Yellowstone - Day 3

June 25, 2015 - Day 23

75 Miles – all in Yellowstone National Park

Grey Wolf Inn

We got a bit of a late start today, but it was more of the same. Beauty all around. The highlight of the day was seeing Old Faithful, which was a bucket list item for Rich. We sat for an hour and a half, waiting for the geyser to blow. I must admit, it was worth it. We also continued our Yellowstone Park license plate game, and by the time we left the park, we’d spotted 46 different states. It was kind of cool to see how money people, near and far, drive to experience Yellowstone.

We put in another five hours of exploration and then called it a day. It was sad to say goodbye to the park, but even I was done with driving around, parking, getting out, walking around, taking pictures, climbing back into the car, and doing it all over again.  Also, it was disappointing to discover how many rude people there are in this world. I smiled and greeted hundreds of strangers who just looked back at me, with no response and nary a smile. Rich wondered if it was because there are so many foreigners visiting. But isn’t a smile an international greeting?

I must confess, I am exhausted and very down about it. At the end of each of our days in Yellowstone, all I wanted to do was lay down, which is quite scary for me. I’ve been going to bed early, but waking up multiple times throughout the night. I saw a sign in West Yellowstone, listing the elevation as 7000 feet. It made me think that perhaps the altitude is getting to me. I vaguely remember my parents complaining about it during the summer we spent two weeks in Colorado, but Edmund and I never felt any effects. Or maybe I’m just getting…you know the word, but I can’t type it. Nope, I’m going with altitude sickness.

Tomorrow we head west, to Idaho Falls, our furthest point west. Then we turn around and make the trek home – with a few stops along the way!

Yellowstone - Day 2

June 24, 2015 – Day 22

Gardiner, MT (north entrance) – West Yellowstone (west entrance)

135 miles (all in the park!)

The Grey Wolf Inn, Rm 125

The park is amazing! I took more than 200 pictures today, which is ridiculous! We scaled a mountain, by car and foot. We saw the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and the amazing lower falls of the Yellowstone River, from vantage points that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. It’s very scary when you look down. We also explored the lake area, and rented a boat. We smelled nasty sulfur springs and got up close and personal with some bison.  All in all – a wonderful day. A long day. I am beat!

Hunter's driving...

And Audie's ain't happy about.

Yellowstone Day 1

June 23, 2015 – Day 21

Bozeman, MT – Gardiner, MT – Yellowstone NP

80 miles, then 60 miles driving around in the park!

Best Western Mammoth Hot Springs, Rm 224

Happy Birthday Daddy! We celebrated with a little Starbucks this morning. It’s the little things, right? We were on the road early – on our way to the destination highlight of our trip – Yellowstone National Park. Excitement all around. Okay, seriously, only Mom & Dad were excited. I don’t get it.

It was another pretty (and short!) drive and then we were in front of the Theodore Roosevelt Arch, which was the original entrance to the park (north entrance). Unfortunately, we were detoured due to construction, and I didn’t get a good picture. Our first stop was the ranger station at Mammoth Springs so I could get my bearings.

I won’t bore you with a play-by-play of the day, but we hiked quite a bit and took a stagecoach ride. I don’t think I can adequately describe the beauty of this park without sounding cheesy and over-the-top. I’ll let my pictures do the talking.

Random personal observations of family life in the park:

Barrett likes to hike and is quite fast. He and I will do well as fitness partners in the future. If I’m going to hike, I’m going to burn some calories!

Cammy doesn’t like to hike, and whines about it. He’s gotten too heavy for me to carry, so I basically drag him along, which thwarts my workout - but what am I going to do?

Audrey can take the hikes, or leave them. She’ll complain about it, but physically, she can finally hang. Her competitive nature overpowers her laziness, because she’ll be damned if Hunter is going to beat her at anything.

Hunter and Audrey fight a lot. It can be a joy buster. They both have to have the last word and therefore, it never ends.

Hunter has become a surly teenager. It’s sad. He seems quite miserable spending time with us, and very underwhelmed by the scenery. I think there’d have to be a racetrack in the park for him to be happy. We’re doing our best to ignore his sullenness, but next year we may leave him at home.

Rich is totally in his element. My nature guy gets so excited when he sees wildlife. It’s kind of cute. He’s on a mission to see a bear and said he’s not leaving until he does.

Speaking of bears, the park has hundreds of bears and they have warnings everywhere. They also sell bear spray in the stores. Audrey is freaked out. Rich suggested we get some – just in case. Guess how much they charge for a can of bear spray (which I’m sure doesn’t come with a guarantee)? $50! I told Audrey we’d take our chances. Audrey was not too pleased. “You don’t think my life is worth $50?” Uh-oh. I explained that no bear would get between me and one of my babies. And now, I really hope we don’t run into bears.

We spent six hours in the park and only saw a small fraction of it, so the next two days will be long. We checked into our hotel, and I had to endure a litany of complaints about our accommodations. It seems they don’t care for a Best Western. I should have made them sleep in the car. We’re in one room (a “junior suite”), so you can only imagine. For our first night, we’re staying just outside the park, in Gardiner, MT. I booked our rooms too late for us to get inside the park. Big Mistake.

We took Rich out to dinner for his Birthday and our options were limited in this little town of Gardiner. I apologized, but he didn’t care. He got to spend his day in Yellowstone with his family, He said that it was the best birthday ever!

Quotes of the Day (Cammy’s on a roll):

#1 - A gentleman saw Rich pushing our luggage cart, which was expertly loaded, and he commented that Rich must have played Legos when he was a kid.

Cammy: “Oh yeah, Legos run in our family!”

#2 - Cammy was waxing poetic after Rich and Hunter said they were going to get him a cinnamon roll for lunch, instead of a hotdog.

Cammy: “They replaced my hotdog, and won my heart.”

#3 - Finally, when we were descending the terraces at Mammoth Springs, I offered Audrey the rest of my water. She thanked me and said she’d save it until we got to the bottom. Cammy was holding his water bottle, which was more than half full.

Cammy: “I’m going to die before I get to drink all of my water!” – He didn’t care for the uphill climb.

Bozeman, MT

June 22, 2015 – Day 20

Billings, MT – Bozeman, MT

154 miles/2 hours

Residence Inn Bozeman, Rm 316

Okay, remember last summer when I claimed that I found the place I really wanted to live? Manchester VT. Well, I may have found a place I like better – Bozeman, MT. I love this little town, and the drive from Billings to Bozeman was spectacular!!!!! Truly Big Sky Country. Bozeman is a cute little town and it reminds me a bit of Sonoma. The people are really nice. There’s tons of shopping and plenty of cool restaurants. And the air is so fresh and crisp – and I can smell! I can actually smell grass, flowers and other scents everywhere I turn. My allergies are almost nonexistent. And I’m not kidding, I look ten years younger. You know those bags under my eyes that I complain about all the time? Gone! I know, very vain on me to write about this, but I thought you should know what was up if we put a sign in the yard. Rich loves it too. The kids are not happy with our talking about this – but they’ll get over it.

Bozeman made the itinerary because I friend of mine had posted pictures on FB a few years ago from her trip. That’s it, just somebody else’s vacation photos, so I was nervous when Rich asked why we were going. Thankfully, he got it. We spent a couple hours strolling downtown, going into gift shops, a book store, a toy store, a candy shop, and a wine bar. So much fun. Kids scored as well with candy and Legos. And we had a great dinner.

I want to come back to this magical place!

Billings, MT

June 21, 2015 – Day 19

Medora. ND – Billings, MT

294 miles/4.25 hours

SpringHill Suites Billings

Happy Father’s Day! Aud got up early to take her dad to the hotel dining room for breakfast – while I was left to the task of waking up the boys. Cammy was the easiest, but the other two growled at me. Hunter’s mood improved when I told him he didn’t have to run. According to his coach, Sunday’s are a day of rest. Rich wanted to hit the road early, so we pulled out at 7:30 a.m. We’re heading west.

As soon as we crossed the Montana border, the landscape changed. It was certainly pretty, but eastern Montana looks a little rougher that North Dakota. It’s not as lush and the colors are somewhat muted. Very rocky terrain, with sage brush. Barren in appearance. There were a few mountains, but not as majestic as I’d imagined. We stopped at a Walmart in a very small town, because Rich needed a computer monitor, and he also bought Dumb and Dumber 2 to watch with the kids. Then he climbed in back and left the driving to me. It was Father’s Day, after all. Only problem – there was lots of laughing and cackling going on back there. It grated on my nerves and made it very difficult to listen to my audio book.

We got to Billings early and almost weren’t able to check in, but they found some rooms for us. The kids wanted to swim and Rich decided to join them. He sent me to the mall, because I left my hanging bag in Canada, with all my dresses and blouses, and I have nothing “nice” to wear for when/if we go out at night. It was tough goings at the Billings Mall, different styles out here.

In what has become a road trip tradition – when not on the Cape (Rich’s favorite place to celebrate Father’s Day) - we seem to end up at a Texas Roadhouse. If you haven’t ever been to a Texas Roadhouse on Father’s Day, you’re missing something. It is quite a crowd. Fascinating people watching. But our dinner was excellent and half the price of the place we ate in Canada.

It was a boring day, nothing exciting to report and not much to see in Billings. I forget why I wanted to come here…

Quote of the Day:

Barrett, Cammy and I hung back at the restaurant to pay the dinner bill, while Rich went on ahead with Frick and Frack (our hotel was next door). Cammy was going on about when he goes to college and how he’ll need me to buy him some stuff for his room (why he’s thinking about this, I do not know). Then he made a comment about “When Barrett gets out of autism and goes to college…” Uh-oh, backup Buddy. I had to gently explain that that probably wasn’t going to happen.

Cammy: “Well, that’s going to be awkward.”

Me: “Why’s that?”

Cammy: “Well, you know how I plan to marry you when I grow up? You’ll still be my mom, but then you’ll be my wife, which means that Barrett will be my brother - and my son! That’s just an awkward family.”

I couldn’t stop laughing, I had snot coming out of my nose.

****We’re head to Yellowstone, which means long active days – and from what I hear, sketchy internet. If you don’t hear from me for a couple days, that’s why. I’ll catch up when we get back to civilization:)- A.K.A Idaho.

Dad with his babes.

Love this picture.