Yellowstone Was Amazing!

We had so much fun in Yellowstone!

We first stopped to see Grandma on our way through the town she lives in. It was so nice to see her. I really miss her. We used to live not ten minutes away from her and would see her very often. I really hate to only see her maybe a handful of times a year if that. I really wish the boys could see her and know her and love her like I do. I know you pass that kind of love on to them in a way, but mine was all grown from experiences and knowing that she loved me very much.

We then took the turn off near Mak's Gas Station and fed the GIANT fish in the incredibly clear beautiful river. There is a cabin that off the top of my head I cannot recall the name of the founder. He lived there with his little water mill and functioned quite happily. :) That is kind of the way I would like to live. And how would it be to live in such a constantly gorgeous place?!

The boys had tons of fun feeding the fish and were so good while we were there. a very nice gentleman asked if we would like some family pictures and snapped a couple of great shots for us, despite the fact that the boys seemed to have a constant aversion to the camera the entire trip. :) Silly little twins.

After that (we stopped to snap a shot of Harker Drive - I guess no one ever never noticed it before!) we headed on to Hebkin Lake and the cabin. It really is a beautifully breathtaking scene. The earthquake killed over 100 people when it suddenly sloughed off the entire mountain onto their tiny little town. Very few survived.

There are trees still standing erect in the rivers and lakes that seemingly should be long gone. it is a surreal experience and thing to behold.

My husband tells me there used to be a gigantic eagles nest with a gigantic eagle in it. We haven't seen it in a few years. I hope everything is well with the eagle... there are quite a bit more people and houses/cabins in the area than there used to be.

We got settled in the cabin and went to bed! It was such a long day and drive. The boys were awesome and went right to bed without a fuss! I was so happy!

The next morning we ate breakfast and packed lunches and headed to the park... and discovered the rout we preferred to have taken was closed. So we could only go one direction through the park. We decided to see what we could that day and the following day we would move on to Old Faithful and the Falls.

We drove in and the first animal we saw was an ENORMOUS (I cannot emphasize it's enormity enough) Bald Eagle. I am not even kidding from across the river it had to be four feet tall!!! It was just sitting there being beautiful. They are so amazing! I have a really hard time comprehending Eagles.

After gawking and trying to get some decent pictures (stinky zoom! doesn't zoom very well...) we moved on. it was very interesting to only see stray Buffalo. in the few times I had been I had never seen a single wandering buffalo. they were generally close to the road and there were hundreds of them at a time. the smallest heard until this trip was maybe six. So we saw about ten single buffalo throughout the park. The first of which, again, was from a huge distance but you could tell how huge he was. even after seeing the other buffalo in the park and finally on the second day coming across a heard of many only a hundred, he was a Giant.

We saw a couple of elk, again from a huge distance. Only two bulls, from an even more enormous distance. Then we saw some mama's and babies in the river on the way back the second day. I just love the babies. I told my hubby that we have to come in the spring. I prefer the green and the flowers and the babies beyond any oranges and browns. And even though we saw some babies, they were nearly grown already. I just love to see the babies. They make my heart happy.

We only made it to the lower falls, but it is so incredible. I was obviously very distracted by my sons and trying to keep them safe and happy after we just carried them down... how many times do you tell your children that if they walk, they are walking. "I am NOT carrying you at all." and then end up carrying them the entire way anyway? There was no way they would have made it though. I do not have a recollection, still, of going down and having it be so far and so steep. They did awesome though. Daddy put one on his shoulders and I ended up piggybacking the other. it is amazing the difference that a couple of pounds makes when carrying a child!

All in all the park was awesome. It is very cool to see the seedlings. the fire took place when I was eight years old. I love when you drive in through Island Park, they have planted the forest and marked the years that the trees were planted. It is interesting to see the height of nearly thirty years versus ten or five or two. Makes one feel kind of old, but significant.

The boys were just fantastic the entire time, only one single potty accident and he had had an awfully lot to drink and was asleep in the car. Poor guy. He was really upset about it.

Visit Yellowstone if you have a chance. It is breathtaking and no matter what it will always be a place of awe. the water, the animals, the rocks and the still standing trees that surely should be gone by now. It is a natural high. I hope you get to enjoy it and will tell me about your experience.

Enjoy Right Now
Cara :)