I leave Salt Lake City and my family on a rainy morning. Christmas is over and the time has come for my next adventure. Through the rain and snow I go up north, finally arriving in Jackson Hole, Wyoming later that afternoon.
I have one night here in downtown. It’s been a few years, but this town always feels like home. I find a local pub and get some grub and a couple of pints before calling it a night. I have an early and long drive in the morning.
Five a.m. and the temperature outside is around 10 degrees. Snow is falling and the roads are covered in a slick white.
I white knuckle it down the single lane highway, slowly making my way to the starting point of this adventure. All roads into Yellowstone Park itself are closed to vehicles in the winter, so the only way one can make it further into the park is by a snowcoach operator, cross-country skiing, or snowmobile.
The snowcoach is loaded up, and we start the two hour drive to our final destination, the Old Faithful snow lodge. We see a fox looking for food along the way, and a couple of bison next to the river. The amount of snow that the Park has already received this winter is more than impressive, creating a winter wonderland landscape I was hoping for.
Upon checking into my room at the lodge, I immediately go and rent some cross-country skis and head out to explore. Winter has the park empty relatively speaking, especially compared to the amount of people you find here during the summer months.
Old Faithful is only a stone’s throw away, and seeing it’s timely eruption by myself and a herd of bison was a dream come true. I enjoy the geysers and hot pools, viewing them from a new wintry perspective. I wipe myself out on my first day here, and enjoy a more than satisfactory meal before calling it a night.
This land is full of pristine mystery and wonder, stories too wild to believe are heard around a crackling fire. Cocktails go down smoothly as night envelops the land. Snow starts to fall outside my window.
I love it here.
