Day 9 - the alarm was set for 4:00 am, and my eyes popped open at 3:35 am ready to go (thank you, Trails Runners buddies for the 5:00 am runs...that 4:35 am central time internal clock worked great!). Today was a big day we had to stock up at Walmart, dump and fill Casita, drive almost 600 miles, and exit/enter into two national parks....too much!!!!!
By the time we had the Casita dumped and stocked with water, we were pulling out by 4:29 am. We drove and drove and drove and stopped at the sketchiest Walmart in Casper WY complete with homeless bums in the restroom and parking lot.
Note to self: stock up at nice Cody WY Walmart next time.
We also found a fantastic state park, Boysen SP in the middle of Wyoming that would make a perfect split to this drive. It was tucked away in the middle of a canyon....beautiful!
2nd note to self: SPLIT ROCKY MOUNTAIN AND YELLOWSTONE DRIVE INTO TWO DAYS!!!!!!
Hallelujah! 5:00 pm, 13 hours later, we found the entrance of the park.
Now only 45 miles to our Canyon Village campground. This was a beautiful entrance into Yellowstone through Shoshone National Forest and Hayden Valley so we could see the herds of bison.
By the time we were checked in, showered, and pulled into our spot it was 7:40...a full 15 hours after we left RMNP. We ate a quick dinner of quesadillas and reheated chili and crashed. Tomorrow, we hit the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone!
Day 10 - After our crazy driving day yesterday, we opted for smaller/shorter sightseeing. We were up and out the Casita by 8:00 for a drive to the canyon, what an amazing sight!!!!
We chose several lookout spots before hitting Old Tom's Trail.
This trail was a steep 327 step trail down into the base of Lower Falls. We have some serious hikers on our hands!!!
Invest the base, we hung out for a quick snack before embarking on the steps back up.
Mommy is apparently looking a little sunburned...yikes!!!
We hiked back up and returned to the Casita for lunch and much deserved naps....Aaaah!
After naps, we were up and ready to hit the 3:00 pm Ranger talk "Yellowstone for the Young" - Bones and Skulls. Very cool, and the kids earned their Yellowstone Junior Ranger Patch! We then loaded up the truck and headed down the road to Mud Volcano....boy was it stinky!
Oozing pots of boiling sulphur mud spots...cool!
My nose can smell the Sulpher just looking at the picture! On our way back, we were stopped on the road by a herd of bison crossing! You can't make this stuff up!
We hit the Canyon Campground shower/laundry and returned to the Casita for the night. What an amazing day!!! Tomorrow - Geyser day!!!!
Day 11 - we learned from our RMNP Bear Lake failure, so the alarm was set for 5:00 am to make the 40 mile drive to Old Faithful.
This was a much more tourist friendly location than we were used to, so we were thankful to be one of the first to arrive to see the geysers.
After we watched Old Faithful erupt, we set for the remote hike up to Observation Point instead of the boardwalks.
It was quite a hike up to the top, but our boys did it!!!! Once there, we found a nice spot to relax, snack, and wait for the geysers to erupt.
Worth every climbing step!
We packed up our stuff and went downhill to see the geysers up close, even passing the remote Solitary Geyser while it erupted!
We walked the boardwalks and observed several more geysers, springs, and mudpots....we were truly standing on an active volcano!
I'm guessing we hiked 5 miles at the geysers.
Everyone was ready for our yummy packed lunches at the Old Faithful Inn.
We loaded up the car and drove the 40 miles back to the campground for the set of the day....we were DONE!
I must say I've excelled at this campfire cooking. That evening, I made tasty fish tacos with chipotle coleslaw....in the rain!
The Mosquitos swarmed with a furry when the rain stopped, so we opted for an early bedtime after our 5 hour hike today. What an awesome day!
Day 12 - I woke up before 6 and went on my first run since arriving in Yellowstone while everyone else slept. It was a beautiful 3 mile sunrise run through the campground loops at Canyon Village...so peaceful. When I returned, the boys started squirming, and we were off again! This time, we stopped by the Artist Point on the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone to see the magnificient falls one more time.
Today, we hooked up the Casita and brought her with us on our day trip so we could have everything. Curtis said "I like bringing my house with me on day trips". 😉. We set off on another 40 mile venture around the lake, but first stopped for a bike ride up to the Natural Bridge.
We started seeing bear poop EVERYWHERE, so instead of pressing our luck, we snapped one picture and raced out of the bear caves.
I definitely didn't want to test out our borrowed bear spray on a family of grizzly bears up in the remote Natural Bridge. We loaded the bikes back up on the Casita and set forth to the West Thumb on Yellowstone.
I love this shot of the Black Pool. The sun popped over the cloud just in time so you can see the colors inside the boiling pool.
It was time for lunch, so we loaded back in the car and found a nice picnic area around the lake where a mommy moose decided to join us for lunch and play a game of War.
We hit the road and set forth on our second bike ride to Lone Star Geyser.
This second bike ride was a little too ambitious...3 miles out to the geyser and 3 miles back. Half way in our little guy tuckered out, so we took a quick picture at the bridge and headed back.
Yellowstone is so magical! It's amazing to see how alive the Earth truly is!
For the beauty of the earth
For the glory of the skies
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies
Lord of all to their we raise
This our joyful hymn of praise.
Amen
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