Yellowstone National Park (June 22-23)

I really needed a shower on June 22nd. That's the first thing I remember about this day. The girls needed to bathe too, so off we went across the park to Canyon Village (home of showers and shops that sell way to much crap to tourists). Craig, being a guy, didn't want or need to bathe. He was quite content with our very chilly outdoor shower, and all I can say is shrinkage!

Showered and laundered we headed south to hike down to the brink of Yellowstone Falls. We dropped 600 feet in elevation in half a mile. It was seriously steep and worth every single step:



In case you're wondering, it gave me the willies to stand so close to the edge of the falls. Of course, Grace and Julia had no fear. On the other hand, once you raised your eyes, the natural eye candy was pretty great:



On our way down, an older man commented about Julia, who was perched on her dad's back: "Reminds me of 20 years ago when I had my son on my back for this very same hike." We heard comments like that a lot on our trip, as older parents and grandparents reminisced about their first experience in the park with their kids. There's an unspoken sense of fraternity among travelers and campers in wild places, an understanding and respect that we share these majestic spaces.

After a lunch on the brink, we hiked back to the top and then drove to the other side to catch a view of the falls from Artist's Point. Julia was really bummed that there was no actual artist at Artist's Point. She was quite sure we had lied to her. I don't even think she cared that the falls were amazing from this side:



Or that we could see the platform where we had stood just an hour before:



Back in the van, we continued south to Mud Volcano, where we watched other tourists get a little too close to a bison:



And we finally ended our day at Yellowstone Lake, where we hung out on the beach, visited the ranger station and ate dinner in a lodge (a highlight for Julia, domesticated little thing that she is).

The next morning was the coldest we experienced. We ate breakfast with the girls in our laps for warmth, then piled in the van to hit the road towards Old Faithful (yes, that same place I complained about in an earlier post). Our first stop was at Artist's Paint Pots, where again, Julia questioned our sanity, as there were no artists around. However, she gave us some slack once she discovered how wonderful mud pots can be! Turns out, vats of bubbling and gurgling mud thrill Julia. We finally found the ONE thing at Yellowstone that she liked. We stayed an extra fifteen minutes so she could sit and stare.



Truthfully, I can understand why she liked them so much. I had the strongest urge to reach out and grab some mud, mold it in my hands and create something. The only problem being that the acids in the mud would liquefy my flesh on contact.

After Craig navigated us through a Yellowstone traffic jam, we made our way to Madison, home of Yellowstone's Junior Ranger Station. Over several days (and numerous locations around the park) both girls had completed their junior ranger paperwork and were eligible to receive badges. They were tongue-tied when the real live Ranger asked them questions, but they passed:



Then it was onto Old Faithful. Why? Grace wanted to participate in the Young Scientist Program (and get another badge), so while Craig and she compiled observations, Julia and I hung out in the lodge and watched Old Faithful do it's thing (we ate some ice cream too and wrote post cards). Three hours later, we were back on the road to our campsite. This was Julia's third day without a nap, so we were treated to another kind of animal encounter on the drive home: overtired small mammal in carseat for too long.



Up next (in another two weeks, who knows) is our last day in the park, followed by our visit to Devil's Tower, Mount Rushmore, and the Badlands (god, I hope I can get it done). Here's the slideshow of all the pictures: