Summer Vacay Wrap-up: Vol. 1 of ....many...

Well....here it comes...ready or not!

What we've been up to for the past month or so....

I'm doing this a little out of order, but who cares right?...it was all in the same month...Here's our trip to Yellowstone! I haven't been there for probably 20 years, We decided it was time to take the kids up there.


Upon entering the park through the West Entrance, we were handed this:

I thought it was kind of funny...also, I just don't get it...do you really need to tell people NOT to approach the wild animals? REALLY??? Apparently so, or they wouldn't be handing out these flyers.
My son Chase is a worrier...I swear the kid will have an ulcer any day now...this really concerned him....esp. when minutes later, we saw this...

Instantly Chase was yelling, "DAD!!! Roll up your window Dad!!!"

"Hurry Dad!!! It's getting closer!!!...ROLL UP YOUR WINDOW!!! We are going to be GORED!!!"

By the time the Buffalo had gotten this far, Chase had passed out from cardiac arrest...I guess my reassuring words, "Chase, he won't gore us through the car...he'll just tip it over and roll us down the hill", didn't help him settle down like I thought they would.


Next, we pulled off to see this bubbling baby...The kids were fine with this until I told them that the reason it was bubbling is because of it's boiling hot water, and if they fall in, they'll scald to death and all of their flesh will fall off....well, it's true.
They didn't want to get anywhere near the next one......babies.

Next stop...Great Geyser Basin
By now my kids are thinking--our parents are trying to kill us! We won't leave this park alive! We'll either be gored, boiled, or suffocated from inhaling toxic fumes!!!


Yep...it stinks....just like rotten eggs...I almost threw up.
I love this picture of Wyatt plugging not only his own nose, but his dad's as well...Somebody has to save dad!


This was our favorite "stink-pot"
It's called the Dragon's cave...and that's exactly what it looked and sounded like!

Next up, Mammoth Hot Springs


The last time I was here, it was a lot...wetter, and more colorful...guess it's drying up.
This is where we were supposed to stay our first night...but they canceled our reservation for some reason, although I had just talked to them a couple of hours before confirming it....everyone's willing to TAKE reservations, It's the HOLDING they have a problem with.....They were nice at the hotel there though and found us another room at another hotel...their treat!! :)

Here we are posing in front of one of the many beautiful rivers and waterfalls we saw....what did I tell my children to keep them safe around the rivers and waterfalls? If you fall in you'll break all your bones on the rocks at the bottom, then you'll drown, then somewhere downstream a grizzly bear will eat your remains....I am just honest with them.

It is so beautiful up there. I would love to have a summer cabin there...sans the gorings, boilings, suffocatings and getting torn to pieces by grizzlies....really pretty though...and perfect weather


Here is the original entrance to the park that was dedicated by Teddy Roosevelt in 18-something, thus it is called the Roosevelt Archway...at the North Entrance

More wildlife

This guy looks like he wants to gore us.....we will not approach him.


...And last but not least....Here we are at "Old Faithful" waiting for it to go off...just us...

...and the 500.000 other people that came to watch boiling water come shooting out of the ground...


Here it goes!

"Hurry kids! Turn around before the wind changes and it scalds you!"

This got the attention of those standing around us...
After it was over, I said,
"WOW! it's a good thing we got to see it in the day...the rangers turn it off at night..."

This also got the attention of others around us....seriously people....


To end our Yellowstone travels, I bought this book.I could see by the title that it was just my kind of book. I read from it every night to my kids as they were falling asleep...they didn't sleep well though...weird...
It really is a very interesting book...all about people who didn't obey the rules and ended up falling into the hot-pots, getting all of their skin scalded off (told ya..), and people that got mauled by Grizzlies, and gored by Buffalo (Like I said, I'm just honest)...I highly recommend it!

All in all it is a beautiful place, and we made lots of fun memories to add to our many others!

Next up. The Grand Tetons!!!