Day 4: The First in Yellowstone
Well, we got up to great start on our way to Yellowstone. There was a large parade in Cody celebrating the Stampede, and we escaped the crowd just in time. It was funny to drive down the middle of the road with the streets lined with people. We didn't want to stay for the parade because everyone was ready to see some animals.
Our first stop along the way was the Buffalo Bill Dam. I am convinced that the only reason Scott wanted to stop there was so he could say," Let's take some Dam pictures." It was pretty fascinating to see, but the girls thought it was boring nonetheless.
The drive to Yellowstone was beautiful. It was one mountain after another. I couldn't get enough. The girls spent some of the time playing their gameboys, but would stop anytime we said look. It's funny how quickly they learned to appease us with their comments of "Oo yeah, it's pretty." or "Wow, that's amazing." I want to believe they meant it every time, but I am not sure.
We arrived at Yellowstone and were blown away. It was far more beautiful then any of us had anticipated. Every bend we came around brought on something more breathtaking than the scene before. It seemed like every little crevace had a small waterfall running down and the air smelt so clean. God is so amazing. The girls got very excited right away as well. Neither one remeber ever seeing mountains and they wanted to make sure we didn't miss a thing.
Once we were in the park, we went directly to a visitor center where the girls both chose to sign up for the Junior Ranger program. This was really cool. It cost each one $3 and they were then given a variety of tasks and questions to complete in order to receive a patch. This really got them pumped up for their time in Yellowstone and gave them a purpose to go to all of the sights. Who needs Disney?
We then decided it was time to go and have lunch. We couldn't find a set picnic area that appealed to us so we chose to find one on our own. We found this terrific path that lead to a boardwalk that ran along Yellowstone Lake. Being the Robertsons, we decided this would be the perfect place for us to have dinner, so we sat down and ate. The water was rushing by us in white water fashion and we watched the cutthroat trout try and swim upstream to spawn. WOW!!!!!! The girls thought it was fun to eat where no one else was. I have to agree.
After lunch, we headed to our first official stop at the mud pots. When we arrived, we saw buffaloes in the parking lot. The girls got awfully close to one of them and thought the adventure was exciting. The mudpots are muddy areas where volcanic activity is visible. You are able to walk around the boardwalks and view the muddy wholes and watch them as the bubble up, give off steam and smell like rotten eggs. It really was more interesting than it sounds. We walked back one area where a buffalo lay sleeping right next to the pot. How he could stand the heat let alone the smell I will never know.
We then went to the most beautiful waterfall I have ever seen at Artist Point. What more can I say? The picture speaks for itself. It looks like we were just placed in front of a screen, but we were actually there. There were both the upper and lower falls and we went to both. This area is also known as the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. When you see the pictures you will understand why. Torii really didn't want to leave the upper falls because she thought it was so gorgeous. There was a place near by where you could actually hike down to get a closer look at the falls. It is called "Uncle Tom's trail." It is definitely not for the weak at heart. I must admit that I do not know how we made it but we did. The trail began with some pretty steep switch backs that declined, easy going down, but what goes down on a trail must come up. The trail then lead to 326 steps that then lead to a small path that brought you around to a close up view of the amazing falls. Apparently these falls are larger than Niagra, and since we were right next to it, I wouldn't be surprised. The girls were troopers on the hike both up and down. They loved the adventure. By the time we made it back up to our truck, both of them felt as though they had really accomplished something. I was so very proud of them.
After our small hike, we decided to make our way to our lodging for the evening. We were on our way when we found a car pulled over to the side of the road and the people were up hiking through the woods. There wasn't a trail and so we knew they had to have found some sort of wild life. BUCK ELK!!!!! YEAH!!!!!! Our first find of something other than Bison. We parked our car on the side of the road and everyone got out and took off into the woods, where we found two male bucks about 50 yards from us enjoying their dinner. The girls and I decided to stay where we were, and Scott moved in for a closer look. (Yes, we are stupid tourists.) While he was on his "hunt" Scott happened upon a dead black bear. He took a picture for me, but I deleted it because it was pretty gross. The girls and I returned to the entrance we had come through because we were getting eaten up by mosquitoes, and we found an easy little path that lead right back to the area we had just been. We were so excited because the elk was close and they are so majestic. We were able to get some pretty wonderful pictures and a memory none of us will ever forget.
We eventually made it to our lodging where we were able to check in. We are in a small cabin at the Canyon Lodge in the Park itself. It is very campy feeling and is definitely more rustic than other places, but not quite as a bad as camping itself. It is actually quite quaint. The room does not have a clock, TV, AC or telephone. It does have indoor plumbing and a small shower. We are staying here two nights and all of us think it pretty great. Torii is a little nervous about the bugs, but other than that she likes it. We did see a rather large rabbit eating clover outside of our window once we got settled in our room. The girls both enjoyed watching this. Torii wanted to hold it but knew better.
We had dinner at the Canyon Lodge Restaurant. The food was wonderful. I was feeling very well after dinner, so I went back to the cabin. The girls and Scott went exploring and found ice cream sundaes for $2. 55. This included 4 large scoops of icecream, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and cherries. This makes Brusters seem outrageous.
All in all I would say was a wonderful day. We are planning on getting up around 6:00 tomorrow morning to go animal hunting. I can't wait to see what's next.
Favorites:
Torii: I really like the big elk. It was very fascinating. I liked how my dad could walk up to it.
Scott: I liked the elk too. I felt one with nature. I also liked the dead bear.
Harper: I didn't really have a favorite; I just loved everything.
Kelli: I really loved watching everyone make it down and up agin at Uncle tom's trail. It was hard work, but we made it.
Our first stop along the way was the Buffalo Bill Dam. I am convinced that the only reason Scott wanted to stop there was so he could say," Let's take some Dam pictures." It was pretty fascinating to see, but the girls thought it was boring nonetheless.
The drive to Yellowstone was beautiful. It was one mountain after another. I couldn't get enough. The girls spent some of the time playing their gameboys, but would stop anytime we said look. It's funny how quickly they learned to appease us with their comments of "Oo yeah, it's pretty." or "Wow, that's amazing." I want to believe they meant it every time, but I am not sure.
We arrived at Yellowstone and were blown away. It was far more beautiful then any of us had anticipated. Every bend we came around brought on something more breathtaking than the scene before. It seemed like every little crevace had a small waterfall running down and the air smelt so clean. God is so amazing. The girls got very excited right away as well. Neither one remeber ever seeing mountains and they wanted to make sure we didn't miss a thing.
Once we were in the park, we went directly to a visitor center where the girls both chose to sign up for the Junior Ranger program. This was really cool. It cost each one $3 and they were then given a variety of tasks and questions to complete in order to receive a patch. This really got them pumped up for their time in Yellowstone and gave them a purpose to go to all of the sights. Who needs Disney?
We then decided it was time to go and have lunch. We couldn't find a set picnic area that appealed to us so we chose to find one on our own. We found this terrific path that lead to a boardwalk that ran along Yellowstone Lake. Being the Robertsons, we decided this would be the perfect place for us to have dinner, so we sat down and ate. The water was rushing by us in white water fashion and we watched the cutthroat trout try and swim upstream to spawn. WOW!!!!!! The girls thought it was fun to eat where no one else was. I have to agree.
After lunch, we headed to our first official stop at the mud pots. When we arrived, we saw buffaloes in the parking lot. The girls got awfully close to one of them and thought the adventure was exciting. The mudpots are muddy areas where volcanic activity is visible. You are able to walk around the boardwalks and view the muddy wholes and watch them as the bubble up, give off steam and smell like rotten eggs. It really was more interesting than it sounds. We walked back one area where a buffalo lay sleeping right next to the pot. How he could stand the heat let alone the smell I will never know.
We then went to the most beautiful waterfall I have ever seen at Artist Point. What more can I say? The picture speaks for itself. It looks like we were just placed in front of a screen, but we were actually there. There were both the upper and lower falls and we went to both. This area is also known as the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. When you see the pictures you will understand why. Torii really didn't want to leave the upper falls because she thought it was so gorgeous. There was a place near by where you could actually hike down to get a closer look at the falls. It is called "Uncle Tom's trail." It is definitely not for the weak at heart. I must admit that I do not know how we made it but we did. The trail began with some pretty steep switch backs that declined, easy going down, but what goes down on a trail must come up. The trail then lead to 326 steps that then lead to a small path that brought you around to a close up view of the amazing falls. Apparently these falls are larger than Niagra, and since we were right next to it, I wouldn't be surprised. The girls were troopers on the hike both up and down. They loved the adventure. By the time we made it back up to our truck, both of them felt as though they had really accomplished something. I was so very proud of them.
After our small hike, we decided to make our way to our lodging for the evening. We were on our way when we found a car pulled over to the side of the road and the people were up hiking through the woods. There wasn't a trail and so we knew they had to have found some sort of wild life. BUCK ELK!!!!! YEAH!!!!!! Our first find of something other than Bison. We parked our car on the side of the road and everyone got out and took off into the woods, where we found two male bucks about 50 yards from us enjoying their dinner. The girls and I decided to stay where we were, and Scott moved in for a closer look. (Yes, we are stupid tourists.) While he was on his "hunt" Scott happened upon a dead black bear. He took a picture for me, but I deleted it because it was pretty gross. The girls and I returned to the entrance we had come through because we were getting eaten up by mosquitoes, and we found an easy little path that lead right back to the area we had just been. We were so excited because the elk was close and they are so majestic. We were able to get some pretty wonderful pictures and a memory none of us will ever forget.
We eventually made it to our lodging where we were able to check in. We are in a small cabin at the Canyon Lodge in the Park itself. It is very campy feeling and is definitely more rustic than other places, but not quite as a bad as camping itself. It is actually quite quaint. The room does not have a clock, TV, AC or telephone. It does have indoor plumbing and a small shower. We are staying here two nights and all of us think it pretty great. Torii is a little nervous about the bugs, but other than that she likes it. We did see a rather large rabbit eating clover outside of our window once we got settled in our room. The girls both enjoyed watching this. Torii wanted to hold it but knew better.
We had dinner at the Canyon Lodge Restaurant. The food was wonderful. I was feeling very well after dinner, so I went back to the cabin. The girls and Scott went exploring and found ice cream sundaes for $2. 55. This included 4 large scoops of icecream, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and cherries. This makes Brusters seem outrageous.
All in all I would say was a wonderful day. We are planning on getting up around 6:00 tomorrow morning to go animal hunting. I can't wait to see what's next.
Favorites:
Torii: I really like the big elk. It was very fascinating. I liked how my dad could walk up to it.
Scott: I liked the elk too. I felt one with nature. I also liked the dead bear.
Harper: I didn't really have a favorite; I just loved everything.
Kelli: I really loved watching everyone make it down and up agin at Uncle tom's trail. It was hard work, but we made it.
posted by Kelli | 8:52 AM
1 Comments:
If you ever teach a yodeling class, probably the hardest thing is to keep the students from just trying to yodel right off. You see, we build to that.
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