There's No Way We'll Ever Update This Enough

...but here's to trying.
Today is day twenty-one. I'm sitting in a nice house in Seattle with a stomach full of raisin english muffin and coffee. Aaron and Mark are awake in the kitchen, I think Adam is still asleep downstairs.
So, In the last update, I got everyone caught up to Yellowstone. We spent the entirety of the next day exploring the park. We talked to a man named Gordon and another named Eugene Tennessee. Gordon told us about a place called Interstate Roadhouse in Tennessee, and Eugene told us what to do around the park. He had been to Danbury before, said he was a bread deliverer for a couple of years when he was a younger man. He suggested we take two days to see the park. We would do it in one.
We went to a mud pit called Dragon's Mouth or something of the sort, and it was more than adequately named. There were three buffalo on and around the path. We wound up getting as close as five feet away, and there was nothing more than a wooden fence between us. It was awesome and I was ready to run the entire time. I would like to ride a buffalo though, no one fucks with a man on a buffalo I bet.
We made our way through the sulfur steam and around the wooden path. There were tons of people, but that's what's going to happen when you're at a national park. Yogi was right, no one goes there anymore because of the crowd. I didn't realize I was so much a misanthrope, I suppose I always expected though.
After that, we headed to a museum in the park. It talked about how it was formed, about the processes that happen underground to form geysers, mud pits, hot springs, and steam vents. We're all nerds for that stuff, and I would tell you, but you'd be better off with google. Turns out though that Yellowstone is a hot volcano. As in, it could literally go off at any moment. Hell yes.
After that, we made our way to the trail head for Mt. Washburn. It was an eighty minute hike through a cloud that was raining. Also, snow. Everywhere. And we walked on it. Snow in June doesn't even seem odd to me anymore, and that's a thought that kinda terrifies me. Aaron had a water proof jacket, Adam and I were in hoodies. Adam had boots. Aaron and I wore shoes. I'm not going to say we were wet by the end. We were swimming. The top of the mountain was thick with fog, we could see at the most fifteen feet in front of us. That's fine though, I don't expect every view to be breathtaking. That wouldn't be real. There was a couple at the top, they were tall and we'd see them again later.
We left for the bottom, and I can imagine my parents holding their breath while we went some passes that were less than safe. It's okay though, life is more interesting when you might die. Speaking of which, we saw a bear soon after that.
We headed towards food after that. We ate at Roosevelt's, some kitschy feeling lodge with waitresses all in denim. The rustic look was sold more than felt, and it bothered me, but I was hungry. We spent the time people watching and I could smell a pipe wafting through the front door. There was a family all dressed in Red and Black striped shirts. It reminded me of camp. I remember everyone from Little Thinkers wearing the same colored shirts at water parks and amusement parks. It made sense, but damn if it's not creepy.
We went towards a waterfall following that. We left the beaten path in hopes of a better view, but it wound up ending rather abruptly in a washout. We hung around and tried to keep moving, but it wasn't to any avail. I don't know why they shut off the trail though, seems like most people would see that it was more or less impassable and would turn around. But then, perhaps 'm giving people the benefit of the doubt when they don't deserve it. I've yet to encounter a time on this trip that wouldn't support that though.
After that we made our way around the park and to Old Faithful. We stopped to almost see a bear for a bit, saw more elk and more buffalo and I'm sorry but I don't think I could ever look at buffalo enough. Also, turns out you can never have too many pictures of buffalo, or so Adam thinks anyhow.
We made it to Old Faithful just after it went off. Adam and I proceeded to sit on the benches and wait for it. Yes, it was going to be a hour, but dedication is important. We didn't really wait the whole time, instead Aaron Adam and I headed to the car to make PB&Js and listen to music. I had though we saw Gordon again, but we didn't. Perhaps it was folly to hope.
After Old Faithful went, an event that wasn't smelly in the least and much to my surprise, we headed to the Grand Tetons. It was getting dark by this point, and we couldn't see much of the view. We made it to Jackson Hole, went to a bar with quite possibly the prettiest girl in the world, then fell asleep in the car a bit out of Jackson. Adam woke up the next day confused, and Aaron and I had shitty sleeps in the front seat.
And that was Yellowstone. And it was what I wanted.