by Natalie Ogbourne | Jan 27, 2023 | Yellowstone Stories
By nature, I am hard-pressed to choose a favorite anything. Ask for my favorite food, color, or book, and I’ll give you two. Or maybe three. Sometimes more. So here are not one, two, or even three favorite short hikes in Yellowstone. Here are my favorite five, all 2.5...
by Natalie Ogbourne | Jan 2, 2023 | Yellowstone Stories
My husband and I were just approaching the trailhead when I saw the sign. Again. WARNING: BEAR FREQUENTING AREA. The weight of impending doom settled on my soul and my mind launched in with its barrage of questions. How many bears? Is it one or a mama with cubs? How...
by Natalie Ogbourne | Jan 1, 2023 | Yellowstone Stories
A long, long time ago—forty years last month—my parents took my little brother and me to Yellowstone. If you’ve read around here long, you know my life has never been the same. (Thank you, Mom and Dad.) One of the sights I most remember from that first visit is...
by Natalie Ogbourne | Dec 1, 2022 | Yellowstone Stories
Zipping my jacket to my chin, I picked up speed in hopes of generating more body heat. Before long it would be warm—possibly even hot—but that would be later. For now, the October sun hadn’t been up long enough to chase away the overnight chill. Earlier, when the...
by Natalie Ogbourne | Nov 1, 2022 | Yellowstone Stories
Because I promote picnicking as the best way to deal with the inevitable and recurring need for food, here are some YNP picnicking realities and a few of our favorite picnic areas. (Note: Each is near water—either beside a river or above Yellowstone Lake.) Our 5...
by Natalie Ogbourne | Oct 8, 2022 | Yellowstone Stories
At the switchback, I paused for a breath and surveyed the landscape. Interested as I was in the spruce and fir trees dotting Lamar Valley’s faded grass, what I really wanted was to see how far my husband and I had come so I could figure out know how much further I had...