Yellowstone

So, it isn't a secret that our little family loves camping.  In fact, we have gone more this year than in years past and have really enjoyed it!  Our kids are at great ages for it and Brian and I both want to teach them about nature and all the fun there is to be had.  Some of my best memories as a kid were from camping, fishing, boating and hiking and I hope they can say the same one day.  They love to play in the dirt anyway, so why not, live in it right?  So, we decided to arrange a trip with my in-laws to Yellowstone and see the sights!  I had a lot of expectations before the trip that I didn't even notice I had.  Although we didn't see a bear, Yellowstone did NOT disappoint! 

The car ride was long...for us anyway, we aren't really "road-trippers" but, despite the miles and miles of plains and mountains to look at, the kids did great!  I was very happy they were content with their toys and road trip activities I had found on Pinterest and they never even asked to watch any shows on the portable DVD player...mini celebration dance for momma!  

And, lots of time to snooze!

Our first pit stop was lunch at Subway somewhere between here and nowhere...I loved the little nowhere town though!  I think every gas station should look like this

And, I wish I could stay we "splurged" and stayed here

but, we aren't that brave and I am pretty sure it isn't open anymore...pretty sure.

Our final stop for the night was good 'ol Dubois, WY.  Small, cowboy town, as most of Wyoming is, but it was probably one of the favorite nights of our entire trip!  We rented a Kabin at a KOA with a pool & park (Blake was thrilled) and we just had a fun family night complete with s'mores by our campfire outside our Kabin.  Hubby and I even watched a show on our phone after the kids went to bed and had a few drinks...very fun, I would highly recommend it!   

a dip in the cold, cold "heated" pool

a little chicken for dinner

the B's setting up the Kabin

BUNK BEDS!!!!???!?!  Blake was in HEAVEN!

sharing some chips

we really loved our cute little cabin

We were  finally off to Yellowstone and enjoyed the beautiful views of the Grand Tetons on the way into the Park

we set up camp at Grant Village, said hi to Grandma Doozie and Papa Chip and decided to go see Old Faithful and all the amazing Geysers!

grandma doozie & papa chip going on a nice ride to the Geysers

piper had the best seat

old faithful waiting to errupt

blake playing in the black sand

piper and grandma waiting

Old Faithful in action

piper watching 

Blake LOVED the Geysers!  He was interested in why? how? and the cause of
their smell...

our crew on the boardwalk walk around all of the Geysers!

It is all super fascinating!  Lots of colors, temperatures and causes!

some gross

apparently even though the ground temp can get up to boiling, the buffalo still walk through..

a little break on the boardwalk

piper wanting "mommy" to carry her

the ONLY proof we saw of the bears! (more on that later)

Back to camp for dinner, campfire and S'mores.  Day 1 was a success!

Day 2 was the day we drove up to Canyon to see the huge waterfall and the "grand canyon of Yellowstone".  On our way, we ran into our first (of few) Buffalo Jams on the road.  I am certain this was the kids favorite part of the trip as the buffalo were right outside our truck!  Piper was SO excited and now, loves Buffalo!  We had a fun lunch at a diner at Canyon Lodge and really had a nice day of driving and sight seeing...still, no bears!

on our way to see the waterfall

Piper loved seeing the "baloes"

female elk roaming through the woods

beautiful sunset

hubby rocking his awesome beanie hair

That night we also went to a show at the visitors center ampitheatre to hear all about the Wolves that live in the park.  AMAZING information and amazing history of such an amazing animal!  We never saw any Wolf although we tried for a while in Lamar Valley where they often are.  97 Wolves live in the park, about 11 packs!  They are fierce animals that prey on Elk and other kill.  We learned some cool facts like they take down between 1200-1400 Elk every year!  They are beautiful, strong and smart!  I wish we could have seen one...from a distance.

Day 3 was our "at camp" day.  We wanted to see Yellowstone lake, which was near our camp and take Papa chips Kayak out on the lake.  It was my first time Kayaking and I loved it!  Better yet, 3 female Elk and a male Elk crashed our picnic on the black sand/stone beach!  They were only about 100 feet away and stayed for a long time until the buck came through bugling for them.

grandma playing bubbles with the kids

brian gave blake his first lesson on wood carving

papa chip and blake using their walky talkies

he loved it!

grandma holding piper for a snooze

so fun!

blake having a try at wood carving too!

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our little park ranger heading out for an evening hike with his gun and binnocs :)

Day 4 was a long driving day but we completed the largest rim around the park.  It was also my Birthday!!  We saw everything and stopped in Mammoth Hot Springs for lunch and to see the sights up North.  Blake was getting tired and had a Mammoth meltdown.  We had hopes to see the Wolfs and some bears at dusk in Lamar Valley, but no such luck....we did however, see Buffalo and Elk!  We got out and stretched our legs a few times and then ended the day with a nice dinner to celebrate my bday!

the closest we got to a big bad buffalo

roaring mountain - a mountain full of geysers

daddy and piper sharing some ketchup

one of the funniest moments on our trip...brian and chip got out of the car and took the kids on a walk to a stream to throw some rocks and stretch their legs...about 10 cars of chinese tourists got out thinking we saw some sort of wildlife and walked all the way down to brian and chip!  Once they realized there was nothing out there, they took pictures of us and our kiddos ;)

blake kinda DONE looking for da bears :)

dragon mouth mudpot

me and my girly on my bday <3

Day 5, we decided we were NOT going home without seeing a bear!  Remember earlier when I said I went into Yellowstone with some preconceived notions about the park?  I seemed to have gotten my parks mixed up and I thought Yellowstone had a place like Bear Country USA where the animals come up to the car.  That is incorrect folks!  Well, the buffalo do, which is cool BUT momma wanted to see a grizzly up close and personal.  Brian and I were both really hopeful to see a bear or some of the wolfs roaming wild.  So, we decided to load up the kids and find us a bear!  We even sang "going on a bear hunt" in the car on the way.  Cheesy, yes, but it got us all in the mood and Blake could NOT believe I knew a song he sang at school last year.  We drove to where the cashier at the gift shoppe had seen a momma grizzly and two cubs just a day before and no bear.  We drove on a long, muddy, dirt road in the rain and still, no bear.  We decided to give up and recognize that they are wild and there are no guarantees.  We made looking fun and are hopeful that next time we will see the big bad grizzly up close and personal! 

 we saw elk everyday!

and low and behold, an elk was hanging outside the tent when Brian and Blake were sleeping!

All in all, Yellowstone was amazing!  We plan to go back when Piper is 5 and both kids can see and learn even more and do the Junior Ranger programs.  

We do however plan to go to Bear Country USA next year to see those damn bears ;)

A few of my favorite highlights from this past week:

*snuggling with piper in my backpack to keep warm at night*super sized marshmallow s'mores by the fire*the unmentioned and underlying agreement between campers that you are family while camping*the fall colors already so apparent*belly laughs with my in-laws*the lack of rushing, to-do lists, chores and work*watching my kids learn and see all new things*watching Blake play baseball with sticks and pinecones*Pipers excitement over the animals and all the smiles she gives to anyone in her path*

It was a great week and a great way to end our summer!