Off to Bozeman!

We are off!  What would make this first day of vacation even more exciting is the prospect of actually driving to Montana.  I miss car trips.  Maybe what I miss the most of car trips are the vending machines at rest areas that sold those cheap games and prizes.  I'm not sure why I woke up this morning with this nostalgic but incorrect memory -- when in reality my parents were too cheap to give me any money to buy anything.  Smile.  I know what it is...it is the thought of dealing with airports and TSA agents in badly fitting uniforms that centered my mind on car trips.

Nevertheless, we are on the way to Bozeman, Montana to see what the tour of Heart Lake and Mount Sheridan is all about.  Our tour guides are certainly excited.  One of them texted Ella confirming his excitement.  Funny how he worked out we were just talking about the tip we should leave the guides!

Heart Lake is one of Yellowstone's biggest backcountry lakes.  We are going to start our 3 -day hiking adventure on Monday.  Starting at Heart Lake Trailhead, we'll hike past hot springs and along a creek whose water measures in at over 800 degrees Fahrenheit! We'll see wildlife, trout, awesome views, and geysers.  Hmphf...we always get skunked at the promise of seeing real wildlife so we shall see if we run into anything beyond America's forest rodent -- deer. What? I can't get excited at seeing an animal I come close to hitting with my car every day.  

Anyway, we'll be hiking a total of 24 miles and through beautiful country up Mount Sheridan which is the tallest mountain in the Red Mountain Range at 10,308 feet. The altitude fills us with anxiety given our last trip to these heights resulted in altitude sickness for Ella.  But we are prepared!  We dutifully followed our tour guide's order to drink lots of water during this past week.  What filling your body with water has to do with solving altitude sickness is a mystery.  All I know is that I have to pee. 

Ajay, Amita, Kishan, and Kiertan are joining Ella, Kelsey, Elena, and I on this adventure.  Ajay has worked on his six pack to prepare for this trip and we are all worried.  It may have been multiple six packs - he sounded drunk every time we talked to him on the phone.  We drew short straws on who will carry his backpack -- I think Kelsey wins!  

Oh, did I mention that we have to eat twice as much as normal since we will be burning a lot of calories!  That is a huge bonus.  Unfortunately, we started the eating before actually hiking -- so much for that plan...

So...follow us on this adventure...the posts from the hike will be up after we come back to civilization.  Apparently there won't be any WIFI, cable, or satellite available to us for three days...oh boy...

Here is a map of where we will be...