ArkLaTex stepsisters escape floodwaters of Yellowstone National Park

CODY, Wy. (KSLA) - Late Tuesday night, stepsisters Holly Henigan and Laura Finlay’s long journey out of Yellowstone National Park finally came to an end.

“Happy to be alive,” Holly texted KSLA’s Doug Warner shortly after the two pulled into the high-and-dry town of Cody, Wyo., some 130 miles away from where their day first started.

Holly Henigan and Laura Finlay — Holly Henigan and Laura Finlay(Holly Henigan)

The two arrived pulled into Gardiner, Mont., on Sunday, part of Holly’s two-week trip visiting with Laura, a school counselor in Shreveport who is spending much of her summer in this area.

“I took a road trip up here with her to stay a couple of weeks and this is what has happened, lol,” Holly’s text continued.

But soon after, they realized the waters of the nearby Yellowstone River was beginning to overrun its banks, flooding towns and washing out roads and bridges in and out of the national park.

Holly Henigan took this photo of a home perilously dangling over the Yellowstone River shortly... — Holly Henigan took this photo of a home perilously dangling over the Yellowstone River shortly before falling into the waters and floating downstream.(Holly Henigan)

They say they were cut off and left stranded in Gardiner for two nights before finally deciding to find a way out of the area.

Once deciding to drive out, Holly stated that, “One road that is open is not 100% safe, but we are going for it.”

The decision paid off.

Despite lots of other drivers deciding to do the same thing, the two made it to Cody at around 9 p.m. Central time Tuesday.

Copyright 2022 KSLA. All rights reserved.