It's about time!

Can you believe after being born in Rexburg, Idaho, growing up in Utah and visiting southeastern Idaho and Teton Valley countless times that I had never once been to Yellowstone National Park?  [Clark's comments in forest fire red] This was obviously intended to be a rhetorical question, but I will just answer so everyone else can feel good about moving on with the blog. "No, we can't believe it."  How is that possible? *Thinking*  I know--it's a travesty, really. I'd call it more of a "bummer," or a "woopsie."  People who have been through real travesties would be offended.  So you can imagine how anxious and excited I got while at my grandparents' cabin--a mere 30 minutes from the West Yellowstone entrance.  It took some convincing, but I did successfully coerce my husband and little sister to spend a day driving through the park.  Ten hours and hiking in Yellowstone after driving for the last several days and being in a car?  Why would I need convincing?  

We woke up Sunday, packed lunches and attended some of sacrament meeting in West Yellowstone (There were hundreds of people of there!  I even ran into a guy we went to high school with and a guy that went to Ricks) before entering the park.  I was practically giddy. About going to the park, or about meeting those two guys?  Were they past crushes?  We planned a loop that allowed us to see a few of the park's highlights and maximize the minimal time we had to spend in the park.  We started out at the Norris Geyser Basin.  It was unlike anything I'd imagined we'd see; prior to this visit I was ignorant to the geological factors that make Yellowstone so unique.  All of the geysers and all of the different colors were quite fascinating.  I agree.  There were some rather unnatural colors that occur naturally in Yellowstone Park.  It was tiring and hot, but all in all, I was actually really glad we went.  Please don't tell Amy.

Norris Geyser Basin--the Porcelain Basin trail

 DON'T step off the path...

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Next stop was the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, which was my favorite.  It's a stunning canyon and beautiful falls.  We made a little (slightly exhausting) hike down to a view point of the falls.  I'm glad we did it, but having a toddler made it a bit more stressful since we couldn't just let him walk.  The path was quite narrow in places. We drove through the lovely Hayden Valley straining to spot wildlife but knowing we wouldn't be very successful considering it was the middle of the day.  We saw a few bison and some herds of geese, but that's it.  We made some quick stops to see the Sulphur Cauldron and Mud Volcano and enjoyed the lovely drive by Yellowstone Lake. 

A little hike down to a lookout of the falls.  Always a little killer when the hike is uphill on the way back...and when your toddler must be carried. Not to mention the extra 30 pounds that guy in the picture is carrying around his midsection.  Oh, that's me.

View from the higher lookout point

 Sulphur Cauldron--quite stinky.  A true-life bog of eternal stench.

Bubbly and brewing, just like a cauldron.

Hayden Valley

Dragon's Mouth Spring, part of Mud Volcano

Yellowstone Lake

Waiting for Old Faithful

Our last stop was Old Faithful.  My biggest fear was that we would arrive just after it erupted and that we'd have to wait forever to see it; however, we were extremely fortunate and arrived not even ten minutes before it erupted.  It was impressive, and I'm definitely glad that I got to see it; but I probably don't need to see it again until I take my kids some day. 
It was definitely a busy day at the park, but it really only seemed busy when we had to find parking at the major stops.  Other than that we enjoyed smooth, steady driving with the exception of the first few miles in the park where there had been an accident.  We had a good time playing the license plate game and laughing at the signs that warned you from straying off the path lest you fall through the crust (which would be quite awful).  I loved all the pine trees and the variety of landscape we saw within the park, and I loved spending time with my family and little sister.  It was a lot of driving, but I think we spaced our stops quite well.  I'm eager to see other parts of it and have time to hike some of the trails and see more wildlife.  There is still much of the park to explore.  Not to mention the time we really lived the wild life and heated up Emmett's left over mac n' cheese by putting it on the dash, in the sun.  Bear Gryllis would have been so impressed.
Six or seven hours later we left the park via the southern entrance and drove through Targhee National Forest and through Jackson Hole, Wyoming on our way to Driggs, Idaho.  The view of the Tetons and lake was stunning.  It really did take my breath away.  Seeing the Tetons always makes me feel a deep connection to home and to my heritage.  We also saw a huge herd of bison, which was exciting.  That was definitely the slowest part of our drive which was frustrating since we were ready to be out of the car at this point; however, we eventually made it to Victor around 8 p.m. or so.  At that point, the car had had enough as well.

Thar she blows!

Blue Star Spring

View of the Tetons coming from the Targhee National Forest (taken from the car while driving at high speed)

Sweet Grandma-Great

We spent the next couple of days visiting with Grandma Moulton and spending time with Phil and Jerai.  We did a lousy job of photo-documenting our time here, but we did lunch at Teton Thai (Sean came too), lime freezes at Corner Drug, celebrated Phil's 30th birthday and scanned a bunch of old photos.  We stayed one night with Grandma and one with Phil and Jerai, so we were able to spend quality time with everyone.  It was quite lovely.

Going for a ride on Grandma's walker

Visiting the baby goats next door to Grandma-Great's

 Phil's 30th birthday celebration