It was just before sunrise and I was winding up the mountain roads of the Shoshone National Forest,
looking for a scenic view turnoff from which to photgraph the sun coming up. After a few minutes
I saw a sign "scenic view 500 feet" and just ahead I could see a dirt road heading off the main
road up to a peak. I turned up the dirt road, which quickly turned into a grassy, rocky road.
By the time the road turned into a rocky field with two rough hewn ditches for tires, I realized this
may not be the scenic view I was looking for, but in the offroading excitement, I threw the car
into super-four-wheel-drive and I charged ahead.
It was pretty rough driving, but I made it to the top, where there was nothing but a radio
antenna and the highest peak in the forest. I scampered to the top of the
rocky slope
with my cameras,
just as the sun peered over the horizon.
Alone, watching the sunrise from this isolated mountain peak, was absolutely glorious. With the sun
quickly ascending in morning sky, I slowly made my way back down through the rocky field. Turning back
onto the main road, I headed toward Yellowstone. Around the next corner I saw the real scenic view.
EPILOGUE: The next day I realized a piece of camera equipment was missing. I looked all over, asked
everyone at the campsite, before I realized the last time I saw it was on top of the peak in Shoshone.
I backtracked 2 hours, and threw the Jimmy into 4 wheel drive one more time. Sure enough, there was
my viewfinder, sitting on top of a rock at the top of the Shoshone National Forest.
NEXT STOP:
Yellowstone
