Yellowstone National Park

When Thanksgiving 2024 rolled around, I had a lot for which to be thankful. Specifically, both my ex-boyfriend Gabriel and I received time off from work for break. We decided to make the most of the opportunity by planning a vacation. I had the idea that we take my brand-new Subaru on a road trip, and Gabe decided he’d like to go to a major national park. When our forces combined, we designed an itinerary for a trip to and from Yellowstone National Park that would include stops at Mount Rushmore and Wall’s Drug Store in South Dakota.

Going to Yellowstone in the off season meant that we could at least avoid the majority of tourists in the park after two long days of driving from Carbondale. Only one road was open to vehicles who paid the $35 per car tourist fee, so we drove along the park and saw the majestic grandeur of the snow-capped, pristine Rocky Mountains as the backdrop of the verdant flora and fauna of the park.

We also saw the Liberty Cap, various hot springs, and the Roosevelt Arch by the entrance. We also hiked up Mammoth Springs on a very icy trail. It also meant that most of the animals would be in hibernation, but deer and bison crossed our paths and surprised us the latter part of the day near the Mammoth Trail.

We took discreet photographs of the animals, the stores, the entrance, and the main park attractions with our iPhones and my DSLR camera, a Canon Rebel T7. I bought hiking knapsacks for my brother and sister, a collection of fridge magnets for my mom, and a tourism book about Yellowstone for my brother-in-law as souvenirs.

I have been inspired by travel writings such as William Least Heat-Moon’s Blue Highways. Heat-Moon lost his job as a professor at the University of Missouri the same day that his wife announced that she was leaving him for another man. Heat-Moon decided to cope with his losses by taking a long road trip along the unmarked “blue” highways of America on the Rand McNally map and by using his journalism skills to document the people he met and the sights he saw. I also handle life’s vicissitudes by documenting my journeys. This is me too.