Welcome to Wyoming!

Dad and I decided to tour around on Saturday instead of unpacking. The only road that's open year round is the road to Cooke City so we headed out that direction.

We of course got stuck in a bison jam on the road. There was no one else out though so it was nice to have the road to ourselves (besides the bison). We drove until the road got snowier and turned around to head back. There was a garage sale going on at the community center down the road so we swung by there. There wasn't anything too interesting but they did have hot dogs and chips for lunch so we took advantage of that. 

In the afternoon we stopped by Mammoth Hot Springs. Dad has video of Mammoth from when he went to Yellowstone as a kid but he didn't really remember the area. Of course it was windy, rainy, and the boardwalk was covered in snow so I can understand how that wouldn't trigger a memory. It's such a different experience to see the thermal features in the snow. I can see the terraces from my apartment so it's cool to walk around my new "backyard".

Later in the day we headed into town again to get some groceries. When Dad moved me out to Colorado we had eaten hot pockets since all I had was a microwave so we bought some hot pockets in celebration. We also stopped by Roosevelt Arch and the YNP sign to get some pictures of me in my new workplace. It's nice to be here before all the crowds and tourists.

The northern entrance to Yellowstone is always filled with wildlife. You are pretty much guaranteed to see bison, elk, mule deer, and pronghorn all mingling about. We settled in for the night and around 7:00pm the power went out. We didn't think too much of it and then an hour went by and it still wasn't back on. As the daylight faded, I could see dark clouds moving in and the wind kicked up so strong that it was rocking the Uhaul in the driveway. Then it started snowing icy pellets. My neighbor came over with candles and matches and a headlamp and let me know that a microburst had gone through Emigrant (about 30 miles north) and knocked out 8 power lines. I was so appreciative of her stopping in to check on me and give me supplies. We bundled up to go to bed and the power finally was restored around 10:30.  

Dad headed out on Sunday afternoon to return the Uhaul to Bozeman and I finally started unpacking and organizing since I had to start work the next day. It was a wild trip across the country and then a snowstorm and power outage welcomed us to Wyoming so I can already tell this is going to be one hell of an adventure!