Just Passin' Thru: Mine Eyes Have Seen His Glory!

We took a little trip.

Actually it was a combination of a much needed vacation for a hardworking man, a bucket list check-off, and a re-visit of a trip from the past. Besides, Yellowstone is just right over there - in neighboring Wyoming, but by the time we got home, we had put 1400 miles on the truck!

So, it wasn't such a little trip.

All along the way, while we were still a hundred or more miles from Yellowstone, we could see the beautiful Beartooth Mountains still glistening with snow. I took a picture through the windshield about every mile - bug juice and all!

After a few stops along the way, we entered the first National Park in the world -

Yellowstone -

at the north entrance in Gardiner, Montana.

For the Benefit and Enjoyment

of the People

Our other trip to Yellowstone was in 1985 (wow - does that ever seem like several lifetimes ago). We had volunteered to help build a church in Sundance, Wyoming and decided to make it a pleasure trip, as well. We restored (at home and on the road all along the way) an old motorhome and took off on one of our few vacations with Yellowstone included.

The wildlife is always the highlight in the park.

The elk's growing antlers were still in velvet.

The grizzlies were too far away for a good picture.

And the mountain goats were high on the mountain.

But the buffalo roamed on the roads - and owned them without a doubt!

I rolled down the window to take a picture of one

and could have almost touched him -

I realized how dumb that was when I was right beside him.

He says there were 150 in this herd and that he was close enough for a good shot

(with a gun not a camera).

My absolute favorite thing about Yellowstone is the geysers

(geothermal hotspots - hot tubs - boiling water - steam)

coming from the ground.

Here's an faithful old geezer

waiting for a faithful old geyser

(Hah!)

We actually missed the "Old Faithful Show". I guess he didn't get the memo about show time, because he was 15 minutes early and we were still in the gift shop!

(Old Faithful's couisn!)

All through the park, we caught glimpses of the Beartooth Mountains.

When we left the park on that other trip, we passed by a museum in Cody Wyoming that turned our chauffeur's head and almost made him cry because he was missing it.

He said it was the largest collection of Winchester Firearms anywhere.

But we didn't have time to stop.

So this trip - it was our destination - we weren't going to miss it this time.

The museum was 5 in one -

Buffalo Bill

Western Art

Plains Indians

Natural History

and

Firearms

We were there when it opened at 8 am

and we closed it down at 6.

It was probably the best museum that I have ever seen.

The Plains Indian exhibits were excellent - but I didn't take many pictures.

Cody is an interesting town, just oozing with history and lore.

AND there's a Buffalo Bill on every street corner!

We took the scenic route out of Cody on the casual advice of a local.

(That's a drive by shooting!)

Were we ever surprised!

Because we found ourselves in the middle of the Beartooth Mountains!

and lots and lots of snow!

People were up there snowmobiling, skiing, sledding, and boarding -

the first week of June!

We saw a spot up on a mountain and I zoomed in with my camera to see what it was.

It was someone taking pictures of a snow boarder!

We stopped at a little store at the top of the world for gas

(That's my man in his short britches, my truck, and my North Dakota license plate!)

I was ready to recommend that every one of you go to Yellowston and take the scenic route, when I realized that the snow was what made it so great and that they had received a lota lota of snow just the weekend before. We just happened to be at the right place at the right time.