If you ask our kids they will tell you Jellystone because that was the standing joke all day. We decided on a last minute, unplanned for, unprepared for trip to Yellowstone! It was so much fun - I think partly due to the fact that we were flying by the seat of our pants and experiencing something new with little to no preparation! We had some advice from my cousin and from my dad about must see things, etc. but that was about it.
We were on a hunt for bears. We were hoping to see this:
But instead, saw a lot of this:
Riley will tell you that the buffalo forgot to shave because that's what Andy kept trying to convince him of and Sissy will tell you about their poop because all she remembers is seeing one poop and now she understands why buffalo patties are so big!
We entered the park through the east gate with the plan of touring the park in a counterclockwise direction. Our first stop was to check out some steam pots along the lake. Riley was fascinated right away. We had warned him about the smells so he'd be prepared...We told him it would smell a lot like Daddy's farts!
You can see in this photo below some of the remaining damage from forest fires. It's amazing how the forest just reseeds itself over time.
There were so many questions from Riley all day...He was a sponge and absorbing everything we could tell him about the Earth's surface and crust. Andy gave him the analogy of a tea pot and how when I use my tea pot to make the water hot, it steams and releases that steam out into the air. It seemed to make sense to him, but he still had a bizillion questions!
Here is some of what we got to see while we were there...We didn't get to it all...saving some for a future trip.
This picture below basically looked like boiling mud!
Walking through here was like being in an outdoor sauna...kind of reminded me of Jax, but a lot more stinky!
Sissy refusing to walk
This guy was just laying over by the steam pot...free steam bath I guess.
This guy must have been getting a steam facial...
Doesn't it look like there could be a dragon inside there?
My climbers...
Monkey see, monkey do...
There was an older woman next to me who was freaking out over the fact that I let my kids climb the rocks...little does she know they are both good climbers and there was no way I was going to stop them. They needed to get some energy out after driving around in the truck!
The summit - well, at least as far as mom and dad would let them go without spotting!
"Go home Mommy!" was what I was hearing during this shot...I think she just wanted to get back to her normal routine!
The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
We hiked a trail that ran along the side of this canyon. It was beautiful!
Kendall was so curious about what everyone was looking at so she had to see for herself
"Duckie water right there Momma!"
These pictures are from the Artist Paint Pots. Aren't the colors incredible?
This reminded me of marble that should belong in someone's kitchen. The colors were awesome!
The blue of this water made me want to go to the Caribbean!
This was a mini geyser compared to what we got to see later in the day.
"Thar' she blows" - Andy Chunko. Old Faithful earned it's name by erupting right on time. What an incredible sight. We had fantastic seats and Riley was thrilled to see it in person.
On our way out of Yellowstone, we decided to drive through The Grand Teton National Park...it's on the way home so why not? Talk about beautiful views.
Can you imagine how gorgeous it would be first thing in the morning with the sunrise shining on it? We're going to time our next trip that way.
Just breathtaking! I think the Wasatch are gorgeous, but these just might edge them out! The lake right next to it is the icing on the cake!
We drove into Jackson and stopped at the local Loaf & Jug (which is a minit market out in Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, etc.) They are owned by Kroger who also now owns our favorite Turkey Hill Dairy and Turkey Hill Minit Markets. For all of those folks back in Dutch Country, that newest Turkey Hill symbol that we all think looks ridiculous on the stores, well, it's a Kroger symbol and all of their different minit markets have it. Loaf & Jug carries Turkey Hill ice tea. So I packed an empty cooler just so we could stock up on some ice tea for us and the Wiegands! The odd thing is that Kroger owns one of the local grocery store chains here in the Salt Lake valley and they DON'T carry TH ice tea! They sell it in Wyoming, where the population is MUCH smaller, but they don't sell it here. They even advertise Turkey Hill ice tea on the local CBS station as well as have Turkey Hill ice tea billboards along I-15! (For those of you who don't understand my obsession, once you try it, you'll be hooked too. Turkey Hill is also a family thing...the original family who owned the dairy and now just runs the operation, are VERY good friends of our family. The Freys spoke at both of my grandparents funerals because they were the best of friends. Although, I must admit, Angie's sweet tea in Jax Beach did give it a strong run for it's money!) Anyhow, 4 gallons and 4 half gallons later, our cooler was filled and we were back on the road.
We decided to brave the exhaustion that we both were feeling and head the rest of the way home that night. We left Jackson around 9ish and then pulled in the driveway at 2am! What a trip! Worth every minute of exhaustion we felt on Sunday! Can't wait to do it again. If you haven't visited Yellowstone, put it on your bucket list. It's an amazing place and one trip you won't regret!
