3. photography at Yellowstone

In 2008, I still very much owned stock in the "city girl" identity. Proximity to Lands' End, Whole Foods, and Ikea were all very important to me. I dreamed of owning a house in a walkable neighborhood - close to a lake, maybe in a carriage house, and definitely with high density housing and good public transportation.

But I was also ready to explore! I'd been backpacking a few times (Superior Hiking Trail, Itasca State Park), and "the outdoors" was starting to get into my blood. My weekly-ish walks around the city lakes just weren't cutting it anymore. It was time to dream big. It was time to get out of the state. It was time to try out a NATIONAL park.

And that was the year that Husband bought me a winter-photography-themed trip to Yellowstone for Christmas! (Husbands don't get much better than this - it was a jackpot of a gift!!)

I'd heard of national parks before, but I'd never been to one. If you look at a map of all the NPs, you can see the Wisconsin (where I grew up) is dead center in the drought of NPs in the midwest. Seriously, I challenge you to identify another location that would be harder to get to a NP than the "thumb" of Wisconsin (particularly considering that Isle Royale is accesible only by boat or plane).

So, having had no experience with National Parks, I had no idea what to expect. In my mind, I think I imagined Yellowstone as some sort of weird cross between Jellystone and Disneyland.  Like, not really nature nature, but more like a glamorous spin on nature that's full of friendly wildlife. Like talking bears.

Um, yeah.

So when I actually went on my trip that February, I was BLOWN. AWAY. Seriously. I flew into Bozeman, and had the first three days all to myself:  I swam in hot springs, I went dog sledding, and I took a billion and a half pictures. It was my first time in "real" mountains, and I couldn't get over the beauty of the Yellowstone River with the Absaroka Range in the background. Before this, I thought I was more of a beach girl, but the mountains quickly stole my heart. This was when I first fell in love with Montana.

And then I actually got to Yellowstone. Let's just say that it was nothing like a Disneyfied version of Jellystone - it was huge, it was beautiful, it was...dangerous! The snow on the ground contrasting with the boiling thermal features...it was otherworldly and literally took my breath away. I burned through two memory cards of photos, and I still could have taken even more.

Why had no one ever told me about National Parks? Or if they had, why hadn't I listened???

It would take me a few years to get to my next one(s), but my next visit would be a turning point...