Big Sky and Yellowstone National Park

Family pic at Big Sky, MT (pre-COVID19)

Despite being a short month, February is a big month for our family. Winter break typically falls around Valentine's day (14th), Seth's birthday (18th), our wedding anniversary (19th) and President's day weekend so we usually take a vacation. For Winter Break 2020, we decided the kids were old enough to go skiing out West. I signed up for the American College of Cardiology Big Sky Cardiology Conference and we booked our tickets. Then Marit broke her leg (see January post). Writing this in April after a month of social distancing and Stay at Home due to the COVID-19 pandemic seems a bit surreal but alas, at least we can reminisce.

Sunrise in Big Sky, MT

Taking a quick break on a black diamond (steep) in Big Sky!

Families that play together, stay together

Theo got stuck in some pow-pow!

View of the peak from the bowl

The "Big Sky State" is Montana's motto for a reason, the vastness of the land that seems to go forever in every direction with snow-capped mountains on rise up over the horizon and touch the baby blue sky above. It can be overwhelming yet exhilarating. And it's no wonder that Big Sky, the resort, is known as the "Biggest Skiing in America." It's 5800 acres, 39 chair lifts and incredibly steep terrain are unmatched by many other resorts. Theo was in ski school everyday and thankfully Marit got a spot in the daycare at the base since she broke her leg in January and was still in a lower leg cast.

Thank goodness for daycare so Mommy and Daddy can go snowboarding

She was bummed she couldn't hang out in the outdoor hot tub in the afternoons and keeps begging to go back not to go skiing but to go to the hotel "with the super big hot tub".

Hanging out in the big hot tub after the last day skiing

Seth and I decided to take snowboard lessons after having a rough day on the bumps at the top of the challenger lift. Aptly named, it did indeed challenge us all the way back down the steep, bumpy terrain. We stuck to blues the rest of the day. The lessons were immensely helpful to clean up our form and help us carve better. We'll probably take them again as learning from a pro no matter what your skill level can really help.

Theo going off a jump in the terrain park

Besides snowboarding, we enjoyed eating out too. While we are trying to eat a more heart healthy, plant-based diet, Montana is the land of the unrepentant carnivore. We tried it all: antelope, elk, bison, venison, duck, as well as delicious local salmon and rainbow trout, too.

Family pic in the geyser basin in Yellowstone

We took one day off from the slopes and woke up early to take a bus to Yellowstone National Park. The bus, meant for warm summer days, was not insulated to deal with the -25 degree night we had. The gave out wool blankets as we boarded the bus and despite snowpants, warm winter mittens, wool socks and my warmest winter boots, I was FREEZING and couldn't feel my hands or feet for over an hour. I can't imagine being an early explorer sent by the railroad companies to explore the wild west in the late 1800s, especially in winter! We arrived at a hotel just outside West Yellowstone and boarded giant snowcats with tires as tall as a small adult and entered the park with our guide. Despite cars being allowed to drive in Yellowstone since 1915, the only safe way to enter Yellowstone in the winter is on a snowmobile or snowcat. Even the ambulances are snowcats! Besides the Minnesota-like winter temperatures and blanket of white, nothing else in Yellowstone was the quite like the winter we're used to.

Tires on the snowcat are as tall as Theo

Look at me, Mommy!

We continued driving on the snow-covered road surrounded by snow-capped ridge that formed the caldera from when Yellowstone last erupted 640,000 years ago. This caldera ridge rose up touched the sky so blue it looked like the Mediterranean sea. To our left flowed the Madison river. The bank was studded with steaming brown humps and upon closer inspection, these weren't humps but giant bison!

Bison on the banks of the river

As we entered the Hayden Valley, we saw what looked like campfires with big bursts of white smoke that filled the air. We stopped the bus and stepped outside to discover it wasn't fire but an endless geyser basin with dozens of geysers and hot springs between 180-190 degrees causes water to steaming in the near zero air temps. The valley was filled with bubbling mud pots, sprouting geysers, fumaroles and grand canyons with cascading waterfalls. It's amazing the first mountain men decided to NOT claim this land for themselves but rather lobbied to Congress to make Yellowstone National Park open to all. Artists were sent to depict the scenery and bring it back to Washington D.C. along with stories of the "other worldly" geothermal features and they convinced Congress to designate Yellowstone as the world's first national park in 1872. We headed to Old Faithful geyser for lunch. We ate out boxed lunches in yurts and learned more about the geothermal features at the visitor center. As predicted, Old Faithful went off on time and we headed home. Theo's favorite part was playing his nintendo switch in the bus and seeing the animals: bison, swans, bald eagles, and a coyote. Marit and Theo finished their Junior Ranger packets on the way back home and are now official Junior Rangers.

Junior Ranger Theodore J. Benziger

After visiting the park in both the summer and winter, I highly recommend everyone put seeing Yellowstone in the winter on your bucket list. It's even more beautiful with a tiny fraction of the visitors.