Day 7-- June 9--Laurel, MT to Yellowstone, MT & WY

We got up early this morning to get on the way to Yellowstone.  It started out very rainy and cold.  Our ride was beautiful in spite of the rain.   After about an hour it seemed like we ran out from under the rain and fog and into blue skies.  We got to the Bear Tooth Highway and started our climb.  And climb is the correct word for it, too!  We wound around and around and with each turn and climb the scenery was more magnificent that before.  The higher we climbed, the colder it got and the deeper the snow got.  Yes, I said SNOW!  Check out the pictures.   

We begged Daddy to stop so we could have a snowball fight!  We bugged him enough until he stopped.  What fun! It even started to snow while we were on our way up.  The temperature?  32 degrees! We got almost two thirds of the way up and stopped at a turnout to take pictures.  When we were on our way again, the road was barricaded.  We couldn’t get through because the snow had not been cleared off the road.  We had to go all the way back down and reroute our way to Yellowstone.  Our drive got even longer!   There wasn’t a sign at the beginning of the Bear Tooth Highway telling us the road was closed, and we were glad afterwards that there wasn’t because the drive was breathtaking—both ways!

Many miles and hours later we finally reached Yellowstone.  

 It’s almost unbelievable all the sights we saw.  Our first sighting was of a bison, then a moose, then more bison, then elk, then more bison, then too-man-to-count bison, then bison on the roadway, then bison babies!  Get the picture?  WE SAW LOTS OF BISON!  We also saw beaver, rabbits, magpies, ravens, pronghorns and mule deer. 

The geysers and running rapids were also beautiful.  Of course, the most famous geyser of all, Old Faithful, was perfect!  We couldn’t have timed it better.  We arrived at Old Faithful, walked across the parking lot, and there she blew!!!  It was almost like it was waiting just for us.  Then we went up to the visitor center and waved at Carter, Craig, and Barbara in the webcam.  Then a little later we waved at Wayne, Kirsten, Hunter, and Grace in the webcam.  How cool is that??

We’re just now leaving Yellowstone at 6:00 p.m. (8:00 your time) on the road to Idaho…a six hour drive.  Yea, it’s late, very late, and this Mama is typing this as we drive.  When we get to Idaho, sometime in the wee hours of the night, when you guys are fast asleep…..

(Can you tell how tired I am?) … I will post this.  Hopefully, our drive will be uneventful.  I’m sure at some point we’ll get a nap, all except for Paul!  We’ll be in BIG TROUBLE if HE takes a nap since he won’t let us help him drive!  That’s my two-cents worth, since he just said I had to get my 2-cents in! 

(Make sure to go to the link on the left for 'Our Pictures 2' to see all our great shots from this day and for future posts.)

Good night, all!