Getting there

The destination was Yellowstone. As always, life is complicated and I left more tired and harried then I'd planned. Once I finally got on the road I felt relief. I knew the journey is often what matters. I wanted to explore and see wonders of that natural world and I didn't need to wait until I arrived at the end of my trip. In today's world many of us are very lucky. We can become explorers with few hazards and hardships. Perhaps for many, this means the sense of wonder is lost. I still marvel at rainbows. I know I've been given a great gift.


I loved the freshness of eastern Washington. I rarely see it with its spring green and splashes of yellow. As I moved into farmland dust devils danced over the fields. There were so many and one was huge, I've never seen anything quite like that. I think someday I'll write a poem about it. The cloud formations were also truly fantastic and I had to reminds myself to watch the road. Of course that's because a storm was building and my first night camping at St Regis, Montana was rather wet. I didn't mind. I was still the explorer, now entering into land I'd never traveled.

Along route 2, near Jefferson Canyon

I turned off I-90 onto route 2 with relief. As I traveled along the Jefferson river, it reminded me of Yakima Canyon. It was beautiful and I had to stop and get some photos. I tried to find a place to get to the river but the banks were too steep. I did find some severed deer legs along the RR tracks. I imagine it got hit by a train, but I'm not sure what happened to the rest of the deer.

Wetland at Lake Henry State Park

That night I camped at Lake Henry State Park, just a few miles west of West Yellowstone. I was going to meet up with my friends there. It was very cold and they had most of the gear and food. The scenery was beautiful and I got to see a rainbow and watch the sunset. As darkness fell I crawled into my tent for warmth. Later I sat outside under a bright full moon and listened to the night. If I hadn't been waiting for their arrival I would have missed that experience.

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