“Adventure is worthwhile”.-Anonymous
What happens when you leave your comfort zone? Is it scary? Fun? Something in-between? For me it’s all of that and then some. Recently, I was able to head out and tour the Western U.S. I was only gone for a week but I covered a lot of ground. We started in Salt Lake City, Utah and took the bus up through Idaho where we made a little pit stop up through Wyoming where we stopped at our first major destination. YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK. The first national park in the nation. A bucket list spot for me. Truly worthwhile! The park is soo massive; thank goodness I was on tour or else I would have gotten lost for sure! The park spans 3 states! One of the coolest things about the experience was the fact that we drove a half hour through fall covered tree roads only to be surrounded by snow covered trees minutes later. It felt like being in a time warped movie or something. Beautiful yet surreal all at the same time.
What about the animals at Yellowstone you ask? Of course there were and they were abundant! I got to see everything from bison to grey colored deer(?) to weird looking shrimp like creatures. Being we were only there for a day and half/ two days our scope was limited. Seeing the bison was more than enough for me, tho. They’re so big and majestic. Amazing creatures! My advice would be to keep an eye out whichever area of the park you go to. You will see a ton of wildlife and it’s remarkable. You just have to be patient. PATIENCE IS LIFE. REMEMBER THAT.
That first night after Yellowstone we stayed in Montana where we grabbed food and slept. It was around 30F and snow was coming down, lightly. West Yellowstone, Montana. Such a cool little Wild West town nestled only 15 minutes from the entrance of the park. I definitely recommend staying in and checking out WY, Montana. Lots of great shops and restaurants and it’s a great ski community if you’re looking to get into that powder. Shout out to Old Town Cafe for the amazing fettuccine and Alfredo dish!
From Yellowstone we traveled west out to South Dakota to see the grand ol’ Mount Rushmore. It was a foggy day but it was perfect, in essence. Watching the forefathers looking down at us from the clouds and fog overlooking the country they governed made me feel somewhat more patriotic than normal. Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson and Roosevelt. It was a cool experience, no doubt. There was a staircase leading up to the monument that I certainly recommend if your sights aren’t as pristine as you’d like. Head to Mount Rushmore! It’s your American civil duty, for Christ sake!
The Wild West Tour ’19 (as I’m dubbing it) was pretty amazing and intense all at the same time. Seeing parts of the country that were so alien to me was a breath of fresh air. We drove miles and miles where there was NOTHING. Just cows, farmland and road. But as a friend of mine said after I got back, “That’s the real America”. And I totally agree. Until the next adventure.
D