I was a novice, never been to Yellowstone. Stacey was on her third trip. It was a whirlwind adventure over only a single weekend. But, it whetted our appetite. We left with a planning guide purchased, and certainty that there will be a trip to Yellowstone in 2004.

I know that I can't imagine a more enjoyable companion to share my trip than Stacey. She says she was thrilled by my wide-eyed wonder. We had such a good time with each other that we know that these kinds of trips will always be a part of our future.

Now, on to our story of Yellowstone!

On The Road! No pictures here, just that we drove up in Stacey's dead cute VW Bug (you'll see it at the Continental Divide Picnic!) on Friday morning, August 22. Oh, and about 25 miles north of Idaho Falls Stacey exhibited excellent driving skills by not putting us into the retaining wall when a semi-truck tire tread suddenly appeared in our lane. She gamely drove over it, taking the small amount of damage to her car... small amount!? Ended up being nearly $800 at the body shop for barely noticeable dislodgement of the plastic grillwork... it's the way VW's are built.

Mesa Falls! We took a side trip off of US 20 to Mesa Falls. Our guide to Yellowstone (Yellowstone Treasures, by Janet Chapple), purchased after the fact, notes Mesa Falls is "a delightful short trip." We went that way mainly because we'd been advised by Stacey's parents that a US 20 bridge was under renovation creating delays which could be avoided. Regardless of time savings, Mesa Falls was a good pre-Yellowstone trip because it got us in the mood for the coming adventures and allowed us to stretch our legs.

We took a few pictures at Mesa.

West Yellowstone! After Mesa Falls, we drove on, eventually reconnecting with US 20 and arrived into West Yellowstone, Montana. West Yellowstone abutts just to the west of Yellowstone National Park and is as touristy as you can imagine. We stayed in a non-chain hotel that had covered parking. The covered parking was for Stacey's father's Corvette. That was the reason we were there, to see her father participate in a Corvette show and competition. The host hotel for the show didn't have covered parking.

The first night was a surprise birthday party for Stacey's dad, Paul, at a West Yellowstone eatery. He thought it was just the usual first night social for the Twin Falls Corvette club (Snake River Corvettes), and he was very mucy surprised. Stacey bought him an excellent radio controlled model Corvette from Radio Shack. No pictures from this, simply forgot the camera!

Yellowstone! On Saturday, we did make it to Yellowstone itself. Stacey was driving, since she knew I'd be in awe, and I was. The most striking thing to notice coming in along the western entrance is the damage and recovery from the fires of 1988 which particularly affected that portion of the park. Still standing after all these years are many of the burned away tree trunks, 30 feet tall and higher, looking much like dried bones. Growing to a height of about 3 to 6 feet all around the burned away trees are new evergreens.