BUFFALO BILL STATE PARK
On our way into Yellowstone, we passed through Buffalo Bill State Park and stopped to buy post cards. The park was absolutely gorgeous, definitely, a recommend. There is a lake on the way in and on a clear day, like the one we had, the mountains were reflected in the blue water. Buffalo were roaming around and we saw a lot of deer - it was one of the most amazing places I have ever been in that the land was really well preserved. It was a great entrance to Yellowstone.
ELEPHANT BACK MOUNTAIN TRAIL
HIKE: 4-mile loop, pretty steep incline, lots of deep snow, but where there was a trail it was well marked
ELEVATION GAIN: 820 feet
Our first hike in Yellowstone was quite the doozie and my mom killed it. It was listed as moderate on our hiking map, but with the snow, fallen trees, and switch back incline, I think it was a little tougher than moderate. We were about 2 miles into the hike when we hit our first patch of snow. A couple warned us that, that wasn't the last of the snow, and that they weren't able to finish the hike because "it was too hard." These people had sandals on, and sometimes, I can be a bit judgy, so I wasn't really inclined to take their word on the difficulty of the trail ahead.
They were right, I was wrong. There was a lot of snow, snow up to your knee, and none of it was packed. By the time we reached it - which was the top of the mountain, we were too far to give up. My 5 foot nothing mom, never once, even mentioned going back the way we came or giving up. She just continued to wade through snow, sometimes well past her knees until we were able to start descending. This lady is amazing.
By the way. The views: totally and completely worth it.
VIEW FROM THE DRIVE HOME
