Yellowstone-Canyon

We made several stops and several hikes around the Canyon area the rest of the morning. Everyone was amazed at the canyon, the falls and the incredible scenery. The steep hikes were a bit of a challenge, but the group powered through it and were rewarded with some amazing views and some great pictures! Things were already getting crowded, so we grabbed lunch at Canyon, then drove to Tower and back over the pass hoping to spot some wildlife. Sadly were struck out. So it was back to camp as several thunderstorms rolled through the campground. Dad managed to get dinner cooked between storms, and we ate in the camper. We enjoyed a simple meal of hamburgers and home made cheese fries over the fire.

Yellowstone-Tuesday Morning

Thankful there were no bear sightings in the campground overnight, so everyone was well rested for a busy Tuesday in the park. We wanted to get an earlier start, so it was just muffins, cereal, coffee and juice for breakfast. We headed north again, through Fishing Bridge and onwards towards Canyon.

The first stop of the day was a quick walk through another set of mud paint pots. There were LOTS of buffalo lounging around the hot, steamy thermal areas. We found out later from a ranger that the buffalo would rather be hot then bitten by bugs, so that's why they choose to stay around the thermal features. It was a great first stop of the day: still cool, not crowded, and a good walk to get the blood flowing.

Yellowstone-Monday Night

On the way back to our campsite, we ran into our first of many world famous Yellowstone traffic jams. There was a line of 30 cars slowing down and stopping for....a single buffalo. We stopped at Isa Lake, which sits on the Continental Divide. Some of the water in it flows to the Pacific, and some to the Gulf of Mexico. Pretty neat stuff. Also spotted an elk having his dinner!

When we finally returned to Bridge Bay, it was an amazing dinner of shrimp linguine, garlic bread, and smores by the fire for dessert. The kids made quite a few new friends in the campground, so it seemed there was always a game of soccer or football or keep-a-way going on. Also enjoyed a cold Fat Tire and several of Grandma Roth's no bakes. It was a good day.

Yellowstone-Mud Pots

After five and a half hours at Old Faithful, we made the drive a bit north and stopped at the mud pots. Everyone got a kick out of the colorful, boiling, mud. We also made it to Midway Geyser Basin and saw more cool water features. Also more hats that had blown away on that windy day. We even found a place that the kids could cool their feet in the river!

Yellowstone-Old Faithful

Here are a few more pictures from our stroll around the boardwalk at Old Faithful. So many neat things so see, hear and smell! Many people weren't quite prepared for the wind, as there were several hats that were lost forever on the hot springs. Nathanael was quite proud of the Young Scientist key chain he earned for completing the program!

Yellowstone-Monday

It was rise and shine early at campsite C175, for a delicious breakfast of hash-browns, home made rolls, coffee and juice. After Noah and Hanah finally got the dishes done (to be fair, it was the first time either one had done camp dishes), it was off to Old Faithful! We spotted our first wild life on the way, a little coyote near Grant Village. The southern part of the park is finally starting to show some recovery from the 1988 fires. There are many new lodge pole pines starting to grow, which was a welcome sight.

We arrived about an hour before the next scheduled eruption, so we had some time to walk around the visitors center, sign the kids up for the Jr. Ranger program, sigh Nathanael up for the Young Scientist program, and find some seats to watch her erupt. We spent the next several hours walking around the Old Faithful area, while Jen helped Nathanael complete his "homework." In fact we were there so long, we got to see three eruptions from three different locations, eat a meal, and get ice cream! Not too bad for five hours!