Bison in the road, Elk on the sidewalk

My second couch surfing experience was again, wonderful. I stayed with Robin and Jim and their family and it was just like one of the kids. I walked in and Robin was making dinner so I sat in the kitchen and chatted while she did that. Then we all headed downstairs with our food to the home theater room where we ate together and watched the Nebraska vs. Wisconsin game. They are Nebraska fans through thick and thin which is a good thing because they lost the game last night. We continued to chat through the game really just getting to know each other and Robin was very helpful with planning my day trip to Yellowstone National Park. She got me on all the right roads to see all the notorious sites in the park.

I am still very new to couch surfing so it's always fun for me to pick their brains and ask how their experiences have been. It makes me feel better and it gives me helpful hints for my future surfing encounters. I went to bed early since it was a super long day. I was in bed (an actual bed, in my own room!) by 9pm but my brain just would not shut off. I don't think I actually fell asleep until around 1am which really hurt when my alarm went off at 6am! I had another long day of driving ahead of me and since Cody, WY is in the middle of mountains there was only one way up and out. I got to the park gates at around 9am so I made good time through the mountain and over to Montana (Cook City, WA gas was $4.25!!!). Once I was in the park the driving had just begun.

My first stop was Mammoth Hot Springs. Here I walked through the little town and found myself on the sidewalk with a 6-point Elk. It was like being on another planet. There were Elk every where just walking around with people. It was one of the most bizarre things I have encountered on this trip thus far!  The Hot Springs were amazing and the colors were all shades of oranges, pinks, yellows, blues, and greens. I had never seen anything like them!

Mammoth Hot Springs

My next big stop was Old Faithful but he was more then 30mi away so I stopped at Norris Geyser Basin, and Gibbon Falls. I also found a pull off with boiling water which was a unique thing to find. Once I made it to Old Faithful I quickly wanted to see when the next estimate was. It only goes off about ever hour/hour and 15 min. Luckily, I hit it at the perfect time and I only had to wait 20min! What was even better is that it went off 6min early! I figured it would be short and sweet and one of those things you wish you got a good picture of but it slowly built up allowing me to get a whole series of pictures! I was so excited :)

Old Faithful

Lunch came next since I was starving at the Geyser Grill. I was planning on driving to the Grand Tetons but that would have been another 2hr drive and I opted out. I was starting to go stir-crazy being in the car after yesterday and knowing I have a SUPER long drive tomorrow. So I text Robin and said I would be back around 4pm. I am glad I didn't go and do the extra drive, it gives me something to do if I ever come back up to this area. When I got back to the house Robin was once again making dinner (I love how everyone on this trip wants to feed me!) and I sat in the kitchen and told her about my adventures today. Like watching a Bison charge the car in front of me, or walking down the sidewalk with the Elk. I told her how I felt like a city girl who got lost in the west because everything was so foreign to me. She laughed and looked at all of my pictures I had taken and it was nice just to share.

Jim, Robin, and myself sat down for dinner and that is when I let loose...here came the questions. How did you get into couch surfing? Have you had people who were rude? How long do they typically stay for? Any advice for me as I continue on? The questions just kept coming and the answers were fascinating. I got a lot of good tips and I'm sure it was nice for them to reminisce a bit too. They actually remember all of their surfers names and sometimes they accept 7 at a time!  We talked for a good 3 hours and then Robin started helping me plan my route for tomorrow to make sure I get over to Craters of the Moon in Idaho. She also helped me find the closest Mazda dealer when I get to Oregon because my car is going to get fixed up before we head on. My mazda is doing so well! Today she got 300mi to a half tank of gas! Zoom Zoom!

I have been having an amazing trip and doing it by myself was really the right thing to do. I can do what I want, explore, and think. But I will say that I worry about my sleeping habbits. I haven't been able to sleep very well and I am averaging 5hrs a night and then going full force all day everyday. Hopefully in OR I can catch up on some sleep because I can't afford to crash in CA or Vegas...too much to see and do!!