EXPLORE // Yellowstone Day 2

EXPLORE // Yellowstone Day 2

• Wednesday, June 24, 2015

 I previously wrote about an excursion I took to Yellowstone a few weeks ago (read more on Day 1 here), and I'm back to recap Day 2! We spent the night at an affordable but pleasant motel and woke up early to grab breakfast before heading back into the park.

For the second day, we headed the opposite direction and ended up hiking Bunsen Peak. Poor Ruth...I'm the one who pretty much dragged us up the mountain, although I'm about 90% sure she ended up appreciating the achievement at the end. The other 10% probably wants to kill me, but ya know, you live and learn! Haha, at least the views along the way were spectacular. Repeated promises of "We're almost there, I'm sure of it," kept us climbing up the 8,000+ elevation until she finally shook her head and admitted it was closer to just climb to the top than go back.

 

 

 

 Now, the snow ridden photos above deserve some explanation, because this is probably my favorite memory from the trip. The trail had been covered by snow and piles of rocks ready to slide away. However, we nit picked our way to the top, all the while wondering: How the hell are we going to get back? The answer, my friends, is to plop down on your butt and slide down. There was a good sized hill where a mixture of euphoria and panic intermingled as I raced down, losing a touch of control and feeling uncertain as to whether I'd stop or not. I dug my elbows and heels in, however, and was able to come to as graceful a stop as possible under the circumstances.
Lesson learned? Bring snow shoes next time.

 Once we dragged our sweaty bodies back to the parked car, we slumped into our seats and drove the rest of the way to check out Mammoth Springs. Sadly, the springs weren't in full force, and we were met with a less than impressive trickle. Ah well, it was still a fascinating sight!

Our two day trip to Yellowstone was a fun time, and I'm glad we managed to make the drive! Sadly, since then, Ruth has moved and I already miss having a fellow adventurous soul to go exploring with. However, I'm planning on visiting her at the end of summer (which I'll definitely create an "Explore" post for if it happens), and until then, there's plenty more to discover on my own!

What did you think of this post? Have you been to Yellowstone?