Yellowstone 2011

Garrett's viewpoint of Old Faithful!

Here is the whole family: Scott, Isaac, Garrett, Margaret, Virginia, Mom, Kellis and Marianne.  Yellowstone Falls is behind us...wonderful!

Terrace Spring.  Our first 15 minutes in the park.  There was a dead Buffalo (American Bison) carcase off the boardwalk.  Cool!

Some of us at the new Visitor Center at Canyon.  Sooooo worth the education here.  They showed all the rocks, formations, maps, how many times Yellowstone has exploded and changed the face of the US and so forth.  Powerful!  Humbling...and it is ready to blow again.  We just don't talk about that in front of Garrett.  He is a little nervous about the SUPER VOLCANO!

Marianne LOVED the buffalo.  She just laughed and smiled at these.  She signed "dog" or bird for nearly every animal.

Ahhhhhhhh, the falls!  Is there anything else to say?

This is the 375 steps of Yellowstone--more like the 1000 steps of Yellowstone.  It is tucked away near the south side of the falls and you descend down these steps and have a view of the falls that is so up close it is amazing.  You can feel the rumble of the water through the metal steps...POWERFUL.

The first picture of the falls and the mist.

THE FALLS!  Look how close you are!  It is soooooo NEAT!  never been here in all my trips to the Park.  Loved it!

Garrett said that this fallen tree looked like Tree-Beard's friend after the Orcs chopped it down.  We were just above the Dragon's cauldron and headed towards sour lake.

The buffalo and the kids...we are signing buffalo...right by Sour lake.

Just us having fun with the Buffalo.  Right after this shot Isaac heard a crashing sound and we turned to look into the trees to see a dear that had 6 points on it just scratching himself against the tree.  Super cool Isaac!

DEEP POOLS...this is by West Thumb Yellowstone...right by the Lake.  Soooooo cool. 

WOW...This was a much needed family vacation.  Honestly there are a few miracles that go alone with it: 1) finding the money to do it--because of a strong budget, 2) finding the time, and 3) finding the deals.
Finding the money: this started in Jan and it has paid off.  We had a lot to accomplish in a small time frame but miracle occurred because of tithing, discipline, and hard work.
Finding the time: we needed to figure out a time to go when a) I wouldn't be too big to go camping, and b) when Scott could take the maximum amount of time with out getting knocked about it with work.
Finding the deals: Hands down the gas prices lowered, the car was tuned up and ready to go, and the KOA in West Yellowstone didn't charge for kids in the Tent campgrounds.  WHAT??  YES...and we found a great spot: roomy, full of trees, and CLEAN!

Okay enough about that...onto the details!  We left Friday and set up camp in the dark and just collapsed for the first night.  Sat morning...fire, food, and off we went into the PARK.  That night we got back in time for swimming, marshmallows, and star seeing.  Oh yeah!  The BEARS!  They were out on Sat night and Sunday night.  They had the bear cannons blasting and the big spotlights shining into the forests...wild, raw, and a bit scary! Sunday morning, up and at them for Church, back to the park, and yep then back to camp, dinner, and more fire, star seeing and so forth. 

I can do the play by play but what I mostly want to convey here is that I saw more of Yellowstone on this trip then I ever had in all the my trips into the park.  We saw hidden places, out of the way places, the water was soooo high, the animals abundant, and the beauty of the park, and the PICTURES! 

We just relaxed, talked, laughed, told stories, and enjoyed so many aspects of the park and each other that it truly was a wonderful trip.  It was what I wanted...to make a memory for our family.  Those family memories last a lifetime and help in times of trials, triumph, and tragedy.  Here are some pictures...enjoy!