Home in Yellowstone at last!
I reached my new house in Bozeman on December 23; my life partner Genevieve and our newborn son River arrived on December 28. Now, finally, on January 14, I made it into Yellowstone National Park for the first time, although I only went as far as Mammoth Hot Springs.
But, ecstasy is mine, and the sulfur air is sweeter than the sweetest smelling flowers.
Today began like so many days, early at 6 AM, where I popped out of bed and go to work. What's different these days is that I can go to work immediately from home in my office. Yet, at the end of 8 hours, it still feels like work. The difference has been that I can climb the nearby hill and watch the sunset, walk a block and see mountains all around me. It's wonderful, but as the days have gone on, my heart wanted to see the wonders I remembered.
Each day that I thought that we might make it, we would have snow, or something else would come up. We haven't yet put snow tires on the car, and we worried about the drive with the baby lacking good tires. A weekend ride into the Bridger Mountains was scary enough with simply slush on the road. One slide might be the end of you on a mountain road.
As I sat looking at my work, on a whim, I looked at the road conditions. To my surprise, the road from Livingston to Gardiner into the park was completely dry. It said "high winds," but it was warm, and the drive was there for the taking.
Oh my gosh!
So, I rushed to get done with work. I coaxed Genevieve into the 70 mile ride to the North Entrance, and before you knew it, off we were, over Bozeman Pass, to Livingston, and south to Yellowstone. Every mile was stunning, each turn ... mountains, snow, canyons, the way that light hits places it doesn't seem it should hit. The only problem was the "high winds," which seemed to be picking the car up to throw across the road. I wondered if the high wind was going to be a door to keep me shut out of the place I loved. Determined, I slowed down, took my time, and threw some caution at the wind.
I felt so close I could taste it.
The mountains were just unbelievable; Genevieve was in awe. As we passed into Gardiner, she said that this is the town she wanted to live. It took her 30 seconds to be convinced that this was her sort of town, the place to be, even though none of us knew how we'd find work in Gardiner (which is exactly why it's still the small, beautiful quaint town that it is - I can't believe that the phone company wants to build a cell tower right smack in the middle of one of the most scenic little towns in the world).
We stopped in Gardiner for a moment; there were three mule deer on the other side of the fence separating Yellowstone National Park from Gardiner.
We didn't go into the water; we didn't plan on coming here. We came on a whim and didn't even know if somehow the road and the car wouldn't get along. However, next time ...
Of course, there are serious thoughts here and things seriously amiss even in this picture, but today, I have to get strength and inspiration from the joy and magic of a place that brings out the very best in me.
I love you Yellowstone!!!!!! (I shouted that as loud as I could at one point; I have no doubt that neither you nor even the wildlife heard me).