What a Weekend!

Disclaimer: This is a little longer than most of my posts, but we crammed a LOT into two days. Enjoy! 

I am so glad that I did not marry a "couch potato"! Dan is every bit as eager as I am to go outside and play, and this weekend was no exception! Despite being late getting out of work Thursday night (and even later getting to bed!), we were up early Friday morning, and by 9:00, we were putting fuel in the truck in Red Lodge and heading up the Beartooth Pass. It was misty, and for the first time in a long time, I was actually a little uncomfortable. We could barely see the road in front of us ~ NOT a good feeling with hair-pin curves and steep drop-offs! But before too long, the clouds began to thin and we broke through into bright sunshine. Dan pointed out that we were now ABOVE the clouds! Where one normally looks down into the valleys, there was nothing except a thick, fluffy blanket of clouds. 

We continued across the plateau, stopping several times to take pictures of the Bear's Tooth and a favorite waterfall. Coming down the far side of the Pass, I couldn't resist ever-photogenic Pilot and Index Peaks. I asked Dan to pull off on a side-road so that I could step out and take a picture. He turned, but he didn't stop. It quickly became obvious that we were not going to turn around anytime soon. This was one twisty, narrow road! We finally got to a spot where the view was as close as possible to what I saw in the first place, so I got my pictures. We got turned around, and I was staring out my window and muttering under my breath when I spotted a big black bear in the valley below us. Dan slammed on the brakes and I snapped a couple of quick shots (neither of which was any good). By now Dan had the truck in park and turned off. He grabbed the camera and we went scrambling down the hillside. The bear was completely unaware of us as he investigated a small pond of snowmelt runoff water. He was just settling in for a nice bath when he either heard or spotted us. He turned tail and was gone in about two seconds flat! Bummer!

Oh well, our main objective for the day was looking for babies in Yellowstone, so we continued on our merry way. Unfortunately, we drove the entire outer loop without seeing a single newborn of any kind. Of course, that's what makes those photos special ~ their rarity. We enjoyed hiking down to the brink of the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone and watching the mud bubble and boil at the Artist's Paint Pots. We were done for the day and almost to the park exit when we spotted a deer and her brand new fawn. No chance for a picture though, since it was nearly dark and Baby clearly heeded Mama's warning to "get up under that bush and hide." 

We stopped for dinner in Gardiner and realized that it was going to be late when we got home. Yep, it was nearly midnight when we pulled into the driveway. No biggie, normally, but this time I had to be up early the next morning. (And I am a girl who needs her sleep.)

Needed sleep or not, I rose obediently when the alarm jerked me rudely to wakefulness at six am. However, I was excited enough about our first-ever real attempt to sell our photos that I didn't stay drowsy for long. We got to the Walmart parking lot shortly after eight and got our place assignment. We unloaded and got set up with only one casualty (the good thing being that it was not one of our favorite pieces or more-expensive frames). We had a great day sharing our pictures. We even made a little money. We did agree, however, that being out taking pictures is still a lot more fun. We were glad to get things picked up and go home to celebrate our first successful show with rib-eye steaks on the grill. Yummy!