july 17 yellowstone, wy => seattle, wa

this is what 5am look like.


up and at 'em early again- this time our reasoning was threefold- it was, in part, to see the critters, and to avoid the assholes, but it was also because we decided to make it all the way home so that we could wake up in our bed the next morning and have a day to recover. it meant 14+ hours of driving-- our longest day yet.

so we drove out of the park, getting to see LOTS of critters before we left, and out into montana.










he was not happy with us













he could care less about us.












mama black bear and 3 cubs


for the most part we had been on backroads since our first night on the road, but heading home in a hurry meant the highway. i-90 west. luke, face covered in a camping towel and black bandanna, fell asleep just outside the park and so it was up to me to get us as far as i could. and i kid you not, not even TWO minutes after getting on the highway, i was pulled over. the cop, who was visibly younger, was harassing us. though i speculate he thought i was kidnapping the seemingly bound luke. apparently it was from a lack of signal (which i call bullshit on bc he followed me long before i changed lanes- going 65 in a 70- also, i ALWAYS signal). anyway, he eyeballed the glove compartment and everything else he could before sending me on my way with a warning (for what?). and it was off to the races.

we took turns driving, got the teeniest bit snippy with each other for the first time since the trip (luke doesnt remember this, so maybe i was just being irritable), ate at a sonic drive in... mmmmmmmm and made it home at 8pm.












home!

spending day in and out with my favorite person and getting to see and do all kinds of amazing things makes me profoundly grateful. and i would do all of it again in a heartbeat.














best.birthday.ever.