FINALLY we were able to plan and execute a vacation. Only one small problem... Jeremiah's work refused to honor his requested days off (from January) so my dad and I were the only ones that could go with the kids. We were pretty bummed, but what are you going to do? Besides my mom was still gone to Vegas for the summer so my dad had already planned on going camping that week, we just made the arrangements to go with him to Yellowstone this week after Lacrosse and before football.
We left on Sunday and drove up to Rexburg, Idaho. We spend the night in a parking lot where there was once a Walmart... we didn't know that there had been a NEW Walmart built a few miles further down the road. We were still in the parking lot of an Albertson's though so we had bathrooms and somewhere to get breakfast in the morning without causing too much mess and being able to get on the road as quickly as possible. We drove on up to West Yellowstone and camped about 3 miles north of town at Baker's Hole. It is a first come first serve campground and we got one of the few that emptied that morning.
After setting up camp and paying for our stay we ate lunch/brunch and packed some food/drinks into the truck with us and headed in for our first day in the park. Not too far into the drive we had to pull over and just get out and let the kids see the Madison River up close and smell the air... this is a pull out that we stopped at a few other times during our trip.
Our first actual stop for the day was at Grand Prismatic Springs (my favorite). It is so beautiful and full of colors, like none other. There is a walkway that takes you around it. I am amazed at how there are still "safe" places to walk so near other deadly spots. I wasn't too worried about the kids, but we had honestly talked about what it would be like for them and how they needed to behave so that we were all safe and could relax while enjoying all the sights.
After walking back around to the start and crossing the river back toward where we parked the truck we stopped and tried to take a picture... as you can tell it was rather windy. Haha.
I am constantly reminded by my boys just how much they actually do love and care for their little sister. This moment was with Kotah, but there were plenty of other times where it was Kenai, I wish so deeply with all my heart that my kids will stay close to one another as they grow and become adults.
Next stop on the loop, for the day was Old Faithful. When we arrived it wasn't TOO crowded, and we got there with pretty perfect timing. We sat ourselves down on the front of the boardwalk to wait for/watch the eruption that would take place about 5-10 minutes later.
I wasn't too concerned with trying to get a picture with Old Faithful actually erupting in the background of the kids' picture because I figured we'd have another chance also so I could attempt THAT picture from a better angle at that time.
I did want to get a picture of the kids with my dad and the original hotel that has been there forever and ever as long as my dad remembers back to when he was a little boy.
Here's THAT moment...
Before leaving we all agreed that we were hungry enough to warrant actual sandwiches and chips/snacks to fill our bellies before heading off for a beautiful scenic drive for the evening.
Next stop on the drive was at Lake Lodge... where we got out and let the kids play in the water followed by walking around to dry off before continuing on.
On our drive the kids were happy to finally see a buffalo, followed by MANY more. BUT we had to capture the FIRST.
We made our way around to the Eastern side of the Southern loop. The lake is HUGE. It is such a massive body of water, the kids were amazed that you couldn't easily (or at all) see the other side of the lake.
We didn't drive OVER Sylvan Pass, but we did drive UP TO IT... where the boys got out and said they wanted to hike up the rock slope to the small spot of snow we could see. I captured that attempt with a picture.
IT was pretty amazing up there to see the different types of mountains i that area.
Funny story: We were pulled off at a restroom at the top of a lookout checking out the view of the picture below. My dad, Kotah, me and Kaiya are all looking OUT OVER THE VIEW when Kenai yells, "Hey, $5!" He was (as he said) watching his step and happened upon a 5 dollar bill. He was SO EXCITED and it is a fun memory to have.
We not only watched the sun set, but we were able to see the moon rise. Both were equally beautiful. We made our way back to camp, still stopping a few spots along the way.
*can you tell the day was windy and fun by the appearance of Kaiya's hair? It was a wonderfully fun and full day with my dad and the kids. The BEST part of the whole trip was all my dad's stories from when he was a little boy. Stories about his mom and dad. Stories about his brothers. Stories about HIM! It was the BEST!
As we were heading back from Sylvan Pass we finished the southern loop. Along that route is Fishing Bridge. We stopped there on our way OUT and got these pictures.
Here is another precious moment I was able to get of these two as they were watching buffalo out in the meadow.
We were planning on starting this day off at Norris Geyser Basin, but the parking lot was full by the time we got into the park so we drove past it a little bit and visited a ranger station to kill some time.
After about an hour maybe we drove back over... and even though it was still "closed" we drove on in and parked in the area designated for motor homes and tour buses. We were NOT the only truck in that area, and really that was the BEST place to park the truck anyway because the other section of the parking area is more suited for smaller vehicles.
Next stop??? Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. It really is a beautiful sight to see. Just follow the signs about staying away from the edges and staying on the OPEN paths and you will be safe. Seriously SHOCKED how many people just ignore all the warnings.
We liked this hike down to the falls. Kaiya went down just fine, but I KNEW that coming up I would have to carry her at least some of the way. I told her that how ever far she walked I would trade and carry her that far too... so for each switchback she walked I carried her one. I got her to walk most of the lower (shorter) ones early on our way up and then ended up carrying her ALL the rest of the way up. I was so thankful that I am in as good-o-shape as I am. I kept passing people that would comment and it was just nice to know that I was actually enjoying carrying my little one on my back.
Isn't this just mesmerizing? Moving water has a way about it that it just draws you in, clears your mind and helps relax you.
After hiking back up to the parking area my dad showed us where the OLD road was and told us to follow it around the river and cross this bridge (I took the picture after we already crossed it) and that he would meet us on the other side, near the NEW bridge that crosses the river.
I was able to actually capture ONE of the many moments I was packing my papoose.
My dad did meet up with us, but it was longer than he though so we were already up to the new bridge. We went ahead and walked back across that bridge and unpacked our lunch stuff for eating. We relaxed and enjoyed our rest time before loading back in the truck to drive around to the next stop to look at the same falls and get a totally different perspective of its size. If you look at the right side of the waterfall (below) you will see where we were standing in the previous pictures above the falls.
The next stop on our loop this day was up at Tower Falls... Pictured below. When I was a kid there once was a huge boulder in the middle at the top of the falls. Clearly that boulder has since gone over the falls. Yes, several years ago. We also got ICE CREAM at this gift shop. Yummy and very rewarding on a hot day.
Following our stop at Tower Falls, we continued up to Mammoth Hot Springs.
At one time, not so very long ago, there was water RUNNING down these terraces. My Dad remembers, and I remember when I was like Kenia's age (3rd grade) that there was water at least flowing, maybe not Running, but it was steady stream... and NOW there is nearly nothing.
Even this picture of some water was "impressive" since there wasn't hardly any kind of hot springs activity going on.
On our way back to West Yellowstone we came around this bridge and I just had to get out and take a picture... as well as one of the story behind this pass.
One more waterfall stop at Gibbon Falls before it got too dark.
As we were passing through a small meadow we could see the moon cresting over the horizon (this is the final shot in a series of pictures we took)...
We got back in the truck and continued westward only to arrive at that first pullout we stopped at the fist pullout from the fist day to capture this beautiful picture of the moon coming up "again" with the river in the foreground.
We were on the road out of the park for the night. There was obviously some animal in/near the road because we were in a LONG line of traffic. As we approached the shadow moving in the roadway my dad turned OFF his headlights so we could actually SEE what it was. It was a HUGE BULL ELK. Well, when the headlights went off it was as if he could finally see where it was he wanted to be going (across the road toward the river) and he cut across right in front of the truck. Kotah took the picture below in an attempt to capture this bull, except that he was behind the driver (where the bull WAS walking until my dad turned off his lights). So he had already clicked the button for the focus to adjust and take the picture when the Bull darted across in front of the truck... Kotah tried to follow the bull with the camera, but THIS is the picture that was captured instead of the elk.
This day we drove north out of West Yellowstone and headed up to Hebgen Lake and Quake Lake.
After spending time out there and seeing the visitor's center we drove back to camp for lunch. After lunch we thought it would be fun to play in the river that was along the campground... We were right.
Kenai and Kaiya made a friend, as they always do...
and Kotah tried his hand at fishing... with his hands, for tiny little baby fish.
There were times that the wind would come quickly through and make us all drop into the water to stay warm-er... but mostly we just enjoyed ourselves and relaxed.
That evening we went back into the park for our last time, this time for some fishing (and they later we went back around to Canyon for our final souvenirs)
Legally the kids can fish for FREE with a license, so long as we don't do any of the casting for them. So my dad (sorta me, but I let this be a grandpa memory moment) would walk from kid to kid and talk them through making adjustments and trying to hold the line/rod differently for their individual hands.
Kaiya mostly just hung out with me and took pictures, but of course she needed/wanted her own time with Grandpa too so she took her turn with the fishing poll.
When the rod didn't work for catching fish she decided to try her OWN HAND at getting those little tiny fish, like Kotah had tried doing earlier. Good thing I had already thought ahead and packed an extra outfit for her to change into.
What WONDERFUL MEMORIES
The day we were heading home. We got up and out of camp before/with the sunrise. The park is so pretty at all the different times of day. With the coolness on the air and the steam rising off the waters it was like you were seeing things you hadn't noticed before when the day warms up. We were heading home and knew that we would have a long drive even without stopping to see the Tetons.
BUT there is NO WAY you can drive all this way and NOT take the loop home that will lead you to the Tetons. They are just a majestic sight to see.
I LOVE that we got someone to take this picture of all of us. When I think about Yellowstone, the Tetons are just part of that memory... as well as stopping in Jackson Hole. And any time I think of these places, it is the memory of my parents that is embedded with them.
We arrived home that night, and Jeremiah was so excited to see us that he called in to work and took a personal "day"/night. We had such a great trip. The only thing(s) missing were Jeremiah and my mom. She didn't come home from Vegas for another week, and by the time she made it to her home.... it was also OUR HOME (at least for a short little while).
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