Adventure Tuesday

Wintersports

Kayaking in the wintertime?

    Every year when we are celebrating Christmas in Bozeman we also go to Yellowstone National Park, it has become a tradition. Well, this tradition is not something new in W's family, they originally went kayaking around Christmas in Yellowstone River, just outside the park (since you are not allowed to kayak inside the park). W's dad doesn't do this any longer, and neither W or his brother does it either. Instead we have transition into skiing and or snowshoeing combined with driving around looking for wildlife.

Can you get tired of skiing?

    I love skiing, well....last year I wasn't that enthusiastic about skiing and while we were in Yellowstone I didn't because I was sick. But now I am getting that excitement back again. It's weird how that works. Maybe I just skied too much previous years? The other year I signed up for a ski race (25 miles) just outside Fairbanks, and practiced almost every day, on top of skiing back and forth to work every day...so that might have made me tired of skiing? Now, that practice was less about being fast, just about actually managing to be on my skis for 25 miles, since (like all other races in Alaska) there isn't a lot of support on the trail. 

Winter in Yellowstone National Park

    The past few years we have ventured out into Yellowstone National Park during Christmas break. One year we actually celebrated New Years Eve in the park, well technically right outside. We always stay at a B&B in Gardiner which is one of the entrances to Yellowstone National Park. Most of the other people staying there seem to be snowmobilers, or at least that is what it seems like during breakfast at the small cafe that is included in our stay. As with any other National Park receiving a lot of snow and cold temperatures during the wintertime, many roads are closed. In Denali National Park the whole road is of course closed, but you can still bike, snowshoe, hike, and ski, just like in Yellowstone. We aren't that interested in snowmobiling and also don't want to spend the extra money to get on a snowcoach. So we ski. 

Skiing in Yellowstone National Park

    The animals don't take winter break, well aside from the bears I suppose. Which mean that the bison or the "huff buffs" as I like to call them, will still be there. It is quite frightening to ski around a corner and realize you just scared the whole bison herd, and less exciting to see the little baby bisons try to bluff charge towards you, even if it is from a distance. The buffalos are huge, heavy and a little bit stupid I would say, someone else might argue differently. Maybe they are just supersmart but very stubborn? Don't get me wrong, I am actually terrified of bison, because they are so big and heavy!

National Parks in the Wintertime   

    Have you ever been to any of the National Parks in the wintertime? Which one is your favorite and where would you want to go? Check back in a few weeks to see more pictures from Yellowstone National Park in the wintertime.