oh! yellowstone was amazing!
just driving into the park took my breath away.
i arrived a lot later than expected since the east entrance was closed (due to forest fire) so instead of planning out my next day, i retired in a private room and passed out almost as soon as i arrived (although it was already pretty much 11pm).
when i awoke, i transferred to a shared room, where i met dianna. she was a nice lady -- but she was an interrupter.
very interesting.
i headed into the park early and did the big loop -- stopping quite often for a good view or two.
i saw all the sites including old faithful, tower falls, the canyon area and mammoth hot springs.
after a long day, i went back to the hostel and fell quickly to sleep.
i awoke the next morning with what i assumed were mosquito bites all over my arms. it was horrible. and itchy.
i went into the park again and took a few short hikes, drove to see the tetons,
felt ill due to lack of water and spent the rest of the day back at the hostel reading and hanging out.
i met kristen (another girl in the shared room) that night and we had dinner together, talked about our experiences in hawaii and traveling by ourselves (she's 25 and traveling solo!), and had gigantic ice cream cones!
i left early (6:15) the next morning to get to estes park in time for gourmet italian dinner. i left in time to see the sun rise over yellowstone and to see the geyser steam at its fullest.
all in all, yellowstone was an awesome experience.
more pictures here.
