The inherent problem with naming a blog post Part 1 is that you must have a blog post named Part 2. And when you allow practically two months to elapse between Part 1 and Part 2, you inevitably end up feeling guilty. Not to mention, you struggle to remember the subject you were blogging about since it feels like it took place half a lifetime ago. Such is the spiral I am attempting to pull myself out of to compose this post for you. Bear with me.
I told you all about the first half of our summer vacation in Part 1, including all of the great sites we visited in South Dakota. But we also saw equally amazing things in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho.
Adventuring, Part 2 – Tips for Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho Travel
- So, you know you’re in for a weird experience when you visit a place called Devils Tower. And this rock formation is just that – weird. A lot of the sites that we visited on this vacation had a heavy evolution, Big Bang theory focus to them, but at this site, I found it ironic that scientists really couldn’t come up with any explanation for how Devils Tower came to be. Go figure. The Native American tale is quite entertaining – something to do with Indian sisters being chased by their brother who turned into a bear, the bear clawing the tree that they escaped into, and the sisters turning into stars. Something like that. Anyway, it’s a bizarre-looking site, and something you should definitely check out. The hike around the base was nice, but took forever. We thought we were 3/4 of the way finished when we reached the halfway point. Ugh. Also, this was the first (and probably only) time on the trip that we felt hot!
- Let me take you back a few weeks prior to our trip. As my mom master-planned our routes, it became increasingly difficult since Google Maps wouldn’t show the distance and drive times between some of our destinations since the roads were still closed for the winter. Yes, you read that correctly – FOR THE WINTER!!! One of these such roads was a scenic drive called the Beartooth Highway that we were planning to take on our way from Billings, Montana into Yellowstone National Park. I have fond memories of Mom sending me an article about Beartooth Highway just five days before we left on our vacation where they wrote about frantically trying to open the pass and reattaching hundreds of feet of guardrail to the roads all accompanied by pictures of massive snowplows in a world of white. It seriously looked like Queen Elsa just had a major freakout. I’m not kidding. You can see for yourself here. Needless to say, we were understandably concerned and seriously considered skipping this drive. Oh, what a tragedy that would have been. This drive is a jewel, and the way we were able to view it in all its snowy glory was an experience of a lifetime. I can’t adequately put into words how remarkable it was. Just see for yourself, but note that the pictures don’t do it justice.
- Every American needs to visit our national parks. This I am convinced of. They are just awe-inspiring. So diverse and unique. We are blessed to have these parks set aside for us to enjoy. Yellowstone is just mind-boggling. There are so many different aspects to it, that it can be a bit difficult to take in. We spent about three days in Yellowstone. Of course, Old Faithful is the big tourist attraction here, but there are PLENTY of other geysers throughout the park that are equally as thrilling. Old Faithful’s got the height thing going for it, but I think we were more intrigued by the pools, paint pots, and geysers that were unique colors, gave off interesting odors, physically made the air around them warmer, or made cool noises. Basically, just take the different geyser drives and walks and see what you can see. Personally, I think it beats sitting around for 45 minutes with hundreds of other people to wait for Old Faithful to decide to blow its top. But that’s me. Other highlights were driving through and picnicking in Lamar Valley (fields, wildflowers, streams, buffalo), visiting and shopping at the beautiful lodges in the park (we weren’t lucky enough to stay in them, but they were fun to see), walking alongside Yellowstone Lake, and spotting several elk, moose, and bear (buffalo and antelope were old hat at this point, so we no longer cared about them 😉 ).
- Did I mention there are a lot of tourists in Yellowstone? And that they like to take a lot of pictures? In head-scratching, what-are-they-thinking, sometimes death-defying poses? Here we are making fun of them. Sometimes we’re not very nice.
- Just outside of Yellowstone, things tend to be a little, how shall I say it? Hokey? Sketchy? Interesting? Yes, that’s the word I’ll go with. Interesting. We had our first elk and bison burgers at the town pub, The Slippery Otter. Cleanliness is not the first descriptor that comes to mind, but with a name like The Slippery Otter, what do you expect??? We also attended the rodeo in Cody, WY. This was not our first rodeo (I mean that literally, not figuratively…), so we knew what to expect, but I think that way of life always shocks me. Entertaining, to be sure, but who lets their little bitty kid go out into the arena with the rodeo clowns when the cowboys are riding the bucking broncos??? It boggles my mind! Fun, but still strange…
- Also, for the record, Ben and Olivia are unfathomably slow when it comes to getting ready in the mornings. Here’s how each and every day began: Mom yells at Ben and Olivia to get up, Ben and Olivia move at the speed of slugs, Dad and Megan wait and wait and wait, Mom yells some more, Ben changes his socks for the fifth time, Olivia can’t find something, Mom puts the fear of God into them, we somehow make it out the door before the end of time. See for yourself.
- After we had our fill of Yellowstone, it was time for some relaxation and a change of pace. We headed to Driggs, Idaho, which is a small town in the middle of nowhere, right on the border of Wyoming. Here we rented a luxurious cabin (I use that word very liberally) where we had plenty of room to spread out, cook our own meals, play with the house sound system and intercom, and soak in a breathtaking mountain view. We were so spoiled. From here, we took a day trip to Jackson Hole which was such fun. We enjoyed the shops as well as the food! Cafe Genevieve was a delightful place to stop for lunch (must try the Pig Candy Salad and the Watermelon Lemonade!). I also had the best coffee of my life at Persephone Bakery. Honey Lavender Lattes. They haunt my dreams in a beautiful way. I may or may not have bribed my father to let us drive through Jackson Hole on our way back home just so I could indulge in another one of those cups of liquid goodness. Oh, my heart. Our second day in the area, we split up – boys vs. girls. The boys took a fly fishing trip with a local fisherman. They had such a good time together, learning about fly fishing and catching a few fish to boot. The girls piddled around the cabin, took the late, great town of Driggs by storm (by this I mean visiting the Corner Drug Store for milkshakes – they’re known for their Lime Freezes FYI), and cooked our mountain men a spaghetti dinner. Side note – despite Driggs’ size, they do actually have a very trendy, hipster-vibe restaurant that we enjoyed – Forage. We had some tasty salads, sandwiches, and hummus (?!?) here. Who knew?
- We spent our very last day in perfection. We took a float trip down the Snake River, and it was stunning, cathartic, just lovely. When I say float trip, don’t confuse it with whitewater rafting. Ben wanted to do that, but the river was way high, fast, and cold, so no thanks. This was to be a nice, leisurely raft ride, but because the river was moving so fast (from all of the snow melt of the worst winter they’ve seen in that area for about 20 years), our 3-hour tour (get it, ha ha) was shaved down to 1.5 hours. Whew! So neat to view the mountain range and wildlife from the river. Our guide also taught us some interesting things about the river rocks, beds, and trees that I had never considered before. We spent a little bit of time in the Grand Tetons after our raft ride, but at this point we were pretty burnt out on nature and trails so we opted for a driving tour. The Grand Tetons are your nice classic mountains if you want those high, sharp, snowy peaks. Very beautiful. We also visited with Aunt Kara and Uncle Larry on this day, which was so nice to spend some time with them.
And that’s about it! This trip was truly such an adventure. We saw everything across the gamut. It’s constantly amazing to me how diverse God’s creation is. How do you travel so seamlessly between cornfields to mountain ranges, winter wonderlands to arid, desert terrain? It’s a wonder.
I’m so thankful for vacations, God’s creation, and my family. Oh, and coffee. I’m really, really thankful for coffee. It’s merely a necessity after being in a cramped minivan for two weeks. Coffee, we love you and your life-giving, magical properties. Here’s to the next vacation!
scribbles by megan 