bring a tent and sleeping bags on the plane. And for the good food! (Josh took this photo.)
The wedding ceremony was on the banks of the Yellowstone River.
Driving from Bozeman to Yellowstone. (Josh took this photo.)
Finally to Yellowstone! (Jeff took this photo.)
The second bison we spotted. I heard to expect traffic jams because herds of them would camp out in the middle of the street, but we never saw more than two together, and probably saw about five total. (Josh took this photo.)
In the Old Faithful Inn. We arrived just in time to see the last bits of water falling back to earth—we’d just missed it. So we had about 90 minutes to wander the gorgeous inn.
The visitor center.
The lodge. (Jeff took this photo.)
One of the many misconceptions I had about Yellowstone was that the geysers were far from each other. It was so cool to see steam rising from the earth on all sides.
Old Faithful! We got to see the geyser just after sunset, then had to zip back out of the park to our campsite at Beaver Creek, near Quake Lake.
Isn’t this a fantastic photo? Jeff took this photo from our campsite.
Camping breakfast pancakes. With peanut butter and strawberry-rhubarb jam. Soooo good.
One of the highlights of this camping spot is the wildflowers.
Monday morning we said goodbye to our awesome hosts/tour guides and set out to see the waterfall. Every once in a while there will be a small traffic jam on each side of the road, with people standing on the shoulder pointing their cameras into the forest. It was kind of nice, actually, because I couldn’t drive past any good wildlife sightings. (Jeff took this photo.)
Yellowstone bus. (Jeff took this photo.)
Walking to the waterfall.
The waterfall! From Artists Point.
It does my heart good to see people taking pictures of Mustangs. Or maybe the Mustang was just between the lens and the hot springs. Either way. (Jeff took this photo.)
United States Post Office! Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. (Jeff took this photo).
Female elk? Lots of them. Sleeping on an island in the middle of the main road through the civilization near the north entrance to the park. (Jeff took this photo.)
“For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People.” The gate at the north entrance to Yellowstone, the first national park in the United States. (Jeff took this photo.)
The town just outside the north entrance to Yellowstone. (Jeff took this photo.)
Back in Bozeman. It was time for lunch. And I remember Michael Lee telling me about MacKenzie River Pizza and how it is The Best. So I just had to see for myself. I ordered a cheese pizza and they asked “Sourdough, wheat, or white?” for the crust. I picked wheat. Hopefully that was the right one. (Jeff took this photo.)
We picked up the pizza and raced back to Helena to catch our plane. I wish I had a camera with me inside—the restaurant was done so well that I think the aesthetic would work as an appetite stimulant. (Jeff took this photo.)
The pizza was good! So good we almost forgot to take a photo until it was almost all gone. I will say, however, that, cheese for cheese, Mack and Manco probably still holds the top spot. Unless I was supposed to get a sourdough crust or something. (Jeff took this photo.)
Driving to Helena. (Jeff took this photo.)
Driving to Helena. (Jeff took this photo.)
Jeff took this photo. Because I asked him to. Good work!
Water in Yellowstone. Old Faithful, Old Faithful runoff, and the waterfall.