Paddle boarding and Birthday Parties

Emma went out paddle boarding with Joy and her niece, Chloe on Gervais Lake. At the same time, Analise was invited to her friend Ellie's birthday. She had a pool party and many of Analise's classmates attended. They even learned how to make sausage using a grinder.

Yellowstone Day 4

On our last day at Yellowstone, we ventured over to Lamar Valley and hiked Slough Creek. We started off on the trail around 7:30 am. It was still cold outside and the sun was just rising. This was an area we were told we would see a lot of wildlife, including bears so we were definitely prepared with our spray and lots of clapping. We got about thirty minutes into our hike when we were surrounded by large rocks. As we started to descend into the valley, we heard snorting and growling like noises coming from behind the rocks up ahead. We weren't sure if we should keep going to just head back. We decided to risk it and see if there was anything beyond the rocks. Luckily the sound was actually coming from a huge herd of bison out in the valley. We were surprised that they would make such sounds. Later on, we encountered two bison up close. One had a branch stuck on his horn and was trying desparately to get it off. The other just passed us on the side. As he walked past, he made the deep breathing growl and we knew for sure that the "bear" noises were coming from the bison. We also saw a variety of birds, gophers and chipmunks on the walk.

After finishing the trail, we went over to a few small water falls. There was a picnic area where we stopped to chat with a bird watcher who taught us about the American dipper that dives into the water at a rapid pace. It was quite neat to see them diving. We also stopped at Mammouth Springs but it was too hot. The temps were into the upper 90s. Erin had heat rash all over her face, neck and arms so she had to wear a rain jacket and carry an umbrella to keep out of the sun. We quickly saw the springs and ended the journey in Gardiner for some huckleberry ice cream. As we ate ice cream we watched the river rafters coming down ready avoid the many rocks in the rapids. The day ended again with a trip to Chico Hot Springs for some much needed muscle relaxing water then some Netflix shows before bed.

Yellowstone Trip Day 3

On our second day in the park, we did a lot of hiking up and down the mountain. We started the morning early at the "Grand Canyon" of Yellowstone. The Upper and Lower Falls were definitely a sight to see. After winding our way down to the look out we were amazed by the amount of water gushing over the side of the rock cliff. We literally saw the entire water cycle taking place before our eyes. After the water sprayed from the bottom of the falls, it rose as vapor and we saw the start of a cloud. It was quite an amazing sight.

After climbing back to our car, we headed for Mt. Washburn. We intended to just climb for an hour or until we got tired. However, as we got closer and closer to the top, we kept encouraging each other to push on. By the time we reached the top, we were over 10,000 feet up. From the top, we were able to see the entire park in all directions. The air was thin, and they didn't have toilet paper at the bathroom on top, so we didn't stay very long, but it was quite an accomplishment for the whole group.

Our last stop of the day was Tower Falls. The sun was beating down at this point. Thank goodness the cliff we climbed down had some shade towards the bottom. When we got close to the river, the cliff became steep. We held hands as we all slipped down together. Dan decided to put his feet in the river, but Emma was still scared there might be leeches like her last river adventure. Instead we stood and gawked as other families slipped down the cliff to get to the river. The journey back up was a tiring one with lots of sweat dripping. We called it a day and headed back to the house for dinner. After dinner we went to Chico Hot Springs to soak in the heated pool. The hotel was originally a hospital where people visited when they were sick. They had lots of old fashioned photos as well as directives that were used at the time to heal people. We also got to see how the hotel was set up with small bedrooms and a common bathroom at the end of the hall.

Yellowstone Trip Day 1 and 2

When we landed in Bozeman, Montana, we spent the afternoon exploring some of the parks in the city. We visited a park with a lake and playground as well as the Gallagator hiking trail and Sourdough hiking trail. Most playgrounds in Bozeman have a rock climbing wall. The girls were determined to scale all walls that they could find. While on the Gallagator trail, we encountered a sculpture garden as well as the local library. It was hot hiking with limited shade on this trail, but we got to see the entire city from up high. On the Sourdough trail, we walked in the shade next to a creek. The girls were worried about bears but we only encountered dogs with their owners.

Our first day in Yellowstone started off with a trip to the Prismatic Overlook as well as Fairy Falls. We hiked on both boardwalks and gravel trails to get to our destinations. After Fairy falls, we stopped at Old Faithful and saw some more hot spring activity. We rounded the day off with a cooler hike in the shade next to a stream. Unfortunately, we decided to take the same trail that an "itchy" bison wanted to take. We were stuck on the trail for a bit as he decided to ram his head into trees along the path. We were thankful we were almost done with the trail by the time we encountered him. One man that was traveling ahead of us tried to go around him, but found out the hard way that he couldn't when the bison started to turn in his direction. Both girls demanded that Dan and I get further back because the materials they read said we needed to be 25 yards from the bison. Apparently we were too close for the girls to feel completely safe, and the bison was quite upset that he couldn't get rid of his itch.

Dan on the trail right before we encountered the bison