Yellowstone

We were waiting in the driveway for Chris to get home from We Fest so we could head WEST!

We visited Theodore Roosevelt National park first.  Well now I see why people enjoy hiking!?!?!  That hike in Itasca was seriously just the worst......

...obviously, as Itasca's hike ended like this last year.  

Wild horses for Marie.

Bison for Chris.  This is actually a buffalo at Yellowstone, but we saw MANY in both parks.  Each time we left, Chris would say "I could just sit and watch them all day."  A true Bison fan.  

Take a look at the incredible sulk.

Impromptu hike our first morning in Yellowstone park.  Hiking along a beautiful creek?  Yes please!

Watching your often-sulky son fall (gently) on that hike? Yes please!  

Having it end with this view?  Yes please!

Having the kids climb something that looks like a cliff-of-death?  No thanks.  

Old Faithful.  

Marie doing her best impression of a geyser.

Hot springs.  They are hot! Not as hot as Luke's over-dramatic face. These ones smelled mostly pleasant as well.  At least there were rails on this particular boil-you-alive spring.

Because as you can see, most of them did not have rails.  Terrifying.  Crowded.  Still super cool, but I just kept thinking that bringing a toddler here would be beyond frightening.

One of those springs is running into this river. 

 Will it burn your finger off Luke and Travis?  Try it out! 

To continue with ways to risk your life, we drove alongside Firehole creek (on a cliff on a narrow road) and then swam in Firehole canyon.  If you were lucky enough to not slice your feet on the sharp rocks, then you could attempt to swim in the current.  I allow Luke to do way more than I should let a kid his age do.  He was on his own at Wisconsin Dells waterparks last summer as a 7 year old, he bikes all over the neighborhood, etc.  But swimming in that current was not something I was letting happen. 

Eva swam great in it.  As did Travis. Why are Eva and Travis moving up-stream, where we can't see them?  What is everyone doing around that corner?  Just jumping off cliffs.  Illegally.  Everyone is doing it.  Eva and Travis did it also.

I really wanted to try swimming in that current (and I wanted to see what they were doing around that corner.  I really was better off when I didn't know what they were doing.)  I realize that I haven't actually used a swimsuit for anything other that reading a book poolside for quite some time.  The suit I wore was definitely better for reading than swimming.  

We all survived day 1 and we went to Mammoth on day 2.  The kids were not impressed by the mile long board walk.  They said they are called board walks because you get so "bored" of walking.  

Chris, Eva, Travis and Luke went rafting on the Yellowstone River in Gardiner.  

They loved it!

Even when Eva fell out.  Chris really loved having to use all his strength to get her back in the raft.  

And getting other people's children back in the raft as well.

North Entrance.  

This was one of my favorite, favorite things. 

 Put up 140 years ago when Theodore Roosevelt opened the park.  

 We saw mountain goats (which Marie is supposed to look like she is holding, but I can't see the things....)

On to the Boiling River, where a hot spring enters a river and we enjoyed a natural hot tub with beautiful scenery.  

This guy isn't often around for breakfasts.  But, he was our breakfast cook for the week.  

And then we were just fancy, fancy, fancy this particular evening for dinner.  

No campfires before bed since the Olympics were on.  Togetherness indeed!

Day 3.  Artist's point. 

Which is more awe-inspiring?  The view of the falls or of these kids sitting next to each other without fighting?  

We thought all these pictures looked like we were standing in front of pull-down screens because the view seemed unbelievable.

Sure you can hold my phone near the edge of a cliff to take a selfie.  

Here were are now at the top of those falls.

Chris didn't find the possibility of boiling-alive scary, 

but he did not care for these puny fences near the falls.  

The last day was spent doing all the things the kids had been wanting to do since we got to West Yellowstone, which is where we stayed.  Time to go broke! Marie got to ride horses.

I got to look the MOST COOL and chose to wear this helmet/hat with Marie.

 We had seen books and read stories about ways that people have died in Yellowstone.  So by this point, horse riding was much less nerve-wracking.  I was able to simply enjoy THE MEADOW.

Marie needed a massage after the horse riding.

The other three went to a ropes course/zip-lining.

The city park in West Yellowstone was about the only place where we could use our phone.  Which was just fine. The kids played pretend pokemon with Marie the cheetah while Chris and Eva and I played on our phones before walking all the way back from dinner.  

12 hours of driving to get home; only 3 stops!  Watch out Hansons, you just bought yourself MORE road trips.  I absolutely loved Yellowstone and could've stayed another week.