We spent two days in Yellowstone and wish we were able to spend more time there. We didn't have time to see all the places and we missed visiting some places like Morning glory pool, Black river, etc.

For wild life, we saw many Bisons on the way. We saw one black bear too.

The first day was a rainy day so we had to turn back early. We entered to the park from West entrance and turned right from the Madison junction. The first stop was Fountain Paint pot but we didn't stop there because time was limited. We directly drove to Grand prismatic Spring.

This is an abstract map of Yellowstone national park. You can get a more detailed map here.

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In day 04, we drove from Whitefish, MT to to the cabin in Big sky, MT. On our way we stopped in Wayfarers state park. We had bought lunch on the way and we ate in the picnic area near the lake. The lake was named as Flathead lake.

The road to Big sky was also scenic. 

We arrived in our cabin in Big sky around mid night. Next day our plan was to  visit Yellowstone.
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It took another two hours to reach Many Glacier. That place was just magical. A crystal clear lake surrounded by bluish mountains was just gorgeous.

We had to drive 4 hours back to Big mountain lodge and our next day plan was to drive down to Bigsky, where we had booked a cabin from
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We arrived at Lake McDonald by lunch time. The lake was gorgeous with the mountains in the back ground. The water was like crystal and the shadow of the mountains on the lake was beautiful.

There was a cafe called "Eddie's Cafe" there and we had lunch from the cafe. Food was good. After lunch our plan was to visit Many Glacier.
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Our plan was to visit Glacier national park and come back to the Big mountain lodge for the night. It took around 2 hours for us to reach the park entrance.

The surrounding was really beautiful. The streams with cold blue water and huge mountain tops covered with green trees and bit of snow looked like a painting.

By lunch time, we arrived at Lake McDonald in Glacier national park.
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We went on a long train trip to Yellowstone in June, 2017. We started the trip on 22nd Thursday evening and drove up to Knoxville, TN where our friends live. We stayed the night there and on Friday afternoon, we drove to Bloomington. Some other friends were supposed to join from Bloomington. We stayed the night at friend's place.

We left Bloomington around 10 am heading Chicago from where we were supposed to take the train. We reached Union station around 12.30 pm. We got on the train (Amtrak - Empirebuilder) on time and our party of 14 could get adjacent seats in one compartment. Then the train started chugging...and went on and on for another day and a half.

The train seat was spacious and it had a lot of leg space. It can be tilted and had a leg rest too. You can sleep in this train more comfortably than in a plane for sure. There was a dining cart on the train and the food was good. My only complain is the bathrooms. They are so tiny and old. They get dirty quickly as well. Other than that, the overall train experience was a pleasant one.

When the train enters Glacier National park on Sunday evening, we were in the observation cart. The surrounding was really beautiful. We saw pale blue streams and green mountains. We felt like traveling through a paradise.

We got down from Whitefish, Montana on 25th Sunday around 9pm and stayed the night in Big Mountain lodge.

Next day our plan was to see the Glacier National Park. 
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We visited Biltmore mansion in Ashville in March, 2017. It was a 3 1/2 hr drive from Blacksburg to Ashville.We stayed in a cabin and went to see Biltmore next day.

It is actually a wonderful mansion. The garden is marvelous and huge. We wish if we could come back in a summer time.

Inside the mansion, there's a lot to see including bed rooms, swimming pool, gym, laundry room, servant rooms, kitchen, dressing rooms, etc.

We spent most of the day there and came back to the cabin. The next day, we drove back to Blacksburg.
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