Introduction to Yellowstone, Part One

Well, we are two weeks into our summer life here at Yellowstone and we have encountered too many amazing things to recount in just one post. This landscape is alive and buzzing - both the land and the many creatures that inhabit it.  If you remember my posts from last summer when we visited Lassen Volcanic National Park, I wrote about our awe at seeing thermal features (fumaroles, mud pots, boiling lakes, etc.) for the first time. Well Yellowstone is like Lassen on steroids. Oh, and with large, lumbering Bison charging through it!

Rush Hour in Yellowstone - 7 AM

In our short two weeks here, we have twice been stuck in Bison "traffic".  We have seen coyotes chasing each other through wide fields of green. We've encountered foxes, and yellow-bellied marmots. I've woken up to glance out our small basement level apartment window to see three large Elk and a small newborn Elk trotting across the grass into the woods, the baby Elk darting around like a newborn colt, spooked and startled by every crackling branch or unexpected sound. We have pulled over and backed up more times than our van has ever done in a single place before, as we travel park roads and marvel at all this park has to offer.

As I have too many photos to include in one post, I will split them out into a few different posts and post the entries as I am able (the one "not so amazing" thing about this park is the very limited internet). So here goes with post one - some shots from our first days in the park.  Enjoy the photos.

Our first large Elk encounter - a very casual affair...

Our first stop when we entered the park was the Mammoth Hot Springs
 area and these amazing travertine terraces formed by the interaction
 between the hot springs and minerals.

More amazing hot spring formations

We came across this waterfall on the side of the road early into our park journey.

A panorama of wild beauty

Wildflowers abound

Afternoon clouds roll in

A frequent roadside site

The Earth bubbling and boiling in bright colors



Steaming and smoking too...

The earth is very much alive in Yellowstone

Andre getting a first look at Lake Yellowstone

An early foray out of the park in nearby Big Sky Montana to go
 horseback riding on our days off.

Andre and his pal Wizard
(not bad for a Pawtucket boy!)

 

Slide into the Passenger Seat with Me

Before I get to the heart of my entry, I should let you know that we arrived safely in Yellowstone National Park on Sunday afternoon and all is well!  However, as I am quite backed up with photos to share with you, I am going to save our arrival and first week at Yellowstone for my next entry and just take a few minutes to share more from our journey across the states of Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota & Montana on our way to our summer gig on Lake Yellowstone (in Wyoming).

If you've followed our blog for a while, you've probably noticed that I like to take photos of the "windshield" view from the van as we travel along. Well for this entry, I wanted to share my view from the passenger seat.

When we are traveling cross country, I sit in this seat for 5-7 hours per day, through bright sunshine, storms, and everything in between. Some days the view is magical, the places new and exciting. Some days more repetitive and redundant. But everyday, there is at least one thing to marvel at, to laugh at, to shake our heads over.  These days that roll over one into the next as we travel to places known and unknown are our life. So slide into the passenger seat with me and take a look at the view.



Farmland in Illinois

Early Morning, Just west of Duluth, Minnesota

Goods Moving Across the Minnesota Prairie
This was the first of many, many, trains moving oil East...

Cattle Ranching in North Dakota

Belfield, North Dakota - The Landscape begins to change

 

Yes, I know this is Andre's window but I couldn't resist.
Drove by this Buffalo just hanging out on the side of the road as
we drove through the scenic loop in Theodore Roosevelt National Park!

  

Custer County, Montana

 

Sanders, Montana

 

Approaching Billings, Montana

 

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

 

 

Last Visits and a Family Milestone

It seems that is always a Tuesday when I sit down and start to recap what's been happening along our journey and this week is no different. This Monday morning I found myself sitting alone at the breakfast table at my sister-in-law's home in Ann Arbor, Michigan starting to compose this post. Lucie and Andre were out for a walk with Cooper, the family dog, before Lucie headed out to work for the day. We had arrived Sunday afternoon for a short visit and overnight stay on our way out to parts west.

By late Monday morning, Andre and I had packed up the van one last time, hit the local hardware store for some random RV repair parts and head out "truly west" toward Indiana with a planned stop at the Three Floyds Brewery in Munster and then toward Wisconsin & Minnesota. Our weeks of touring and visiting friends and family are complete (with many wonderful memories made). Now, we are on to Yellowstone! We expect to be sleeping in West Yellowstone, Montana by Sunday evening. We will start our summer jobs on Monday, June 8th.

This past week was a wonderful culmination to our multiple week east coast visiting tour.  We enjoyed three great days visiting and celebrating with Dylan, his girl friend Vicki and Nick as well as Andre's sister Rose Marie and her husband Terry who came from DC for the graduation on Friday. On Saturday, we spent the day in Philadelphia enjoying the city, including watching an exciting a soccer game at Dylan's favorite "team Arsenal" bar.  Here are some photos from the last few days.

Dylan and his Advisor

Proud Mom & Dad

Dylan & Nick Celebrate together

Dylan and Vicki

Some celebratory champagne

10 Years spent working in this building!

With Aunt Rose and Uncle Terry (and Nick)



Saturday in Philly watching Premier League Soccer

Final Score would be 4-0, Arsenal!

Score!

Singing Team Anthems

Dylan's home team soccer bar

After the game it was on to Philly Cheese Steaks.
WIZ PLEASE!!

It's a dirty job on that steak grill!
(But oh so tasty....)

So that's it for another week from "Team Audette" on the road.  My next posts should be from the exciting new states of Minnesota, South Dakota and Montana.  Until the next time. Cheers!!

Retracing Old Steps in MA, VT, ME & NH

Hello Friends!  As I write this, I am sitting in a hotel room in Warwick, Rhode Island. It is our last night here in New England. We we will head out early tomorrow for the Mid-Atlantic for our last (and most notable) stop before heading out to Yellowstone. This Friday, our oldest son Dylan will receive his PhD in Biology from the University of Delaware.  This will be our third Fighting Blue Hen commencement ceremony in 10 years, as both of our boys graduated with undergraduate degrees from U.D. and Dylan stayed on for graduate studies as well.

Although each graduation is special, and a time for parents to be proud, this one is especially poignant for us. Ten years ago, we moved Dylan into a dorm at the University of Delaware as an 18 year old boy, This week he will graduate for the second time, as an accomplished 28 year old man. We are very proud of his perseverance and dedication in reaching this challenging milestone and are very much look forward to his "hooding" ceremony on Friday morning, followed by his departmental graduation in the afternoon.

This past week has been filled with retracing old steps in New England. The weather here has been beautiful Spring weather. Cool at night and warm during the day with plenty of sunshine. As the miles passed, driving many of our old familiar rural routes through the northern New England states, there were still plenty of signs of the harsh winter just passed here.

Rough, ripped up roads made it a bumpy rides at times, with potholes galore. On some of the less traveled rural routes, particularly in NH and Vermont, you could still see the beating trees had taken from snow and ice. Branches hung where they'd snapped months ago. Stones, brush and other debris pushed aside by snowplows for months on end, still littered the roadsides in areas not yet cleaned up by Spring road crews. But amongst the debris were wildflowers and new green grass. The hope and promise that soft warms days are to come.

Over the course of this past week, we visited some of our old favorite breweries, including McNeill's in Brattleboro, Vermont, Smuttynose in Hampton, NH, Portsmouth Brewing in Portsmouth, NH, as well as 7 Barrels in West Lebanon, NH, Moat Mountain Smokehouse in North Conway, NH and Zero Gravity in Burlington, VT to name a few.

We had a lovely lunch in Williamstown, Massachusetts with our Niece Lillian to celebrate her upcoming graduation from Williams College and spent time visiting with my brother Scott and family in Grafton, NH as well.

But most of our time was spent just driving, enjoying the mountains, rivers and trees, reminiscing about the many wonderful family hiking trips and long weekends spent in the area. Here are some photos from the week.

Back on the Appalachian Trail for a hike in Western Massachusetts

An impromptu stop for a tiny Memorial Day Parade on a rural VT road

View from our motel room window in West Lebanon, NH

Behind your average NH pick-up truck, still covered in road salt and mud...

Stopped at this roadside spot and discovered some magic
 hidden amongst the trees...