Heading to Yellowstone

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming - July 08, 2019

© Ryan Thompson

The past few days have been wonderful. Coming down from the badlands heading towards Yellowstone. I90 came to the western side of Montana and I witnessed the Rocky Mountains for the first time in my life. Getting super anxious to head into this wonderful place and start to really explore what I came to do. Even though I was greeted with a powerful thunderstorm, I truly enjoyed coming over the pass and seeing some snow capped mountains. The storm was now behind me as I strolled into Bozeman, Montana, a place that reminds me of Saratoga Springs back home but is filled with these wondrous looking people. Every person seems to be wearing some sort of outdoor clothing and all the stores seem to have the word Outdoor in the name. I should have stopped before I went down to Yellowstone and refueled the van and got some groceries but I enjoyed coming through this town and will be looking forward to coming back through when I need some food.



The first night I parked at the end of this dirt road in the middle of Red Canyon in Gallatin National Forest. There I met a guy named Scott that seemed to be doing the same thing that I was doing. Either enjoying the scenery and all this country has to offer or running from the responsibilities of being an adult. Scott seemed like an intense guy, but after hearing some stories about him I realized he was just like me. He was traveling through the United States after living in Thailand for a couple of years. He was looking to skydive throughout the United States, hoping to jump in every state possible. After that he told me about some climbing adventures he was on as a younger adult and some other stories about his travels through Thailand. After talking to him a bit more I put it in perspective that this guy really never grew up. He stayed young all his life and continues to stay young by pushing himself through these adventures, which is something that I admire and hope to do throughout my life.

Mile - 2177

© Ryan Thompson