Yellowstone and beyond

And now to update you on the last few days. On Sunday we drove to Yellowstone and set up camp at the Norris campground. We spent our Sabbath relaxing and driving around Yellowstone to see the sights. After visiting geysers and mud pots we walked up to Old Faithful just in time to watch her explode (great timing!). By the time we got back to camp we were pretty hungry so Amanda started a smoky fire with one match and we made Ramen Noodles and our famous fries (this time we spiced them up with onion salt and chives). Anna takes the last bite of her Ramen and says, "I have a confession, I don't really love Ramen." Brittany responds, "I was just about to say those exact words!" Amanda agreed. But our potatoes were great. Right before bed we passed around the book "Dakota" by Kathleen Norris (notice all the Norris') and read aloud to each other until it got too dark to see the words. We all laid awake in the tent all night freezing on hard ground having pee. Well, everybody except Anna.

Amanda couldn't handle being in the cold tent any longer, so she got up at six and stoked the fire. She was able to start the fire without a match... whoo! For breakfast we made potatoes which we pealed in attempts to make hash browns the night before (mistake!). They looked a little bit like fish instead of hash browns. And, lesson learned, never put oregano in potatoes. We decided to go for a hike to some hot springs and learned that non-developed hot springs are not a pool. Amanda dared to put her feet in and discovered that it was hot where it bubbled and cooled off quickly elsewhere. We saw mama elk. And we picked some mushrooms Amanda was convinced were morrels. The lady at the information desk informed us they were not and advised us to not eat them. We didn't, but we wanted to. They were huge and wrinkly and heavy and juicy, etc. etc. etc. Upon returning to camp Amanda drew her backpack (of all things in Yellowstone), Anna and Brittany read for a bit.

For dinner we made apple buckwheat pancakes and homemade syrup. Amanda mastered the pancake flipping technique using her baking stone on an open fire. Some of the pancakes were a little overdone, but our caramel syrup made them edible. After dinner we decided to take another hike to Fairy Falls, a recommendation from Bonnie, and the one mile turned into 2.6 one way. But the falls were worth seeing! Anna read to us in bed, we took Melatonin, our minds turned off and we managed to fall asleep.

Yesterday we took our time in the morning. We all agreed that doing so makes for a better day. After breakfast, washing up some, and taking down camp, it took us a good two hours to drive out of Yellowstone - thanks to the bison. It wasn't until 1pm when Amanda and Brittany started biking from the East entrance. They biked 53 miles to Cody without hardly a break because it was a beautiful downhill ride with the wind at our backs. We award Cody with the most unbikefriendly drivers and walkers but the people treated Anna well. While the bikers were coasting, Anna drove the Buffalo Bill Scenic Byway scouting out a place to charge the dead cell phones. She stopped in Wapiti at the post office and read for a good half hour while they were brought back to life. When she arrived in Cody, she went to Wal Mart 3 times (trying to remember everything we needed) and hung out at the Rawhide Coffee shop until Amanda and Brittany met up with her.

At 5:30pm we left the Rawhide to bike another 30 miles and to set up camp. Anna found the best place for the tent between two tipis and near a river after a stressful bout with a spot near the road and a Rodeo. The best part were free showers for all! After a while of biking Amanda and Brittany's feet and bum ached so they stopped in what might have been Emblem, WY. It's hard to say. Anna picked them up and they drove away into the beautiful sunset.