In June, Yellowstone experienced unexpected water levels that caused immense damage to the northern end of the park. This resulted in the two northern entrances to the park being closed and many of the parts and roads in the north being closed to visitors. Initially the entire park was closed to all people, though this only lasted a few days.
We were concerned about our visit, but also knew that a lot could change in 7 weeks, so decided to keep our plan the same and continue with our reservation inside Yellowstone. Our decision paid off and we experienced a wonderful visit to the nations first national park.
Our first day in the park coincided with the first day they opened a small part of the Lamar Valley to vehicles. That portion of the park had been severely damaged by high water, and they felt the first few miles were safe enough to allow a limited amount of cars to traverse. We lucked out with reserving tickets for four days of our visit. We learned, by doing, that these tickets were key to the only close viewing of bison in the park. The herd of bison that claims the other valley, Hayden Valley, had moved so far inland due to mating season that you could no longer view them from the roads. The Lamar Valley herd were comfortable enough to stay close to the roads and we were able to view all the unique actions that occur during the bison rut.
Our travels around Yellowstone also netted us some new birds. We lucked upon Swan Pond and it was hosting a mated pair of trumpeter swans with two cygnets, a roosting golden eagle and a family of red tailed hawks teaching their young to soar the thermals.
To break up our days in the park, after an amazing day tour by Bruce Salzmann, we followed him to Cody to spend the weekend with Kristie. We timed our Cody arrival to coincide with the start of the nightly rodeo. We haven’t had an opportunity to show the kids a rodeo before this because our timing was just off, so we took advantage of the fact that Cody offers one every night of the week all summer long. Aleah’s favorite part was when the children were invited down to the ring to attempt to snatch a ribbon off the tail of a calf. She didn’t win.
A weekend spent with friends was great for our souls. We last saw Kristie and Brad during their wedding in November, so it has been great to keep these visits so regular. After running errands in Cody, we spent the evening catching up and enjoying the view from their backyard.
A visit to Cody would not be complete without also seeing ALL the Cody Salzmanns. Chris and the kids missed out on the house tour I got during my visit in June 2020, so they got to see the amazing house and then Sheri treated us to in season raspberry bushes. Yum! All the raspberries I could eat! I even put some in the container for later. 😉
