Day 24

It was time for us to move on today. I think we could have spent another week at least in Yellowstone as we didn't even touch the northern section, but that will have to wait for another year. We packed up as quickly as we could and got on the road.

On our way out of Yellowstone, we were early enough to snag a pretty good parking spot for the boardwalk viewing of the Grand Prismatic Spring, so Dave kept working and Ryan, Brayden and I scrambled out to the spring. On travel days we aren't really packed to be getting in and out so it can be a challenge!

We'd all learned on one of our tours that many of the hot springs fall into the Yellowstone River. It's hard to believe when you see several of these spots spilling this much boiling water that it only raises the temperature of the water 3 degrees!

As we walked by the Excelsior spring it was such a cold morning that we couldn't even see the water!

We finally made it to the Grand Prismatic and while it was very neat to see the blue smoke and bright orange bacteria mats, we were very glad we'd seen it the first time from the overlook!

I handed off the camera to Brayden and we walked back around through several other smaller springs. This one caught our eyes because of it's crystal blue color - Opal Spring.  We looped back around to Excelsior and still couldn't see anything!

We said goodbye to all the animals, springs, geysers and fumerols and made our way to Helena for a grocery stop and for our car mystery to be solved. As we crossed the state line I was looking for a big, beautiful "Welcome to Montana" sign and this was all we saw so we didn't bother to stop.

 We had about 30 minutes to grab a few things from Target and find Dave some new flip flops. He wasn't thrilled with the pair he ended up with, but it was better than the furry pair Ryan wanted to buy him! We are at the stage where the boys can trade shoes so I'm sure that is what will happen. It's almost impossible to find flip flops in Montana! In September much less!

The service department was expecting us and seemed amazed by the amount of stuff we brought into the customer service department. The kids had their arms full of games and Kindles, I had my laptop to upload blog updates, and Dave had his laptop to continue working. This was when we found out about the extent of the damage of Hurricane Harvey. We stayed for a little longer than an hour listening to continuing coverage as people were being rescued live on the news. Some days I'm really glad we don't watch TV! My mood when we left definitely reflected the sadness we'd witnessed on the screen.

As Ryan and I were just starting a game of Sorry, the verdict came in. We had a massive mouse climb up into the car at some point and he'd become wedged into the fan for the air conditioning. How our car didn't wreak I'm not really sure. Or maybe it did and we couldn't smell it over our stink! Either way, we were glad to be rolling out of there with full A/C blowing on this hot Montana day.

Everyone stayed in the car while I made a stop at the grocery store for our stay in Montana. I've never actually shopped without the kids on a summer trip - so quiet! Before long we were back on the road following a Lewis & Clarke auto route I had no idea even existed. We passed many historic markers and enjoyed sweeping views of the plains with the mountains behind them. We passed by an old cabin with grass on the roof that was screaming for a photo! It appeared to be a historic building as I spotted an information board in the garden, but with a "No Tresspassing" sign on the fence I just got back in the car.



We arrived at Lewis & Clark Caverns a short time before dinner to find Grammie and Laney already there! And bonus, they were already making dinner!  Once we got the tents set up, Dave and Brayden took a few minutes to work on his football skills. Brayden would be missing a bunch of practice since we're on the road so he's got to keep catching every day!

The kids raced to the playground to check out all the elements and were thrilled to find something they'd never seen before. This cross between a zipline and monkey bars had them playing Ninja Warrior until just before dinner when I made them clean their unrecognizable feet. Shredded tires and bare feet don't mix.

We were treated to a salad and shrimp & potato bisque as we watch the sun fade behind the mountain. Brayden raised his eyebrows at me and nodded to the field next to our campsite and before we knew it we were playing an epic game of campball.

 After 2 innings we decided we needed an all-time pitcher so Dave joined us too. We're still trying to work out fair teams and this set up definitely was not fair as Ryan and I creamed Laney and Brayden 8-0.

All the kids decided to sleep in the tent tonight to give Grammie a break. We were back to a 60 degree night here so we all went to bed relatively early, ready for a night without shivering and quilt-stealing!

Day 23 - Halfway!

I say this every year at this time, but it's so hard to believe we are already at our halfway point! Usually Dave would be at home saying to us, "Only halfway?" and this year since he's with us it's changed! Fortunately for today, there is the rare 4G in our campground so Dave is able to work from our site this morning. 

After breakfast the kids and I haul the laundry and our dirty selves to get clean. This spot affords us 2 showers per night and we'd only used 2 so far. After I started the laundry we enjoyed what seemed like a 15-minute scalding hot shower. Ryan really needed to shower as her hair was turning into one giant tangle. As I was brushing it out while she showered, she screamed at what I thought was a tangle but I found out later she'd spotted someone's teeth sitting in a tray on the ground in the shower nextdoor. Definitely a first for her!

Grammie and Laney were going to meet us at our spot this morning so I knew we had time to be able to fold and sort all the laundry. It was nice to have time for that as well as reorganizing the car a little bit to prepare for leaving the next day. Once they pulled in we headed to our Visitor's Center to get some information about a good hike. I hike in the northwestern area of the park had been recommended to Grammie, but we couldn't find any information on it and rangers had all been quite confused as to why we would want to go there. 

We settled on hiking the Lakeshore loop from a trail head close to our campground so we would be able to return for a quick lunch and be on time for our last tour. We headed down the trail making lots of noise and regularly yelling, "Hey Bear!" so as not to surprise one on the trail. Once we got to the top of a hill we spotted a nasty looking storm that we couldn't really determine the direction of so we quickened our steps and reached Duck Pond within a few minutes. 

The kids spotted a fun structure to play in before I delivered the terrible news that we would need to go back right away because of the storm.

Our steps were even quicker heading back with a few breaks for the altitute-imparied people. As we were walking back through the parking lot Grammie realized we went down the wrong trail as the first few drops hit us. The trail we chose was only about a mile roundtrip but it ended up being perfect with the rain looming. We headed back to our campground with plans for lunch but I wasn't sure the rain was even going to give us time to cook so we went back to Grammie's where we would be able to cook inside.

Within 30 seconds of getting on the road, it started pouring and did so for our entire drive until we turned into Grammie's campground. With only about an hour until we needed to meet for our tour, we threw together our late lunch and wolfed it down. We did have to start Ryan about 10 minutes before everyone for her to finish in time!

We walked to our pickup location just in time to board the bus for the tour we were all most excited about where we would be able to spot some wildlife in the park. We all had our one or two animals we definitely want to see while we were here so our hopes were high!

Our first stop was to watch some trumpeter swan in a lake. They weren't on anyone's list, but they were definitely beautiful, elegant animals to watch!

Next we stopped close to a General Store and a viewing spot for Tower Falls. We have seen so many waterfalls over these years it's hard to remember which one is which! 

Our tour guide said this General Store was originally placed at this spot to sell brake pads as it is very close to the climb of the highest point in the park, but we just settled for some ice cream. Brayden giggled as we both picked the "Buffalo Chip" flavor.

As we drove through Hayden and Lamar Valley we were able to see tons of bison. They were on both sides of the road, in the road, in the river, the men chasing the ladies, it was fun to watch. At one point we got off the bus to view them from a little cliff and our guide set some scopes on a larger one as well as a few pronghorn near the water. These guys were on our list to see as well!

We also were able to spot an osprey nest with it's guard standing by and as we drove back over the river he had us look out for beavers that frequent the area. Sure enough they were there so we stopped to watch them as well. Ryan spotted them walking through the grass so everyone ran to the other side of the bridge while she and I watched them from afar. They came back a short time later and swam around the trees down the river. 

The tour had a 15-minute bathroom stop scheduled at the turn around point and Ryan spotted something else on the hill a little ways away. Another person saw it a few minutes later so our guide grabbed his scope and we started searching. The second person identified it as a badger, but all we found was one of his burrow entrances. I felt like we were in the Caddyshack movie trying to find the gopher! After we all got back on the bus the last guy getting on showed a picture he'd just taken of the badger. I supposed after he'd decided we'd all left he would pop out and investigate!

On our way back through the valleys the bison were old news but we did spot some pronghorn closer to the road. These guys are the fastest land animal in North America!

It was getting pretty dark for any good pictures by now. We saw a few elk along the water a good distance away from us. After a few more miles we approached a bunch of parked cars and people all along a ridge taking pictures and watching something through binoculars. Once we passed the ridge of the hill we could see there was a grizzly bear walking by the water. This guy was massive lumbering along the shore. Then about 50 yards behind him was another grizzly walking the same direction. By the time the bus had an area to park we decided it was too far away and not safe with it getting so dark so we kept moving. We were all happy to cross these guys off our list from a bus instead of on a trail!

It was pretty late by the time we got back to our campsite. The next day we would be moving on so we all made sure to try to bundle up and get a good night's rest. 

Day 21

As we move north and higher in elevation, we keep adjusting our night warmth strategies. Last night Dave was excited to be back in our tent and only the two of us sharing one of the king size quilts. The girls would be sleeping together with Brayden's extra sleeping mat and bag and the other quilt. Last night I tried sleeping in pants, 2 shirts, a sweatshirt, and cocooning in my sleeping bag while being completely covered by the quilt. Laney and I both ended up cold in the middle of the night because our sleepmates decided revenge was a good idea by stealing the quilt! And when Laney wakes up in the middle of the night she must pee, but I was very proud that she bravely walked all by herself!

We were scheduled to meet Brayden and Grammie at 9am at their campground so we left by 8am to get there. No camp breakfast this morning! We made it quite early so we took a few minutes to browse the gift shop at the General Store for t-shirts. This year Ryan the saver hasn't spent a dime yet, Brayden has spent a little, and Laney has spent most of hers. She has a hard time passing by the stuffed animals, Native American gifts, and especially jewelry.

Our 1975 Diesel bus rolled up shortly after we found Grammie and Brayden. Our tour guide greeted us with a few jokes and we found our seats. It's so nice to have 3 adults matched up to 3 kids so we don't have to split up much. After some explanations of the tour and picking up a few more people we were under way for our all-day Circle of Fire tour.

Back before Dave and I were married, we'd visited the South Rim of the Grand Canyon for a few days. One of the books he purchased then was a very morbid "Deaths in the Grand Canyon". He found the same version for Yellowstone while we were in the Grand Tetons so he and Brayden started reading this one. Our first stop was the West Thumb Geyser Basin and I was wondering why Brayden was being so protective of me and the girls all of a sudden until I remembered he'd been reading that book!

Yellowstone has more than 10,000 thermal features in the park and we were walking over about 50 of them in this area. They varied from boiling green springs to mini-geysers to steaming fumeroles.

On the way to our next stop we were thoroughly entertained with stories of the beginnings of the park and the people who were instrumental in moving it toward what it is today. We reached the Continental Divide shortly after a store about Lake Isa. All these years I'd told the kids about what happens with the waters at the Continental Divide and they all turned and looked at me when we found out this Lake actually does the opposite of what it is supposed to. Yet another exception to the rule!

Our next stop was Old Faithful! We arrived just as the last predicted eruption happened so we had about an hour before we needed to find our seats for the next one. We walked inside the Old Faithful Inn and were stunned by the design and wookwork in the 6-story entrance and foyer. It looked like a giant, beautiful treehouse inside! After browsing the gift shops we found a spot outside to enjoy our picnic and watch all the people.

Ryan was getting very nervous we would miss the big event so Dave found us a front row seat for the action. As we waited and we listened as all the jokes about "turning the water on" and "I guess that was it!" were passed around as the time ticked on and the geysers toyed with us by bubbling over and shooting a little burst of water. Thankfully the prediction was only a few minutes off and Old Faithful was spouting water high up into the sky.



Our next stop was the paint pots - an area featuring boiling mud and a few geysers. The kids took pictures of all the activity while we enjoyed walking around to see everything.

Next up was the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River. Still in August the falls were rushing with water as we talked about how much more intense it must be after snowmelt.

Our next stop was our tour guide's favorite spot in the park. He instructed us all to not peek to the left at the Artist Point until we were at the bottom of all the steps. I think everyone cheated except me and Grammie! The view of Upper Falls was just beautiful and one I'd seen painted many times of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. The afternoon light was harsh for pictures, but these falls are almost 3 times as high as Niagra Falls!

It was afternoon as we stepped back on the bus and the tour guide talked about celebrations. He mentioned a grandmother having a birthday on the bus and made Grammie stand up. He talked about his days as a school bus driver and how the birthday girl would stand on the seat as everyone sang then they would bang on the roof, so in much the same excitement we did the same. Minus Grammie standing on the seat. I knew it wouldn't be right away. I knew it might night even be today. But I knew I would get in trouble for this.

On our way back to our drop off spot, we were treated to our first view of the 5,000 bison in the park in what is called a "bison jam". There were bison taking their sweet time walking across the road and watching all the cars. After we saw this guy trying to scratch his annoying itch, I noticed the majority of the trees in the area had their bark rubbed off in about the same spot.

Once we said our thank yous to our guide and goodbyes to Grammie, we headed back to our site for dinner and showers for two stinky girls. It's hard to believe the swing in temperatures each day here as we are dressing each day like we are flying from Alaska to Mexico! By 10am each morning most of our layers have been peeled off and we are guzzling water. See these hot faces from this afternoon!?









Showers weren't in the cards this night as there was a line out the door and I wasn't in the mood to wait so we went back for dinner and I crashed while Dave and the girls played games and read.

Day 20

We had a relatively short drive into Yellowstone this morning so we took our time getting packed up. We met up with Grammie at her campground because Brayden decided he wanted to ride and stay with her for a few days. We agreed to meet up at the first visitor's center once we got into the park to get our bearings and learn about Yellowstone.

During one of the program at her park, Grammie learned about a few places that are often overlooked in the park. One of them she mentioned to us was a waterfall just after driving through the gate. We pulled into the first picnic area we saw and started hiking. We were walking along a river and spotted some rapids, but no waterfall. After checking the map we decided it might be a little ways up the road.

We reached Moose Falls within a few minutes and went the few steps down to check them out. A couple of ladies were picking raspberries on the side of the trail and offered the girls a few. They were the tinest raspberries I'd ever seen! The falls were rushing loudly as we sat and watched.

Once we got back on the road we were greeted with some pretty intense construction for the next 20 miles along our route. My first though was wondering why in the world they try construction during the busy summer months, but I quickly realized they can't really see the road any other time of the year!

The first visitor's center we would come to was actually our campground so we stopped and picked up junior ranger books and took a look around. There were two movies coming up so we decided to stay.

The first was a documentary about the time after the 1988 fire which destroyed 1/3 of the park. I remember some more recent fires, but I had no recollection of this devastating fire. It was apparently very controversial as it was one of the first time the National Park Service let the fire burn uncontrolled until it came close to the historic Old Faithful Inn. While so many disagree because of the loss of trees, habitats and wildlife in a fire, it is obvious that it was the right thing to do as the forest in the park regenerates with new, healthy growth. It's just not as quick as many would like and will definitely not be replaced as it was in my lifetime.

We also watched a short orientation video for the park then parted ways to check in to our campground. We would be staying the next 4 nights in Grant Village, aptly named for President Grant who is credited with creating this first national park. We quickly set up at our spot then drove to the vistor's center at Grammie's campground 30 minutes away to see what it had to offer. There was an interesting bird museum of many of the birds residing in the park. The kids are starting to identify many of them on their own thanks to junior ranger programs and books!

There was a junior ranger program starting in just a few minutes so we went to the amphitheater to join in on the fun! This afternoon's topic was pollinators and when the kids found out they were not at all thrilled. They all thought the entire thing was going to be about bees and they all do not care for bees one bit. We were suprised to learn so much more about pollinators in general as well as specific information about those in the park. I thought I knew a good bit, but definitely learned my fair share as well. Us vegetarians definitely need them for our entire food supply!







We said our goodbyes and headed back to our sites to get ready for the next day as Grammie had scheduled a bus tour for us. While Dave cooked dinner I headed to use one of our 2 showers we could take tonight. It had been another 3 days since I'd had a shower and I do believe I heard angels sing when that very hot water hit my skin. Our last campsite had been extremely dusty so my feet were beginning to look the color of elephant feet!

We had our delicious dinner of veggie chili, salad, and breadsticks then headed to our amphitheater for the early program. Again, we weren't thrilled about the topic of Mapping Yellowstone but once we realized how fun it was going to e we jumped right in. Each family was assigned to make their own map of Yellowstone but since we'd just gotten here we decided to make a map of our journey so far and what we hoped to see while we were here.

While the girls worked, Dave and I enjoyed our beers and the sunset behind the Lakeshore pavilion. We offered input when necessary, but they really did an excellent job and had so much fun doing it!  Laney had a great time presenting it to the group who was very surprised at our trip.







Several families stopped us after the program to chat about how we manage, where we were going next, and where we'd been in the past. They chuckled as we were describing our tent set up with sleeping bags and quilts as a Florida family would. They all wished up much luck, especially with the 34 degree night! And this is still August!!