Yellowstone during winter is pure magic. The park is less accessible, which makes it less crowded, and the only ways in and around the park are through either skis, snowshoes, snowmobiles, or snowcoaches. So people are forced to get a little out of their comfort zones. We went for the snowmobiles, and if you’ve ever wanted to know what it feels like to be in a biker gang in the middle of winter, yeah definitely do this.
We took off from Bozeman at 5:30 a.m., stopped at the McDonald’s in West Yellowstone, suited up with hardcore winterproof suits, -40 degree rated boots, and helmets, met our guide, and took off with the rest of our group by 9:00 a.m.
We took off from Bozeman at 5:30 a.m., stopped at the McDonald’s in West Yellowstone, suited up with hardcore winterproof suits, -40 degree rated boots, and helmets, met our guide, and took off with the rest of our group by 9:00 a.m.
For the next 5 or so hours we would snowmobile through a portion of the park and spot out some National Geographic type of stuff going on right before our eyes. Winter is such a great opportunity to watch animals survive the harsh conditions, and they do so by any means necessary. At one point we stopped and looked at a bison carcass. He’d been taken down by some wolves, I think, and the scavengers were taking what was left of him for food.
Although this was such a memorable experience for obvious, adventurous reasons, Harris and I both got served with a situation to test one of our goals for this year: to change our perspective during bad situations (and this was a tough one).
After our final stop inside the park before heading back, we realized we had lost a backpack in Yellowstone. A backpack with car keys and wallets in it.
So at this point, we’re driving through the park, passing by incredible sights, experiencing something many people will never get to do, and we’re not even letting ourselves enjoy it. I’m not kidding, at one point we could have reached out and touched a bison (never do this, by the way, common sense, but y’never know).
We spent the last hour of our trip being so pissed about what was happening and the uncertainty of ever seeing our stuff again, when we should have just enjoyed the present moment. Screw hindsight always being 20/20. But it’s a goal of ours to change our perspective. No matter what bad stuff happens to you, the world is still going on around us, and it’s pretty freaking awesome once you stop and focus on that, rather than the things you cannot control. Long story short, our most awesome guide helped track down our stuff and everything worked out, because everything really does work out and it’s not the end of the world until it actually is.
It was such a memorable trip, and like any good adventure, we came back a little changed and learned that the art of living in the present moment is hard as hell, but it’s worth it.
