Hello friends... it has been far too long!
Lots has happened in the past 6 months. In June, we took a 2 week long family trip west to visit some of America's greatest attractions! Our first stop was in Rapid City, SD. We got to see Mount Rushmore, visit a real gold mine, watch baby bears play at Bear Country USA, and to experience a reenactment of the shooting of Wild Bill Hickok at the famous Saloon No. 10.
Next we were off to Cody WY. The Buffalo Bill Museum was amazing and filled with so many artifacts of the wild west. We also took a stroll through Old Town, a village recreated from historic buildings found throughout the area. Each building was painstakingly taken down and put back together in the Old Town village. They have the cabins that acted as hideouts for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid's Hole In the Wall Gang. History came alive for the kids when we ate supper at the Irma Hotel (Buffalo Bill's hotel/saloon) and then watch another shoot-out in the street! Later in the evening we watched a rodeo! Yeeehaw... what fun!!!
Then it was off to Yellowstone! We stayed in West Yellowstone and a great campground. Our plan was to spent five days in the park and see it all!! Our first day we went north. Within 2 miles of the west entrance, a bunch of cars had stopped on the side of the road. Could this be our first animal sighting? Yep... 2 bison were playing in the Madison River. No sooner had we left the bison, cars were slowing again. This time Fred spotted a grey wolf running in the woods along the road! That was a lucky find!!!!
We heard that the Monument Geyser Basin Trail was a great trail with 'treasures' at the end. We decided the trail would be our first real adventure on foot in Yellowstone National Park. The trail started off easy then started to climb! Oh my
lordy... we almost didn't make it! Then a leader emerged... Deana got a burst of power and encouraged everyone to the top! The views from the top were spectacular but the 'treasures' were nothing special; lots of gray ash, steam and stinky sulfur. The trek back down was steep and the sandy trail made it a bit treacherous. When we reached the the bottom we all felt invigorated and thrilled the entire family accomplished the task!! We ended the day walking Porcelain Basin Trail and seeing Norris Geyser.
The next day we decided to go further north as we were to go on a chuck-wagon dinner at the Theodore Roosevelt Corral. It was amazing to see the Mammoth Hot Springs! The vibrant colors and sheer glass-like surface of the water was so beautiful! What was amazing were the tiny yellow flowers that were growing in the hot earth and the vast majestic scenery
We then headed to the North Entrance through the Mammoth Hot Springs tourist area and headed towards Tower Falls. On the way we heard that there was a fabulous one-lane road called the
Blacktail Plateau Drive. A friend shared that it was one of her favorite roads in the park. Unfortunately, the road was closed due to "
Poopy Conditions". No lie... that is what the sign said!!! It was too funny!! We then drove to Tower Falls and hiked to the observation point. There were lots of people here so it wasn't one of our favorite stops; although the falls were beautiful.
After seeing the falls we had a couple hours to kill so we decided to drive south towards Canyon Village. Traffic on this side of the park was heavy and slowed to a stop often... the sign there were animal sightings! The terrain started to get very rocky (limestone, I think) and sheer cliffs came into view. They were so cool. Then we spotted the elusive mountain goat (many said we would see them only if we were really lucky!) hanging out with a couple friends on the shoulder of the cliffs. They were all shedding their winter coats.
No more than 4 miles up the road traffic slowed again!! What could it be this time, elk, bear, bison, another goat? We still hadn't seen any bear so we were anxious! We crept and crept along until a ranger came into sight. Then we knew something was up. As we moved closer people started hanging out of windows and sun-roofs. This had to be something big!! And then we spotted it... a black bear!!!!!! It was no more than 20 feet off the road and the ranger was there to make sure it stayed away from the cars. It was an amazing site!! A black bear right outside our car window in the wild!
Watching the time we decided to drive a couple miles ahead and turn around so we wouldn't be late for the chuck-wagon dinner. On the way back to the Theodore Roosevelt Corral we came upon one of the many wide open beautiful valley vistas. This time people were parking, getting out of their cars and running across the prairie. So... we stopped too. But what were the crazy people running towards? Then we spotted them... a momma grizzle and her cub across the river and WAY off in the distance. We decided this was a once in a life time opportunity so we got out and ran across the prairie, too!!! We joined the group by the rivers edge, watching and photographing the grizzle and her cub. WOW... another amazing experience!
While heading back to the corral we had to pass the black bear another time. Now there were 2 more rangers and they were working on getting him out of the area!
The chuck-wagon dinner was another amazing time! We were assigned to Oscar and Felix, the oldest team of horses. The ride to the site of the dinner... the actual site of the first lodge at Yellowstone... took about 30 minutes. Along the way we spotted a coyote and some bison. The dinner was good and the best part was the Roosevelt beans, yum! While eating dinner a heard of about 11 antelope showed up and grazed on a nearby hill. On the ride back, we spotted a badger! This was the first time we had ever seen a badger in the wild. Unfortunately he was too quick for me and I did not get a photo, darn! The kids also got the chance to take the reins and drive the wagon for a bit as we headed for the corral.
We left the most well known attraction for the end of our stay, Old Faithful and the Old Faithful Lodge. We were told that Old Faithful has become less faithful and times of her eruption were not as predictable. We lucked out!! She started to spout no more than 10 minutes after we arrive. It was incredible to see even as an adult!! Then we decided to take the walking tour on Geyser Hill and end up at the lodge. I don't ever remember going in the lodge as a kid so I didn't know what to expect. WOW... is the best word to describe it! The massive stone fireplace and natural branch railings were spectacular!
The afternoon we spent eating lunch among the lodge pole pines, crossing the Continental Divide and walking the paths of the West Thumb Geyser Basin. What incredible views of Yellowstone lake and the mountains in the distance. I think Fred and I could have sat, relaxed and enjoyed the view for hours but the kids wanted to keep moving.
It was sad when we left Yellowstone National Park for the last time but we needed to start back home. Everyone missed Mulligan!! Western Wyoming & Montana are truly beautiful!!! On the way home we stopped at Devil's Tower and Wall Drug... we just had to!! I had never been to Wall Drug and did not realize it was one big shopping center... store after store! We ate lunch at the Cafe just to experience the free water, 5 cent coffee and famous donuts!
It was a trip of a lifetime that could have lasted much longer!
Upon our return home the summer activities started! The 'boy' was in baseball, the 'girl' took tennis lessons and both children took horseback riding lessons for the first time! They got to take lessons on Dexter for English and Mitzi for Western. Both kids are also budding actors and took part in a play at the library. Then before we knew it fall was here!!! School started back up and football & choir filled our evenings!
The Christmas Cards turned out great! I loved the Scandinavian Season Stamp Set and knew I had to use it! Using silver embossing powder was the embellishment needed to add a bit of sparkle.
