From Friday afternoon to Sunday evening, we were surrounded by breathtaking natural beauty, geological wonders, and more wildlife than I’ve ever seen. I’m completely blown away by what Yellowstone offers its visitors. Sure, it’s a dangerous place. “Low-key terrifying,” to quote one friend. And my mom has been sure to keep me apprised of all the bison goring, elk stomping, ground-failing activities in the Yellowstone area as her way of keeping me safe and letting me know she loves me. But with great risk comes great reward, right? While we were never careless or unsafe, we still reaped the benefits of venturing into such a wonderland.

We got to explore Yellowstone in a conversion van that we rented for the weekend. We have been sniffing around this mode of travel for years now, and felt this was an excellent opportunity to give it a legitimate try. It’s one thing to look at vans online, or even at shows or dealerships, but it’s another thing entirely to road test one for the weekend. So the first gallery of pics you will see us trying out hashtag vanlife. I have to say, we are both quite smitten with it as a way of getting around. Especially when the temperatures hit the freezing mark on Saturday night, the cozy van was so much more comfortable than a tent would have been.

Next the animals. Unfortunately, this particular blog does not support videos, so you won’t really see the wolves or coyotes (because even screenshots were hardly recognizable unlike some of the others you’ll see here). But you can see the other animals we saw, including insane human who skied down vertical slopes at 10,000 feet elevation.

Lastly, some of the incredible views we were able to take in and the crazy heights we reached. The grand Canyon of Yellowstone was staggering, and Bear Tooth Pass was absolutely jaw dropping. The geysers and hot springs were mesmerizing, and the sheer vastness of the forests makes you feel really small and insignificant in a really good way.