Who’d have thought a 9 hour drive with a four and five year old could be anything but horrific. But it was fun. I enjoyed it. No crying, no whining, not a lot of potty breaks. Oh, and the boys did great also.
My dad and stepmom have a wonderful yard and the most amazing tree swing.
And who wouldn't want to make a wish on these. I'm not sure what they were but there were a few around the yard as big as softballs.
Knowing the boys were in good hands Jay and I made the 6 hour drive to West Yellowstone and our first campsite. We had a great time, talking, laughing and just enjoying some much needed grown up time. The drive and the whole first day might be my favorite part of the trip. We saw a ton of amazing things in a short amount of time and really enjoyed being together.
We were probably ten minutes into the park when we saw our first bison. Jay didn’t have time to stop the car before I launched out of it, barefoot, to take pictures.
The wonderful thing about Yellowstone, beside the obvious, is it stays light until about 9:30pm. We didn’t set up the tent until after 6pm and still had time to drive down to Old Faithful (not as cool as I thought it would be) and check out a bunch of the thermal features along the way before heading back to the tent for dinner.
We were lucky enough to visit the Grand Prismatic Spring around 7pm, when no one was around and the lighting was phenomenal.
This is the typical areal photo people recognize:
Of course we didn't have a helicopter or the noon sun. What we saw was very different with only shades of blues, greys and a touches of pink. For me, it was breathtaking.
No one around.
Have you ever seen a photo and felt your breath catch with stunned surprise? That is how I felt during the thirty minutes we were lucky enough to experiance such an amazing sight. It was just Jay and I, very quiet, and the light was ever changing. I was stunned. Each minute and each step changed the scene. These are my favorite photos from this trip but they are not nearly enough to truly show how amazing it was.
With only one day spent in Yellowstone and five more to go I was feeling very lucky and happy as we went to sleep that night.
The next morning we tracked down the backcountry office and set up our permits for the next couple days. We were lucky enough to be able to spend three of our five nights in the backcountry and it was amazing. Around 3 million people a year visit the park and less than ten percent hike into the backcountry. Even though we went at the height of summer we felt mostly secluded and on our own.
Our first overnight hike wasn’t my favorite but only when compared to the other two.
Our campsite was right by the creek where we caught some fish.
About 100 yards from our tent we saw this:
That, as near as we can tell, is a grizzly bear track and it was facing the direction of our camp. Our camp where we were headed to make dinner and go to bed. Luckily the bear itself never made an appearance.
On the 5 mile hike out the next morning we met a couple of rangers on horseback and didn't see another soul until we reached out car. It was an amazing first couple of days.
To be continued...
My dad and stepmom have a wonderful yard and the most amazing tree swing.
And who wouldn't want to make a wish on these. I'm not sure what they were but there were a few around the yard as big as softballs.
Knowing the boys were in good hands Jay and I made the 6 hour drive to West Yellowstone and our first campsite. We had a great time, talking, laughing and just enjoying some much needed grown up time. The drive and the whole first day might be my favorite part of the trip. We saw a ton of amazing things in a short amount of time and really enjoyed being together.
We were probably ten minutes into the park when we saw our first bison. Jay didn’t have time to stop the car before I launched out of it, barefoot, to take pictures.
The wonderful thing about Yellowstone, beside the obvious, is it stays light until about 9:30pm. We didn’t set up the tent until after 6pm and still had time to drive down to Old Faithful (not as cool as I thought it would be) and check out a bunch of the thermal features along the way before heading back to the tent for dinner.
We were lucky enough to visit the Grand Prismatic Spring around 7pm, when no one was around and the lighting was phenomenal.
This is the typical areal photo people recognize:
Of course we didn't have a helicopter or the noon sun. What we saw was very different with only shades of blues, greys and a touches of pink. For me, it was breathtaking.
No one around.
Have you ever seen a photo and felt your breath catch with stunned surprise? That is how I felt during the thirty minutes we were lucky enough to experiance such an amazing sight. It was just Jay and I, very quiet, and the light was ever changing. I was stunned. Each minute and each step changed the scene. These are my favorite photos from this trip but they are not nearly enough to truly show how amazing it was.
With only one day spent in Yellowstone and five more to go I was feeling very lucky and happy as we went to sleep that night.
The next morning we tracked down the backcountry office and set up our permits for the next couple days. We were lucky enough to be able to spend three of our five nights in the backcountry and it was amazing. Around 3 million people a year visit the park and less than ten percent hike into the backcountry. Even though we went at the height of summer we felt mostly secluded and on our own.
Our first overnight hike wasn’t my favorite but only when compared to the other two.
Our campsite was right by the creek where we caught some fish.
About 100 yards from our tent we saw this:
That, as near as we can tell, is a grizzly bear track and it was facing the direction of our camp. Our camp where we were headed to make dinner and go to bed. Luckily the bear itself never made an appearance.
On the 5 mile hike out the next morning we met a couple of rangers on horseback and didn't see another soul until we reached out car. It was an amazing first couple of days.
To be continued...
I AM IN COMLETE AWE!
You should work for national geographic, or start you own nature,hiking website. You are so adventurous. I wish I was half as adventurous as you. Your trips are always amazing. First the boys swing pictures ARE absolutely precious! Their smiles say it all. Second, your old faithful pictures DID take my breath away. What a gorgeous sight! Third, I would have had to hike back to the car to sleep if I had seen that bear track. You amaze me!
Can't wait to see day two!
You have wonderful pics and such exciting adventures!