I live in Seattle. At sea level. The Yellowstone Half Marathon is not at sea level. In fact, it is a few feet above sea level. Say about 6665 of those feet. Yeah. Running at elevation can be harder than you think. But, I didn’t die, as you may have suspected. I finished and lived to tell a tale or two.

Another topic to consider: There are no bison in Seattle. There happen to be quite a few in Yellowstone. No surprise there, but did you know that when bison are still, like ninja still, you can look right past them? Especially when you are dog tired from running 13.1 miles in 80 deg heat at 6665 feet of elevation. That’s how this guy managed to sneak up on us while he standing perfectly still. Nina bison…who knew?

This was my second trip to Yellowstone, but I saw far more of the park this trip. We were able to drive most of the park road – the only portion we didn’t cover was between Mammoth and Canyon. We saw many of Yellowstone’s icons, as well. The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone was a show stopper.

We saw tons of wildlife: elk, bison, 2 coyotes, antelope, a martin, pelicans, ospreys, eagles and even got caught behind a bison traffic jam.

Yellowstone is one of those places that you can visit again and again and never get over how magical this earth can be. A mountain that steams, waterfalls that mesmerize and terrorize, fumaroles and bubbling mud pots all within one park. And if you get a chance to see a sunset in such a place….well, why not go back for more?