Yellowstone NationalPARK

This will probably be my last post for about a week, because we are heading towards Black Rock City, where the Burning Man festival will take place – starting tomorrow. Due to our tremendous time management I only have one hour to summarize the last couple of days, before the Starbucks closes. Here we go.

We both were looking forward to the Yellowstone Nationalpark, which has a great recommendation, being the oldest National Park in the states. Before we entered, we stopped at a Lake in the Grand-Teton Nationalpark. Great camping spot.

Spot for the night

Once again, our time management couldn’t have been worse – we entered the Yellowstone on a Friday…  Somehow we always manage to reach the most touristic places at the busiest times, with the exception of Vegas where it probably would have been better on a weekend. Nevertheless, it is a huge park and I was eager to catch my first fish on American soil, so I decided to get a permit and try it the legal way. Sadly, it wasn’t the right season to fish with the specific equipment I brought. Due to the constant heat all the lakes where pretty dried up – no fish for Vince. The park itself had some scenic points as well as changing geological landforms, which was pretty amazing. Nonetheless, it was packed with tourists, to a point where it did not feel like being in the wilderness. It felt like being in a car park with nice views, which somehow is distinctive for the American lifestyle. They love the “drive thrus” as much as the Aussies. I was annoyed by that fact when I worked in the liquor store in Australia, where I was the perfect victim, and I still do not like them now. Therefore, we spontaneously decided to make a huge loop and head out of the west entrance. It definitely was the right decision. We even saw a rare owl as well as a couple of bison`s – striking creatures – on our late exit route.  

Pshhhhhhh

Huge fire in the forrest

Muh

I literally stepped in bison poo for that picture

Leaving the Yellowstone behind, we made a quick stop at the Craters at the Moon National Reserve. After spending the night on a parking lot, we nearly left without exploring the nature, which turned out to be pretty cool.

At Twin Falls we realized that you actually need to prepare yourself for the burning man in advance, when it comes to the basic provisions as well as knowledge about what actually happens on this unique festival. After we read a couple of blogs we decided not to join a camp in – more details in about seven to nine days – and headed towards Reno, where we would make our final arrangements. So the last days, we spend most of our time preparing. Exciting for us, maybe not for the outside reader. 

Twin Falls bridge

However, I still caught my first fish on the American continent, when we spend the night on a field close to the Highway.

thrill of the chase look

thada!

Two days before the festival, we met with the former roommate of Flo – Anja -, who spends her vacation with two friends, Anne und Jana. Flo and I scouted a nice place near Lake Tahoe, the Indian Creek reservoir and we had a relaxed day with the girls.

Anne told the best jokes

That’s it for now. We packed our car with 30 gallons (113,562 Liter) of water, loads of snacks as well as to crazy, sweet bikes which are totally on fleek. There are probably a lot of things we forgot and didn’t consider, but there is something about driving up to a dessert with a fully packed car and not knowing what actually awaits you. A thrill of anticipation and tension. A mechanic in Reno told us to prepare for anything – it will probably happen. We`ll see tomorrow.

Unpimped

Ready to go

Cheers

Vince