Anna's Awesome Adventures!!!: Snowmobiling

Today we woke up at 6:45, and after getting ready, had breakfast at the hotel restaurant -- bacon, eggs, hash browns, toast with maple syrup, and cocoa. After loading the car, we headed across the street to Traveler's Snowmobile Tours & Rentals. After signing papers, getting familiar with the snowmobiles, getting helmets, and waiting for the other people in our group to arrive, we headed toward Yellowstone National Park at 9:15. It was snowing and cloudy, so you couldn't see much. The temperature was 12 degrees entering the park...it ranged from about 10 to 15 degrees all day. After a good part of the morning, it was nearly all sunshine...beautiful!

We had plenty of stops, including the Fountain Paint Pots, which we visited on the Alaska trip! It was so cool to see them in the winter -- no big crowds! We enjoyed looking out at some big open meadows, geyser basins, hot springs, and more. There was snow all around, making it a totally different feeling...quiet and perfect. We walked on some snow-covered boardwalks and even touched the outflow of a hot spring...hot water!

We reached our turnaround point, Old Faithful, at 1:30. The famous inn and most of the surrounding places are all closed up, but there are a few eating places and an operating hotel throughout the winter. There were lots of snowmobile and snow coach tours, so there were lots of people around! Nothing like summer, though! We all watched Old Faithful erupt at about 2:10...majestic as ever. It went higher than we'd ever seen it...and this was my fifth time seeing it! After Old Faithful's eruption, we had lunch at a place called the Geyser Grill. Their special was a bowl of chicken-rice soup and half of a ham-and-cheese sandwich. I got cocoa for a drink. Yum! After lunch, we took some pictures before starting back for West Yellowstone at 3:30.

On the way back, we didn't stop much at all. We drove fairly fast (40-45 m.p.h.) past huge meadows, deep forest, and gorgeous rivers. We arrived at our starting point at about 5:00. After turning our helmets in and getting organized, we were heading for Jackson, Wyoming, at 5:30.

We saw wildlife today -- lots of bison, a coyote, a fox, and a bald eagle way off in a tree. We even saw some wolf prints! We were heading back to West Yellowstone when suddenly, out of the forest, came a dozen or so huge, mature male bison running...straight toward us. We stopped and pulled over to the side of the road and they ran on by, looking at us as they went. Our guide (a young man, very knowledgeable about snowmobiling and the park) thought there was a bear or wolves in the woods that scared them. It was quite an experience to have them coming straight toward you!

My dad started driving in the morning, but after 15 or 20 minutes, he let me drive. My mom rode with me mostly after that, and I let her drive for 10 or 15 minutes. Besides that, I drove to Old Faithful and all the way back to West Yellowstone. We guess that I drove about 45 or 50 miles. I loved it, especially since the seat, handlebars, and throttle were heated.

To go into beautiful Yellowstone National Park in the winter (with no RVs or crowds or anything unpleasant!) was absolutely incredible. With the snow all around, it was like an enchanted area! I have now been to Yellowstone three times, and this was by far my favorite. I look forward to visiting in the winter again sometime!

After the snowmobiling fun, we drove to Jackson, crossing the Teton Pass. We went up pretty high but conditions were very good...no snow and clear roads. After arriving at our hotel, we had supper at The Garage. Their monstrous bison burger is filling! I am now ready to take a shower and go to bed...more skiing coming tomorrow!