This year we ventured out to Yellowstone National Park for our yearly family vacation. It took about 7 hours in the car from Boise, Idaho. We spent 5 days and 4 nights camping in the park where we met my sister-in-law Cheri and my niece Paige.
On our first day we took the northern loop and our first stop was Gibbon Falls.
This is part of the Porcelain Basin in the Norris Geyser Basin. It smelled like sulfur really bad, but the view was beautiful.
One of the kid favorites of Yellowstone is Sheepeater Cliff. This cliff was named for the Shoshone Indians who lived throughout this mountainous region.
This is the upper terrace at Mammoth Hot Springs.
another view of the upper terrace
The resident elk live here near the Mammoth Hot Springs hotel. They didn't seem to care we were around.
Undine Falls
Petrified tree
Brian barely losing out on a sprint to Cheri's nephew John.
Allie enjoying the waterfront near our campground.
Dad showing Nadia some fishing techniques.
This was on our third day of sightseeing. This bison was hanging out right by the women's bathroom. Despite the many warnings in the park about staying far away from the bison because they gore many people every year, I couldn't resist getting this photo.
We got up very early in the morning and headed to Hayden Valley to see several heard of bison.
They are such an amazing creature. Apparently they go from docile to very angry in a short period of time. This photo was taken from my car window.
This was a cute little mud volcano on the Mud Volcano Trail.
This is simply called the Mud Volcano. I love the way the edges are all broken apart.
We were lucky enough to spot a grizzly bear. It's kind of hard to see, but in the center of the photo is the bear. We watched it for a while as it was digging in the dirt looking for roots or bugs or whatever.
Old Faithful. A must see in Yellowstone, however, I thought it was a bit over-rated. This was the day we wore our silly vacation outfit which this year happened to be brightly colored hankerchiefs. The goal: to look like complete idiots. I think we reached our goal.
Old Faithful going off behind us.
and a view of the front. (second time we saw it.)
This is the Black Opal Spring located at Biscuit Basin.
This was one of my favorites: Sapphire Pool at Biscuit Basin. Too bad it's so hot, it would be fun to swim in this one.
We were out late on evening and came upon a road marked Firehole Canyon Drive. I'm so glad we took it cause the view was amazing. Unfortunately we missed the Great Fountain Geyser that goes off every 9-15 hours by about 5 minutes.
We heard the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is a must see, and I understand why. In my opinion it was more beautiful than the Grand Canyon of Arizona. (Of course the day we went there it was cold and overcast and the beauty of it just couldn't be seen.)
A view of the canyon,
and a view of the Lower Falls...
...a different angle of the falls and the canyon.
Being pregnant one of the things I had to miss out of was Uncle Tom's trail. It was 328 steps down for a amazing view of the fall. The board read:It is extremely difficult and steep climb down and back to this point. At this altitude 8,000ft. this trip is definitely not recommended for those suffering from heart or breathing problems. Take your time and enjoy the scenery and rest often.
The kids said it was easy going down and despite Caitlyn completely drenching the armpits of her shirt out of fear, she made it along with the others. It only took them about 45 minutes from start to finish. I'm so jealous I didn't get to do this, but I know I wouldn't have made it this time around. I look forward to it next time though.
There was a huge elk sitting in the shade and we had to stop and look.
Firehole Falls
Fountain Paint Pots.
Bobby-sock trees
On our way home we decided to take the very long scenic route to go to the Grand Teton National Park.
I don't think I've ever seen anything so beautiful.
This was definitely the hi-light of my vacation.
On our journey home, we passed through Jackson Hole, Wyoming. From the car I took a picture of this crazy arch made of antlers. There were at least 3 of these arches that I saw.
Ok, so being the cheapskate that I am, I was trying to get to Pocatello, Idaho where the cheap gas was. Brian wanted to stop in Idaho Falls for gas, but I assured him we would be just fine as it was only 46 miles away and we were at a little less than a quarter of a tank. Despite his better judgment, he listened to me and we went on our way. Let me just add that we were about 1.5 miles away when without warning, such as the gas light going off, Brian said, "We're done." Of course my heart sunk and I knew I was never going to live this down. He coasted as far as he could go then pulled off the freeway. We said a prayer to get the car started, but I think Heavenly Father wanted to teach me a lesson about being prepared. Brian was not too thrilled to walk in the 100+ degree heat to get us gas, but he took B-Mike with him and off they went. I decided to make a sign hoping someone would stop to help us, and just as I looked back a white convertible Mustang had stopped to pick up the boys. While we waited the girls decided I needed a picture with the words "Out of Gas" so we would never forget it. I took 90% of the blame and begged for forgiveness when Brian got back. Of course my sweet husband forgave me but only because he didn't have to walk the whole way. Thank goodness for good samaritans.
Overall, we had a great time! We ended up in 3 different states in a matter of 5 days, and spent lots of time in the car, but everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.
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