off to west yellowstone

We had our first taste of West Yellowstone in June of 2010. Our friends Travis and Katrina invited us for a weekend of bliss. And BLISS it was. We had such an amazing time that we couldn't wait to go back. Fast Forward a few months and I won at a silent auction a weekend stay at 

THE HIBERNATION STATION.

We decided to go in winter this time so February we planned.

Our excitement was oozing for weeks before.

We left on February 11th.

Stopped for some fountain drinks and couldn't pass up this JUMBO air freshner.

This picture doesn't do justice to how LARGE this thing is. Honest- bigger than my head.

Within seconds I was high off strawberry goodness.

After 5ish hours of caffeine intake we were needing to pee and ready to get out of the car!

and yes, you read that right. we were genius enough to drive our CAR thinking it was better so we could save on gas. UMM.. hello we were going to the north pole, 4wheel drive might be helpful!

anyway. we arrived to a winter wonderland. i have never ever seen anything like it before. I live in Utah

(the greatest snow on earth) and have NEVER seen snow like this.

The first night there we dropped our stuff off at our AMAZING room and headed back out into the cold to find some grub and more clothes! I brought every long sleeve shirt I own, a few sweatshirts and my winter coat and that still wouldn't keep me warm enough.

Apparently West Yellowstone isn't like downtown SLC and they don't stay open until 9pm. We finally found a little casino/bar/restaurant and pigged out on hot wings. We drove around for .25 seconds

(from one end of town to the other) looking for a place that was open and selling long johns. After having a panic attack when our car could NOT stay on the road we gave up and went back to the cabin.

Thank goodness for the fireplace.

The next morning we got up bright and early to meet Travis and Katrina for some SNOWMOBILING fun. We ate breakfast at the best little diner and headed to the snow.

We arrived at two top loop and LOOK. OMG.

really... really... REALLY

Have you ever seen anything like this? I couldn't believe my eyes. Maybe I live in a box and this isn't that cool to most but I was blown away. It was one of the most amazing things to see.  The sun was shinning and the weather was pretty dang perfect.

There was only a couple incidences that someone either hit a tree (Ryan)

or got stuck (Katrina and mayybee me)

...and I guess 1 attempt at running someone over - sorry Travis, my bad.

We drove around at rapid speeds. I don't think I got above 65mph but Ryan swears he got well over 70mph. either way, when you are on one of these things it seems like your flying!

Around noonish we ran back to T&K's to grab their boys so they could join in on our ride.

This picture below was right before we got onto the lake. They told us not to stop and to just go as fast as possible. Kinda freaked me out.

But I just followed their tracks and put the petal to the metal (or pushed the thumb thingy really hard)

On the other side of the lake was this massive mountain that was sooo steep. Ryan and I refused to even attempt this. I knew I would either get so scared I would just hit the kill switch and pray for someone to rescue me as I rolled backward down the mountain or I would get so scared I would close my eyes and forget to take my thumb of the accelerator and would run into a tree or something.
either way- not a good idea for me to attempt this.

but - since Travis is like a pro snowmobiler, he did it. WITH his boys hanging on for dear life.

I prayed the whole time they wouldn't flip and HORRAY. they certainly came back safely.

We ended the long day by letting Ryan hold this beauty in his hands. Travis got this HUGE elk this last year. Ryan almost pee'd his panties just being in the presence of this thing.

- you hunters know what I'm talkin about -

We ran back to the cabin to wash up for dinner. Can you believe they only gave us an hour! Okay okay. I am not all that high maintenance and an hour is a long time but I had to wash my hair because it wreaked of fumes and it took forever for me to blow dry with that tiny hotel blower.

oh well I got it taken care of.

While I was getting ready, I ordered Ryan to go outside and try to get some pictures of the snow to get a feel for how much their was. 

I have been trying to help him be a bit more creative and actually focus the camera before a picture is taken so for his latest work I have to say he did a pretty good job!

We ate at the most amazing restaurant!

Jalapeno appetizers + Best steak EVER =

HOLY YUM-O

Went back to the room. Warmed up. Got some serious sleep.

This is the cabin we got to call home for 2 days.

We headed out of town but not before we did a little souvenir shopping.

Remember how I said West Yellowstone wasn't like downtown SLC and they weren't open past 9pm.

Well they are also not open on Sunday. So our options were small but we found some great treats to bring back with us. This was definitely another trip to remember. We had a wonderful time with friends and each other. We are already planning our next trip back!

... or maybe our permanent move there.

...here are a few random pics i had to share...

1. Grizzly Adams.

2. This is a crazy buffalo I ran into. Literally. I was running when I hit him head on. Its a long story but ill save it for another post. Let just say, I wrestled him to the ground with my bear hands so he wouldn't eat Ryan.

3. This is the paper bird that I almost jumped out of the car to save. I thought it was real and in serious distress.

4. My new ride. Remember how we drove our car? I switched it up for this baby.

5. As we drove out we saw life flight taking someone away. ahh scary.

and a trip wouldn't be a trip without our MRW