there is no way to describe yellowstone national park. i mean, really, it is such vast country, so magical and filled with animals as they should be: in a natural habitat! well, as natural as having 3 million people that visit yellowstone every year can be. i could really just have this post be images..i'll do my best.
step one upon entering yellowstone: do NOT molest the animals
we start off with a long horn sheep sighting…and then this beautiful view
on we go to mammoth hot spring, along with everybody else and their dog. oh wait, that was montana…scratch the dog.
eric deemed this quaint river the perfect spot for a safety meeting. so chill, so beautiful.
then we went to check out the lower falls. holy shit, this was amazing. i instantly go into day dream mode, imaging someone going over the falls in a wooden barrel. ugh, i watch too many films...
at certain points in our day at yellowstone, i felt like i couldn't even absorb what i was seeing. the colors are so magnificent and there are views i just have never seen. i felt like i couldn't take it in, couldn't make out what it was that was in front of me. all i can say: it is magic. a true natural wonder.
we did a nice, quiet hike almost to inspiration point, which i found to be a strange name….what about this place is NOT inspirational? either way, i was inspired at inspirational point.
we saw some pretty sweet bison too. i saw a couple that eric missed, so i am glad that the park is still rather populated with bison so eric could see some too. they are wondrous beasts!
then we went to sulphur caldron. while eric enjoys the smell, i do NOT!
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| ewwww, that's naaaasty |
still, it is so interesting to see!
next stop: the mud volcano!
this was less smelly and totally visually captivating. i mean, the colors of this thing are unreal!
then to the dragon's mouth! which had the creepiest sound, i am not sure i would say it was dragon sounding per se…i would rename it: horror movie soundtrack. anyway...
the sites continued to amaze us, even as we were on our way out.
and then we saw these guys!
it was a long day of driving before we reached meeteetse, wyoming. but such wonder lay in store for us...
i got to meet one of eric's friends, the most lovely, sara. she took us along with her dog, sadie, to a great camping spot in the shoshone national forrest.
one of the many things i love about the west, things such as this: you can camp here, in such beautiful country for 14 days…for free. totally amazing.
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| eric and sara: this lady rocks! |
this place was so beautiful, i could hardly believe it.
we unload some shit in the van and set up the bed. we start a fire and settle in to our new home. sara had brought along some elk that she had hunted herself (dude, even as a vegan, this chick is totally my hero!) which she cooked on the open fire. eric said it was fantastic! we made some food, had a beer, then some whiskey, then some wine. um, that is what you do when you are camping? we told stories around the fire and i fell into my latest fascination and trying on of pyromania. i will totally stoke your fire, dude!
the next morning, sara took us to an awesome spot, the old mining town of kirwin. like i said, sara is totally my hero. she just drove her subi right through rivers without batting an eye.
on our way to kirwin, we saw a moose and her little baby. it was so awesome!!
when we get to kirwin, it is like be transported into the past. i can't imagine what life was like here, back in the day. i have always thought mining must be extremely difficult anyway, but then to live on this land, yikes!
we explored the remaining (and rehabbed) structures, which were pretty cool, but also kind of creepy.
it was super cool to see old school log cabin building techniques. clearly, they are built for the long haul! fascinating...
we went into some creepy, old dilapidated structures. of course, i had to try out their tools, got to earn my keep….
we had to check out the old timey, loo situation. apparently, you could take a shit with your friends or your lover in this mining town. no way!
i get it. you could have a conversation or make out, while doing the doody.
we return to our lovely campsite and say our farewells to sara.
now, this is the part of the story that is the yang to the super fun time traveling yin. we depart meeteetse, wyoming having no idea that this entire day would only decline in comfort and enjoyability. it begins with a flat tire about 10 miles south from where we started. having been spoiled by our last flat in new mexico, this experience is quite different. just so y'all know, we are aware that a spare tire is a vital possession of one who is on the road for extended time. we know, we just don't have one.
apparently, AAA in the middle of no where wyoming isn't as responsive? with some initial frustration, we accept our fate of being stranded on the side of the road in a desserty climate, that the gig in laramie is no longer possible, that our day will clearly be modified. i took some clippings of wild sage bush and experienced the joys of alleviating oneself on the side of the road. we set up a blanket and relaxed, i taught eric some crochet techniques. after 4.5 hours, a truck showed up. he was a really nice man who came from an hour away. we would like to go to the nearby (in wyoming terms mind you) town of thermopolous, as we were hoping to turn this day around by ending it in some hot springs. we get to a tire place and are still in decent spirits. we walk around the town of 'thermop"--as the locals call it.
we go to the local health food store, talk to to a sweet girl who makes us smoothies. eric is a little bummed of the cost of his new tire, but all is alright, we are head to a hot springs! what better to have a nice soak while we refigure our plans? we head out for this reprieve. as we pull up to the hot springs, we dig around our packs for swim suits as this is a public bath house. find the towels and we are ready! we head up to the door to find that it is indeed closed. enter despair and rapid decline of spirit stage left…
with our plans totally altered, our spirit lifter diverted….now what! fatigue and irritability come upon us like tsunami waves. and the slow meltdown of both of us begins, taking turns of who will carry the tantrum torch. the day nearing an end and we still aren't sure where we are going to stay since the possibility of driving 5 hours at this time of day is no longer an option. some scrambling and google searching, we find free camping in a public park in a town 2 hours away in lander, wyoming. we head there, but our moral is crushed. a good sparring match ensues and we are both stung by misunderstandings. i have to say in the 5 months eric and i have been traveling together, this is the first night we slept apart. i think that is a great run! we just needed our space to get our own shit together. i wanted to sleep in the tent, test out my latest sleeping pad and just read a book, get my head together. eric also needed this time for himself. we have definitely realized one thing on this trip: the need for our own time and space. for us to pursue our creative endeavors, we especially need this. i look forward to implementing this newly found discovery in our lives down the line.
we wake in the morning, feeling much better. we decide that we still deserve the hot springs reward and head to the town of saratoga, wyoming. on my leg of driving, of course, i get pulled over by a very stereotypical western cop, in the middle of no where wyoming. let me tell you this one in person, as their are some very critical reenactments involved. lets just say, he was condescending, threatening and kind of hilarious, but nothing more than ' a good talking to' occurred. he told me to 'keep my head where the sun is shining' and then walked away. i'll be sure not to go 69 mph in the middle of the dessert, with no signs of life, including many cars, ever again dude.
on we go to the saratoga hobo pool! for free, of course!
it was nice to have a shower before going into the hobo pool, i already felt better. actually, this pool was incredibly hot…kind of too much for me.
that is the thing about nature, kids. you can't turn down this heat! i actually enjoy the outside stream/pool better. i like the natural environment and the temperature was much more comfortable to me.
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| blessed out! |
we dizzily leave the springs and decide to go to laramie anyway, as they have an awesome veg restaurant and we could really use a good meal.
laramie, wyoming, most known to me as the place where matthew shepherd was murdered. we pull up to 'sweet melissa's' and it seems like a cute, progressive towns against my expectations.
while we are getting settled in with our massive order of veg comfort foods, eric goes to the cold creek coffee company to apologize for missing the gig.
it sure is a shame that eric nassue couldn't make it for this…
sweet melissa's is fantastic. we get a chashew queso to start, eric has a pizza and i get a tempeh blt wrap with an awesome green salad.
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| can't see much here, i ate that shit up! |
it is amazing how this good food revives us! and then check this out:
um, so obviously, we had to get it!
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| unfortunately, it was as good as it looks. i can't wait to go home and make my own bread pudding! |
then off we go to boulder to go camping with some friends! next stop: colorado!!
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