When the chance for a weekend trip up to Yellowstone comes you way, take it. Bonus points if the invited party brings Oreo's and all happen to listen to the same type of music as you do (it's a deceivingly long drive, and no one wants to be in a car where so called 'radio style music' is being played). Cicily and I were classmates in college, (I was also her TA my graduating year, which could have made things weird but actually seemed to create the perfect storm for quite a friendship). Maybe slightly more fortunate is that Cicily lives a couple hours outside of Wyoming and had me at the top of the invite list for a quick trip up north. Of course, I said yes.
After stopping twice for gas, once for 0.75$ twist cones at the Little America, and once more in the middle of nowhere to stop and shiver while you admire the waxing gibbous moon and enormity of the stars and all, you'll get in decently late in to Powell, Wyoming. Cicily's mom is the cutest and had the beds all turned down, complete with the whole mint-on-the-pillow deal. Saturday was well-spent wandering around Red Fort Montana, a charming little touristy town with the neatest candy store and a slightly endearing but dilapidated animal sanctuary; an obvious choice on how a Saturday afternoon should be occupied.
However, Sunday really was the reason we made the trip (well, maybe for me...I'm sure Cicily loved seeing her parents and everything). Somehow, we dragged ourselves out of bed at a seemingly dreadfully early hour to drive into Yellowstone, but the early hour was well worth it (I'm no morning person, I suppose 6:30 isn't that early). It's been a few years since I've had the chance to visit Yellowstone, but I'm convinced autumn is the ideal season in which to drop by. We had miles of roads to ourselves, lined with emerald pines that burst into golden yellows as the aspens hung onto their foliage before falling into more winter appropriate attire. All the crowds are gone, but the animals stick around, resulting in some pretty close bison encounters and even a roadside show of a couple grizzly bears lazily snorting around in the dirt.
Driving from geysers to waterfalls certainly leaves time for music and musings if you are in the car with a load of English/Humanities/French majors. Børns thumps out a beat in the background and discussions about literature and art seem to take the foreground before being paused for a photo op. in front of a billowing cloud of steam, or to lean out the window for a quick snapshot. We took the long way home to get a little more out of Yellowstone park, but it still seemed too short a visit.
Despite the limited time we spent there, I was able to shoot some pretty stunning shots. Yellowstone makes it easy, being so picturesque. Dressed in grays and olives, I seemed to fade into the steamy swirls quite nicely, and the bison did well to graze in front of waterfalls or on rich amber fields...all making for some rather nice photos to remember the trip by (and to post onto Instagram, but that goes without saying).
Needless to say, today's Sunday drive was quite lovely indeed.
