Whiteout!

Well it has been an interesting trip to Montana so far. Today we took our first excursion out of Bozeman to Yellowstone National Park. I was really excited to get out and see some of the amazing animals and sites around the park. I wanted to show Roark Cooke City, this small little town on the outskirts of the park to the Northeast where everyone drives snow mobiles. On our way there, we got stopped behind a line of cars, and came to find out from a ranger that a snow plow went off the road and it was going to be a while before they could pull it out.

I wanted to wait it out so we could drive through Lamar Vally where all the animals are. But we decided that if a snow plow ran off the road, it may be best to turn around and visit Mammoth Hot Springs instead. Unfortunately we did not see one bison the whole trip, or my personal Holy Grail of Montana Animals, a moose. We did spot a bunch of elk and pronghorn.


We hiked around the hot springs. They are still visible in the winter because the heat they generate melts the snow around them. Bacteria live in the springs which color the water shades of gold and red. Afterward we headed back towards Gardner, a little town just outside of the North Yellowstone gate, to get some food. We had some drinks, gambled and ate a good dinner at the only place open in town, The Yellowstone Miner. Since it was getting late, we headed on to Bozeman.


The ride home takes you through the Bozeman Pass. Right when we passed through Livingston, a town in the middle of a high wind corridor, the wind started gusting and it began to snow. After a few minutes we were in a complete whiteout where we could not see but 2 feet ahead. We pulled over under some of the only lights on the entire highway contemplating waiting the storm out, until a tractor trailer passed by and we decided to join the convoy of cars following it. We drove about 25 miles per hour positioning the car in the middle of what we hoped was the road. The wind and snow never let up and everywhere we looked was completely white. Even following the cars in front of us, it felt like we were all alone on the road. Needless to say it was a harrowing ride home, but Lynn (Shawn's mom) got us home safe (and just before Grandpa's Hormel Chili and Beans kicked in).