Yellowstone

After Crazy Horse we drove through a corner of Wyoming and a whole lot of Montana before arriving in the sleepy but quaint town of Livingston. Along the way, the landscape changed from flatlands to rolling hills to full on Rocky Mountain highs. The first glimpse literally took our breath away. They just pop- out of nowhere- into these majestic, snow-capped, postcard-ready monoliths. I have to say, I was more taken aback by the sight of the Rockies than I ever was with the Himalayas. And I think that says something.

First Glimpse

After a great dinner in downtown Livingston, we drove one hour south to the North Entrance to Yellowstone National Park. From the moment we drove in, we could understand why this was set aside as the country's first protected area. The cliffs jut out of the ground at what seems like 90 degree angles, the trees holding on sideways like it's some sort of geologic roller coaster. There are expanses of Prairie still covered in snow save for steaming hot springs of boiling, bubbling water that eat little craters into the otherwise untouched field of white. It looks more Middle Earth than Midwest.

Also- no joke- there are buffalo everywhere. I had never seen one in real life before, but today we had more than one pretty close encounter (click to play).

 

A place so untamed and vast puts a lot of things in perspective. The mountains we make our problems out to be are nothing compared to the ones here.