if i didn’t love traveling so much, this whole flight misadventure would put me over the edge to being a non-traveler.
my original flight has been delayed by 2 hours, and i arrived 2 hours early. i will not make that original connecting flight out of denver… but, i think that i’m going to make it home – just late tonight.
i’m sending a big thank you to the nice woman who is also traveling to nashville & told me she had been able to book another flight that had popped up. so, for the last hour i’ve been checking for a sudden empty seat. i got one through dallas, so god-willing – i will make the 2 flights & make it to nashville tonight. desperately seeking christmas travel miracle!
today rounds out the trip. we returned via snow coach to the mammoth hotel stopping at the fountain paint pot trail along the way, walked around the travertine terraces, then drove back to bozeman.
we made it out of the park and hit another little snowstorm along the way. maybe snowstorm is a little hyperbolic, but it was snowing pretty hard. apparently the wind speed can reach pretty fast mph’s through livingston – enough to knock a truck off the road. thankfully we didn’t experience that.
we dropped off the couple at their hotel, and our guide was kind enough to drop me off at my hotel by the airport.
it was a great trip. having never (that i can remember) experienced that intense of cold – i feel pretty good about my ability to survive in a winter apocalypse. 😉
special thanks to mom for having snow pants that she’d never worn. there are several things that really helped out – wool (it really is your friend), layering (seriously key), and foot & hand warmers (a real god send).
leaving the snow lodge for biscuit basincan you find mr. coyote?you can’t see me.i see you.a little downward facing dog.coyote sighting – there is at least one coyote that has become habituated to humans & hangs around the buildingsmorning glory poolwinding our way to biscuit basin’s trailheadcan you tell it’s cold?team bluea break from treesgetting closerarriving at biscuit basinsapphire poolwalking along the BB boardwalk – on the way to the mystic falls trailheadthe start of the trail.somanybeautifultrees…mystic fallssnow snails — snowballs rolling down a hill… surprisingly satisfying trying to get a little snowball to roll all the way to the bottom of a hillon the way back to snow lodgemaybe mouse tracks…a vole holebunny feetanimals we didn’t see, but we knew were there.a few more neat features before calling it a day.
i am not going to be able to upload all the photos tonight. it’s been a long day. it hit record lows last night (-30°s). it may be that someone ventured out for a run early this morning in the coldest temps they’ve ever experienced. i’m not at liberty to reveal my source.
until i get better wi-fi, i’m posting just a few of the really nice views.
i hear nashville is being hit with some winter-y weather. winter storm elliott seems to be causing havoc everywhere. everyone — stay safe if the roads are bad tomorrow.
in fact, i am not sure if i’ll be able to make it home on saturday. please cross all your fingers & toes for me so that i am catch both flights. i’d like to be home for christmas. 🎄
quick aside, we started the morning with no heat – the gas line burst. then, about 20 minutes ago the fire alarm went off instructing us to exit the building. got dressed & went outside. only to find out after about 15 minutes that there was no fire. they aren’t sure why (maybe extreme temps) the first floor only fire alarm & some sprinklers in one corner of the lobby had gone off. it has been an exciting day at the old faithful snow lodge. off to sleep!
i went for a walk around gardiner before we left for the mammoth hotel to catch the snow coach taking us to the old faithful snow lodge. guess who spied me before i spied them? i truly thought they were lawn statues at first.
deer family having breakfastyellowstone river through gardiner
yellowstone has these really cool snow coaches that take you from mammoth hotel to the old faithful complex. it is basically a guided tour through the park. it was a 3 hour drive with stops to look a hot springs & waterfall, along with bathroom breaks.
there was so much to see along the drive to old faithful… trees, bison, hot springs, swans!
we made it! in time for old faithful to put on her show. 30 minutes later, there she blows.
after seeing old faithful, we checked in and found our rooms. i decided to go back out to get the lay of the land, so i walked around to see where everything is. it looks like yellowstone has its own post office!
old faithful at nightthe visitors centerold faithful snow lodge
we started bright & early – driving into the park while it was still dark & the sun was rising. really beautiful.
roosevelt archyellowstone national park: march 1, 1872north entrance of yellowstone national parkmammoth hotel’s map roomdriving to tower falltower fall trailgearing upaspen pinebasalt rockcan you find the grouse?towers in the airfrozen waterfall5-mile snow shoe to tower fallbull elkreturning to gardiner
today, we saw bison, elk, a coyote, 2 bighorn sheep, a grouse, a bald eagle, ravens, and a frozen waterfall. we overheard someone at dinner mention otters… there is always tomorrow.
lots of walking today after a beautiful (super cold) run. i won’t lie – about 20 minutes in, i considered turning back. my fingers and nose were telling me – do we really want to be out here? but, once i found the trail and was up in the sunshine – it was really glorious.
on the edge of town…sourdough ridge loop trailjust in case you think i’m pirating online photos – i was out in the 5° morningmain street to the mountainsi ran by 2 of these… lending library? no – electrical boxmorning run – first brush with fear of frostbite (the fear is real)bogert park feels like you’re far, far away
in the afternoon, i walked from downtown to the museum of the rockies, a smithsonian affiliate and part of montana state university. it was a bit of a haul but worth it getting to see more of bozeman.
montana state university… stadium, i thinkmuseum of the rockies… home to the biggest collection of t-rex specimenbig al, an allosaurus skeletonwalked to the museum through MSU campus
the museum was worth every step. really impressive exhibits, from the native tribes of montana, to the history of settlers, to dinosaur artifacts… plus a planetarium. the special at the planetarium was “season of lights” – astronomy, with an historical perspective of the holiday season.
and, to top off the walk, ran into this lovely episcopal church.
tomorrow starts the snow shoeing adventure in yellowstone. i met up with the group this afternoon. it all starts bright & early, and by noon we’ll be on a trail. i’ll post photos when i have internet this week. there seems to be a good chance of seeing wolves! very excited for any and all animal sitings.
i was supposed to arrive in bozeman about midnight of the 17th, but after a few hours it became clear, i wasn’t making the denver flight. so, back home with a new flight leaving at 5 in the morning.
it was a lesson learned with how travel is these days – start with the early flight.
montana is beautiful. with the first sites of mountains from the plane, and then in the airport – i knew that i had made the right decision to come.
i visited the gallatin history museum & walked around downtown bozeman today. it is a quaint town. the people of bozeman are very friendly – you know me, i can ask a lot of questions, and everyone i spoke with was affable & helpful.
gallatin history museum: old jail housegallatin county court housedowntown bozemanblack-billed magpie: can you find him? main street to the mountains map: lots of trails… wishing i had a car to get to try a few of them outsnow & skieswhere i’m staying with the mountains beyond walking to pick up dinnerstill walking…
i hadn’t intended to add posts for this trip, but in usual fashion… the flight is off to an interesting start.
i’m on my way to visit beth & keith in maine! super excited to see them & to experience their new england life.
before even leaving nashville, the excitement has already begun. not the least of which are the strange conversations that you overhear, or the outfits! someone is wearing leather pants and some long sleeve (but only one long sleeve) crop top combo. i’ve clearly been way sheltered this past year … pun intended.
finally we board, i get settled and the pilot says, “excuse me folks. they forgot to perform a security check on the plane last night. so, you all need to de-board.” 😳
they optimistically tell us that we’ll make our connecting flights… tbd.
batsbeestulipstrees 
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