Until Next Time

This has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life, and I would never change it for anything. Yellowstone will always have a soft spot in my heart, and I will never forget the people I met here and the experiences I was able to share with them. :)

One Last Sunset

Marshall, Liz, Daniel, and I made our way out to Mary's Bay to enjoy our last sunset in Yellowstone. I love the friends that I've made here and am going to miss them so much.

Goodbye Lake

I have loved living at Lake. It's definitely my favorite location in the park. I was thankful that the haze had finally cleared up a bit so we could enjoy one more clear and sunny afternoon on the beach.

Bike Ride

Ed, the old security guard, has a Harley. :) So I asked him if we could go out sometime before I left. Seeing Yellowstone from the back of a bike is definitely a completely different experience. I loved driving through Hayden Valley and up Dunraven Pass as the Yellowstone air whipped around me, and I could take in all of the fresh smells. However, it did make me a little nervous when we were stuck in a jam, and bison were right next to us. There was no safety of being in a car! But it was still a good time :)

A touristy day

Hannah and I decided we would have a tourist day before leaving. So we went and saw some of the geyser basins, that we hadn't even gone near this summer. We got to see Great Fountain geyser erupt as soon as we arrived to it. It actually only erupts every 8-12 hours, so we were happy with our good timing! We wrapped up our night by getting in some shopping in West Yellowstone.

Fishing Bridge and Bears

Liz and I decided to spend some time hanging out on the bridge, taking in the evening, when a big grizzly bear decided to jump out of the woods. We had to laugh when the tourists standing in front of us were too busy looking at the beaver below them, when there was a huge bear only 50 yards to their left. We were a little nervous because it looked like the bear was about to come charging down the bridge, right towards us. Thankfully, he decided to run down to the river and swim across to a small island. It was pitiful to see a large group of tourists running at the bear as soon as he emerged from the woods, in hopes of a good picture. I'm pretty sure people decide to shut their brains off when they're here....tourists...

ACMNP in Gardiner

All of ACMNP's staff for Yellowstone came together to the McLaughlin's for an evening of good food, volleyball, worship, and swing dancing. :)

Farewell Service

For our last time together as a ministry team, we spent it by the lake in worship and fellowship with each other.

Pelican Valley

A nice hike along the Yellowstone prairie is a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Lonestar Geyser

Daniel and I made the trip out to Lonestar Geyser tonight, and we actually got to see it go off!! It was perfect timing. :)

Avalanche Peak...finally!

Liz and I have been wanting to do Avalanche Peak for the longest time now, and everyone else had already hiked it! So we finally headed out and did it! It was a sweet hike, and it was really interesting to see Yellowstone all hazy from the recent fires.

Cracker Lake

We started off the morning by driving through Logan Pass again. Of course the mountain goats were out and about, and we even got to see a young big horn sheep. For our backpacking trip, we went to cracker lake, which is a beautiful blue lake that is surrounded by huge cliffs. It's a coveted spot for campers, and we were lucky to get the site!!

Painting

While Barrett took pictures of the sunset at Wild Goose Island, I figured I would work on my own art as well. :)

Photo Safari Tour

I finally got the chance to go in the photo safari tour! We saw an amazing sunrise over fishing bridge, got really close to a black bear, explored the canyon, looked at wildlife in Hayden Valley, and saw some great overlooks. We rode in one of the old school Yellowstone buses, and Barrett taught us more about our cameras! I'm glad I actually got to do this before I have to leave!