(9/9) Yellowstone Adventure: The Epic Winter Storm Hits

(9/9) The Epic Winter Storm Hits

 Le sigh.  The final day of the Yellowstone Adventure.  🙁

 We went to sleep the night before not knowing exactly what to expect as far as the snow went.  Would it be bare?  Or would we have a foot or two?

 Woke up to just a little skiff of snow on the ground.  This would be PERFECT for photos!

 As we hit the road and climbed in elevation towards Mammoth Hot Springs, the snow REALLY started coming down.  It let up a little bit by the time we got to Lamar Valley, but there was a little skiff of snow on the ground, and on the bison.  The snow on the bison was pretty cool!

 On our way back, we noticed a bear WAYYYYYYYYYYY off in the distance, so naturally we had to investigate.  We climbed up a little hill, and we noticed that it was a mamma grizzly and her cub feasting on a kill.  Sadly this was as close as we could safely get, but still an awesome site.  That’s nature at work!

 Time to go now, and damn, the snow was REALLY coming down.  The roads were getting super sketchy.  We made a quick stop in Mammoth, and then headed back down the hill towards town.  The drive down was NOT pleasant.  Several near accidents and spinouts, but we did make it!  By the time we got back to the west entrance to the park, they were turning visitors away.  Yikes.

 Finally it was off to the airport to wrap up this AMAZING trip!

 I have to give a HUGE shoutout to Ben Blankenship and Joey Hoff from Backcountry Journeys for being unreal guides and instructors.  I cannot recommend this company enough if you want to up your photography game and go on some great adventures, and I can’t wait to go on another one sometime soon!