Yellowstone traffic jam

Life is different on vacation. The desire to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life and enjoy the quiet and serenity of the country is not always what it seems. We sat for quite a while in this 'traffic jam' and enjoyed every minute of it. The buffalo were fascinating. The scenery was beautiful. It was a great day in Yellowstone.

We began the day in Idaho Falls and drove for about 1 1/2 hours to Yellowstone. One of the surprises along the way was Fall. The birch and aspen have begun to turn colors so the pine forests were dotted with swaths of bright lime green, gold and orange. Absolutely breathtaking.

Today we were out of the car and hiking. It felt so good after all the sitting yesterday. However, this was Yellowstone and that means boiling sulphur springs. When the wind blew our way we were shrouded in dense moist sulphur sweet clouds. It was actually quite interesting and beautiful. We picnicked by a rock strewn creek under pine trees. No sulphur there just clear cold air and the sound of the water running over the rocks. Our last stop was the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and the Yellowstone Falls. They were spectacular.

By this time, the day was mostly gone and we still had a couple of hours to drive to get to Billings in time to rest and relax a bit before dinner. The shortest route was to leave by the northeast exit of the park. What we did not know was that meant climbing out of the park and over the Beartooth mountains. The summit was almost 11,000 feet reached by driving a winding narrow road. We passed clear mountain lakes, moonscape vistas, views to the far blue mountains and sheer drops to tree covered valleys. The drive was beautiful but much longer than we had anticipated. By the time we had descended the other side and driven out of the valley it was dark and we still had over an hour to drive to Billings. Once again, we arrived at our hotel late, tired and ready for a late dinner. Although it was longer than planned, it was a great day.