Thursday, August 16, 2012

Wild Wild (Mid)West: Horseback riding at Pahaska Tepee Lodge

One of the best parts of our trip out west was the morning we did a two hour horseback ride through Shoshone National Forest in Wyoming. We started out at 9:30am and headed up a trail that took us up to 10,000 feet. The employees at the stables were really nice, even though there had been a miscommunication about what time we were starting the ride. 


Our horses: Weatherby, Bear Claw, Blimpy, and Rapid

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Wild Wild (Mid)West: Yellowstone

Visiting Yellowstone was incredible. Pretty much everywhere you looked was amazing! My biggest regret from our trip was that we didn't have more time to spend there... I'll definitely be returning someday, and will spend a lot more time! We got a decent taste of the park, but there were so many hikes and sights we missed!

Nearly there!

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Wild Wild (Mid)West: Montana Grizzly Encounter

The Montana Grizzly Encounter was absolutely awesome. After we got lost outside of Bozeman, we didn't have a ton of time, but wanted to do something cool and "Montana-y." And the Grizzly Encounter totally fit the bill!

It was an easy drive outside of Bozeman - only about 10 minutes on 191/90 East. It cost $7/person to get in, and you could spend as much or as little time as you wanted watching the bears. I think we stayed a little over an hour, which was plenty of time to check out the grizzlies! 

The two bears that were in the enclosure were Sheena and Brutus. Sheena is a 26 year old female who was born in captivity and through some random circumstances ended up spending 13 years of her life in a 6'x4' cage until she was rescued by the organization. She only tolerates Brutus, so no other bears are allowed out while she's out. She also doesn't let humans touch her. Brutus, on the other hand, is a 10 year old male who stands at 7'9" tall. He was raised with human interaction, and sometimes works on movie sets!

Sheena meandering to the water and Brutus sniffing some wildflowers.

Wild Wild (Mid)West: Bozeman, Montana

Finally, I'm getting around to writing about our trip to Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota!

We started the day off super early, as the only direct flight from LA to Bozeman the day we flew was at 8am. As per our habit when flying out of LAX, we left early enough to hit Randy's Donuts on the way - it's the best donut place in LA, hands down. Yeah, that's right, I said it. 

 The coconut donuts from Randy's Donuts are the best EVER!