Yellowstone National Park

Our day visiting Yellowstone National Park was quite an adventure! (Everything that occurred happened throughout the day, not just at Yellowstone.)

First it started off with us staying the night in Montana, to travel to Yellowstone (Wyoming) for the day, back to Montana to spend the night and finally go back to Wyoming on the next day. Also, I was still not feeling well with a sore throat. I was given some disgusting red throat soother thing that worked wonders on some other people who had been sick as well.

Old Faithful erupting

Next, the bus started beeping and stuttering to a stop in pretty much the middle of nowhere. However, there was a gas station and a small laundromat where we got to use the bathroom and wait until the bus was fixed. It was a temporary fix and we continued on our way, but the bus came to a stop close to 20 times throughout the day. It got very annoying quickly. As the day progressed, we began to groan when the bus began to beep. 

Yellowstone was beautiful! We started our visit by checking out some of the hot springs. They were pretty cool! Next, we drove the two hours to Old Faithful. I had no idea how big Yellowstone actually was. Based on our previous luck, we probably weren't going to make the closest eruption of Old Faithful, but we made it in time to watch it instead of having to wait another hour or so! It was really cool to watch it erupt! I also bought some good ice cream at Yellowstone that definitely hit the spot!

After Yellowstone, we took a short drive up to the Buffalo Bill Dam to daven Mincha (say the afternoon service). The dam was next to a tunnel which was super cool! The wind blew hard, but as we started to recite the Amidah (leads up to silent meditation) the wind picked up even more. A rainbow appeared above the water and water from the dam sprayed us. The wind was so strong it pushed us back. I still felt awful and was freezing even in a sweatshirt and sweatpants. The girl leading the service was crying after we got back on the bus because it was so beautiful. Somebody believed that God was watching us pray and that his presence came through the wind. I missed out on fully embracing another bus bonding moment because I was wasn't feeling well and shivering. I wished to get back on the bus asap!

Overall, I give my adventure at Yellowstone and throughout Wyoming and Montana a 7/10. 

Assortment of teens + 6 and half weeks = family

It's amazing how 40 teenagers who are mostly strangers to you become some of your closest friends in only 6 and half weeks. I only knew 3 other teens before my trip started and I didn't even know them that well. I also knew Louis who was one of my staff members. (Fun Fact: Louis went to WJ.)

First day photo! (Louis is the guy in the bright blue t-shirt in sitting on the floor)

I was so excited to spend the summer with Louis! I was nervous at first to meet my companions and later my new friends. Orientation was very awkward for me with lots of the other teens knowing each other from either school, a previous USY Summer Program or just brought a friend with them.

The room where we first met was decorated with posters, streamers, papers that resembled luggage tags of all of our names and giant map of the United States with our route drawn on it. It was slightly overwhelming with a bunch of new faces and the teens on other buses. We did tons of ice breakers to get to know each other which kind of got boring after awhile.

USY on Wheels alumni always say that their bus becomes a family! I think we truly became a family through our creation inside jokes, Shabbuddy gifts, trivia to get called up for dinner and countless memories we formed along the way. (If you are interested in reading about Bus B 2018's inside jokes and Shabbuddy gifts comment that.)

Last Shabbat/weekend together

On the last night, we watched a montage of our adventure together that Louis prepared for us. At the end, there were photos from the first day. We all couldn't believe how much we have changed and grown in only 6 and half weeks. It seemed much longer than 6 and half weeks. It was amazing to see how tight of a community we formed with each other. (I was slightly afraid that I changed so much my parents and friends wouldn't recognize me. However, everyone remembered me!) I didn't want the trip to end because my USY "bubble" popped. Even though all 40 of us live all over the country we will forever be a family.