Utah Trip - Part Four

YELLOWSTONE

Our intention was to get up early so we could get to Yellowstone and start sightseeing.  Funny thing is, we were all exhausted and all slept until 8!  It was nice to get a good nights sleep though, and eat a big breakfast before starting our drive.

Sweet Mimi got stuck in the back with G and R and I had the pleasure of Cole between us... we came up with lots of games to entertain this wiggler throughout our day of driving!

Let me start by saying Yellowstone is big.  Like HUGE.  I had no idea.  You could explore there for days.  It is 3, 468 square miles.  It is in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.  It was established in 1872 and is the oldest National Park.  Half of the world's geothermal features are in Yellowstone, including the Yellowstone Caldera, which is the largest super-volcano on our continent and is considered active.  Hundreds of species of animals live there, including Grizzly Bears, Wolves, Bison and Elk - the "big 4".  There was a huge forest fire there in 1988 and 1/3 of the park was burnt.  We saw lots of old, burned and dead trees... but lots and lots of regrowth (which was really cool).  Okay, now that my "nerd" portion is out of the way...  

   Notice the burned trees like I talked about - It was overwhelming how devastating that must have been.  Although now, scientists say that this needs to happen every so often to keep nature as it should be.  They don't even try to put out many fires that happen naturally.   

 Our first animal sighting of the day was a marmot...

We first stopped at Old Faithful.  It was so cool.  It goes off about every hour and 15 min or so.  R and Dad walked fast to another geyser (Daisy) to see it burst, while the kids and Craig and I got a little something to eat and saved front row seats for Old Faithful.  It paid off... the boys got some great pics of all they saw... and they ended up getting back just in time for this...

 We were sitting so close we even got sprayed!  

If you'd like some more facts about Old Faithful...

 Here are some pictures of "Daisy" and a few other things along the way.

 We saw a lot of white and brightly orange colored rock around the geysers and other "hot spots" around the park.  I think (if I remember correctly) it's called lichen, it's like a mineralized rock.   

The bright colors were amazing!

 I like the danger sign on this one...

 Castle Geyser

 There were also lots of bubbling mud puddles and hot springs.

Then, we continued our drive and saw beautiful sights and many animals!  It was so exciting to see these animals roaming in their natural environment. 

 The elk were just grazing along side the road...

At one point, we saw elk in the distance and got out of the car and hiked a ways to we could get a better look.  Well, the elk decided to come right down the river path we were on and we were within 10 feel of them.  It was awesome!!!

 Luckily, these all happened to be mommas and babies or we might have been in trouble!

After sitting in a long line of cars, we finally figured out what the commotion was about...

 This stubborn bison was standing on the left side of the road and refused to move... 

He was gigantic... and as we drove right by him my dad slowed down.  I could practically feel his breath on me, he was so close. 

 There were hundreds roaming the plains and hills all over Yellowstone. 

 There were all kinds of interesting rock formations throughout the park.

 Is this not just breathtaking?!?

 G nearly gave me a heart attack multiple times as he attempted to crawl over the edges... crazy boy!

 Somebody was nice enough to take a picture of our whole group!

Our day was coming to a close, and the only animal that we really wanted and hoped to see that we hadn't seen yet was a grizzly bear.  (Grady was hoping to see mountain lions and wolves... but we knew that would be extremely unlikely.)  We came to a line of cars completely stopped.  We sat and sat and sat... and finally somebody going the other direction yelled to us that there was a bear off the road, eating something down at the river.  We were all soooooo excited!  I had tears in my eyes I was so excited for G... I mean how many 5 year olds who are obsessed with animals (esp. bears) get the opportunity to see a real live grizzly bear at Yellowstone?!?

   

The boys were running...

 He was HUGE! 

 He was eating a bison and he was throwing it around like it was nothing...

 Unbelievably amazing!

 

Here is a video...

Our trip to Yellowstone was just awesome.  I know I keep saying it over and over again, but it was.  I was excited, but I had no idea what it would really be like.  I have traveled quite a bit around the states and seen lots of really cool things, but Yellowstone tops the list. 

If you like nature at all, you have to take the time to do it.  Hands down, a trip of a lifetime.  To see it through the eyes of your child, makes it even better.  We plan to go back again when Cole is a little older... maybe another couple of years... that is unless Richard or G insists on taking the trip again... and you wouldn't have to talk me into it, that's for sure!  Grady really wants to camp a night in the park... now that would be fun!