The Road Back to Yellowstone

by hopesfrenzy

In the summer of 2014, Stéphane and I drove across the country to move him to Michigan for graduate school. Across the Columbia River, we climbed to the Wild Horse monument, a set of metal horse statues set high upon a hill overlooking the town of Vantage. It was very windy, and, for a few minutes, it was just him and me, and the greater world around us.

On our second day of driving, believe it or not, I found myself back in Yellowstone National Park, many years since 2009 when the family and I went. Stéphane and I were exploring right after arriving (we hadn’t even found a campsite yet!).

Our first stop was Mammoth Springs. Years ago, my family and I stumbled upon Mammoth at sunset. The scene this time around was quite different, and the landscape changed, but still just as rugged and beautiful. Of course the Grand Prismatic Spring was high on our list. The colors, as before, were brilliant – reds, yellows, orange, green, blue. Breathtaking and difficult to wrap our heads around. This strike of red was stark and intense, and in my imagination became a river.

We spent a couple nights in a campground outside the northeast entrance, and from there saw all of the sights and regions of the park. It was his first time there!

All in all, we drove from Seattle to Minneapolis where I flew back to the PNW. On the way, we went through Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, Montana, Yellowstone, the Black Hills, Wall, the Badlands, Pierre and Sioux Falls before arriving in Minnesota. It was an incredible journey filled with many adventures, amazing sights and much time together.


Road tripping with Stéphane
Location: Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, US

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