Jun. 28, 2008 - Major Update!
It isn't that I was so busy that I didn't write, it was that the internet was way too slow in the evening for me to get on it and add anything. It worked fine in the morning for Dan to work, but by the afternoon too many people were using it. So the following is transcribed from my journal and the pictures are at the end.
Tuesday June 25
We took long walks up and down the river this morning while Dan worked. I took a nap while the kids played. I could hear them playing while I napped. Before I went in to lay down, they were laying a trap for another Jr. Ranger. On the paper the National Parks Service gives them, one of the things they had to do was meet another Jr. Ranger. Meeting their brother would never do and they assumed that someone trying to be a Jr. Ranger would pick up trash in the park so they tied an empty juice bottle to a rope, laid it out, and hid behind a log. They took turns "finding" it. The other would pull the rope so the finder would be lured to them and then they would ask if they were a Jr. Ranger. No one came by, so they ended up dragging it around the camp. Another camper asked if it was their pet and they thought that was a great idea. They named it Rick. Then they got more of them. One was a girl named Peaches. One had dirt, one water, and one rocks. They "lost their baby fur" when the label wore off. They played together. They had to tie them to a tree so they wouldn't run away. They took them to the bathroom when they "stunk" and washed them out. They fed them rocks. Jake wanted me to leave a bowl of water out for them. This went on for hours and they are still living in the back of the truck. Jake was proud that they made toys just like pioneer children did.
When Dan was done working, we took a drive to the Gros Ventre Slide area. There was a huge landslide there about 80 years ago and there is a great "interpretive" walk to see there. It was very pretty. There was a sign on one of the trees that said the scientific name for Lodgepole Pine "Pinis Contorta". Dan pronounced it "*****" and now they are going around saying that they found many "***** contortas in big tittie national park". Boys!
We got home way too late to work on the blog so I had to write in my journal for later.
Wednesday June 26
Today we packed up to go to Lizard Creek while Dan worked. He took a long lunch and on the way up we decided to drive on through to Yellowstone instead. I can't remember why now. I guess we just had a hankerin' to see the park! We stopped in Flagg Ranch to get gas and the mosquitos attacked us! They were swarming all over Dan while he pumped the gas. We drove up to Grant's Village and got a camping spot. This place is like a hotel or something. We call it "Big City Camping". Dad had to go back to work so we went for a drive to see the lake. The whole park is filled with tall dead trees and small trees growing under them. Much of the hillsides look like someone dumped out a can of pick up sticks! We had forgot about the fires in 1988. The park is just now starting to have trees again. The place looks like a christmas tree farm!
We went back and got Dan and went out for dinner since we were fairly clean. We walked to the grill/store and got burgers and it cost us $50! Yikes! I got some milk, bread, and ice for $20! We walked back to camp. We went to get ready for bed and the water hose broke in the trailer! Dan fixed it so that we can still use the sink but the shower is out of commission until we can go into town.
Thursday June 27
We lost Jake this morning! We had all gone to the bathroom to brush our teeth. Nikki went back to camp and I was brushing Jake's teeth, then sent him back to camp. I brushed Tom's teeth and washed his face and sent him back. I washed my face and brushed my teeth and went back. When I opened the trailer door Jake wasn't there. I asked Tom and Nikki where he was and Nikki said she thought he was with me. I checked the beds and said "No hiding Jake!" and there was no giggle. I asked Dan in the truck if he had seen him and he said no. I walked back to the bathroom and came back. I told Nikki and Tom to check the other bathroom. Dan took the truck around. I went to the camp office. That is when I panicked and started crying. I asked if they'd seen him. He just doesn't get lost like this. They put his description on the radio to the other camp hosts and maintenance people. All I coul think of was all the trucks and campers leaving at that moment. Anyone could have picked him up and driven off with him. Then Tom & Nikki came running up. They had found him. I scooped him up and hugged him so tight. He was crying. He took a short cut from the bathroom instead of following the road. Now, mind you, you can see the truck from the road by the bathroom. I was so scared. It took me all morning to calm down! The rangers were so nice. One drove by later in the day and recognized him. She told him that she was happy to see we had found him! Now no one goes anywhere alone EVER!
We did the laundry today! The boys played in the snow piles next to the laundry room and got completely soaked. We walked to the visitor center and mailed some postcards. We got ice cream and got a Jr. Ranger paper for Yellowstone. This turned out to be a very long walk! There were some closures because of a washed out bridge and the bears.
When Dan got done working, we drove to Old Faithful. It was suppose to blow at 5:41 and it was 5:55 and we thought we missed it, but then it went! We took the walk all around the area. Some of it is very pretty and most of it stinks. The buffalo apparently really like the place because their hoofprints and poo are everywhere! We saw a buffalo grazing near the walk and we took pictures and then he started coming across the walkway. We thought he was going to go down the boardwalk! And there were hundreds of people standing there because Old Faithful was going to erupt again. Nikki said he was going to walk over the gyser right when it blows and be blown into the air belowing like in cartoons. We couldn't stop laughing at the visual.
Before we left the area we went into the restaurant to see what they had. The sign said "Cafe" and when we got in there it was just a snack bar with $8 slices of pizza. We went back to camp to make spagetti. Nikki and I almost died because we were really hungry and it smelled so good!
Friday June 27
We made eggs and Canadian bacon for breakfast! We went for a drive while Dan worked from the trailer. Today was beautifully clear and sunny. I've never seen bluer sky! Last night, I got up in the night to go to the bathroom and was awestruck by the number of stars! It doesn't get really dark until after 11pm so we hadn't seen them yet. Wow!
On our drive we went to see the paint pots and some other gysers. They were neat but you can only ses so many of these before they all run together. The place is really crowded too. The parking lots are all insanely full. We went to the Firehole Drive and saw an elk carcass and a buffalo carcass. Maybe there were some wolves nearby? We drove by a large crowd looking at elk. Then we stopped at the river where a guy was fly fishing. Jake didn't want to walk anymore so we went to get lunch. We stopped at a sore for soda (always bring soda on camping trips) and then stopped at a cool cascade. Stoped at a picnic area for lunch on the Continental Divide. Watched a chipmunk and a gray jay. The boys made a snow man.
We went to Shoshone Point, had to stop because we wondered what the "point" was. We took pictures at the Continental Divide sign. When we got back to camp, Dan was still working. Nikki decided that Jake's Indian name will be "He Who Sings like the Drunk Man" because he is constantly singing. They are usually made up but some are ones from his CD's.
This morning Jake and I saw a squirrel barking at a dog. And a coyote walked right through our camp! We played card games and made fires with Dad, roasted dogs, Jake scrapped his elbow good on the asphalt. The boys spent about 20 minutes pouring cups of water on the fire. We have to get to bed early so that we can get an early start tomorrow!
Saturday June 28
We left camp at 9:30 this morning and headed for Montana! We checked out some things along the way. We saw the mother Grizzly and her cubs in the meadow by our camp! There were a hundred people there dragging toddlers across the road to see them close up. Yikes. We we just took a picture from the truck! We stopped at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Talk about beauty! We hiked way down into the canyon to see a waterfall and almost died coming out! It was very steep. We stopped for a picnic lunch and then drove on.
We arrived in Bozeman, Montana at about 5pm. It is everything I dreamed of. We got a hotel room for the night and took real showers. I went to the Super Walmart next door. This place is awesome. I'll take some pictures of it tomorrow.
Tomorrow we are going to find a camping spot nearby. See you then!
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