Today wasn’t necessarily a long mileage drive, but it felt so. The day started with an almost no traffic cresting of Beartooth Pass, an epic, Alp-esque pass that leads to the Northeast entrance to Yellowstone, or as I affectionately call it, Jellystone!
Right as I entered, I encountered the usual morning traffic…three mildly grumpy (I believe male) bison! Once they had moved, I made my way into the Lamar Valley. Just picture it. A serene misty morning in the Lamar Valley. Sun trying to peek through the clouds. Bison along the river. Tourists on horseback. And along comes a bright orange BMW...vrrmmmm...POP POP POP POP POP POP POP, vrrmmmm...POP POP POP POP POP POP POP! No speeding, just MDM popping the whole way! Snapped some great shots of the car and the valley before returning to the mission of getting through the park.
Then, all of a sudden, there’s massive congestion people everywhere staring apparently toward the sky with binoculars. I’m like wtf, is it a bird, a plane? Turns out, there was a black wolf up on the ridge to the north…now I’m pissed I don’t have binoculars. However, I did get to see it, the little black dog scampering up the ridge. So, hey, I saw a wolf in Yellowstone…check that one off the bucket list!
Made my way through the park with some storming, some more bison and some incredible views and then headed for the Grand Teton Scenic Byway through Teton Valley, ID. Didn’t disappoint! The Tetons were a ways off, but still got a great view of them and some decent, albeit harried, side-of-the-road shots.
Had a nice little lunch at the Victor Valley Market and Deli before heading down ID 31 to US 26, or the Swan Valley road – apparently one of the best drives in Idaho. Aside from the shoddy road surface on the state highway, it was sure an amazing drive. Some incredible yellow flower fields…I think mustard. Gorgeous! Pull into Idaho Falls just in time for a rain shower followed by dust inducing winds…ugh!
