Yellowstone at last!

Apologies  for the break in blog entries, but as it turns out we were completely off line during our four days in Yellowstone.  Who knew there was actual wilderness left in America?

Yellowstone IS incredible wilderness. It is very tough to convey the awesome size, variety, and beauty of this jewel of a park. Because a 30 x 45 mile section of Yellowstone is actually the crater of a huge volcano (most recent eruption about 500k years ago) there is an amazing variety of landscapes, land forms, and ways that superheated water and the minerals that they bring with them try to break through to the surface. These include boiling mudpots, foul-smelling sulfuric springs with water at 180 degrees, shooting geysers, steaming aquamarine and orange colored pools, and many more. The place looks like something out of a 6th grade movie about how the Earth was formed! Despite the primordial inhospitability of these areas though, the other miles and miles of Yellowstone's mountains lakes, valleys, hills, rivers, and forests are also home to massive elk, deer, bear, and huge herds of bison. It's indescribably beautiful.

We entered the park from the north after a beautiful drive and a lovely lunch in Montana. (How cool is it that we were in Montana for lunch???) Our night in Cody had been uneventful. The thunderstorm during our drive had  left a rip in our roof bag but, luckily, just before we left home Ruth thought to give us some waterproof storage bags so our tents stayed warm and dry and we were geared up for our adventure.

Our first two Yellowstone nights were in a lovely wooded campsite in the northern loop of the park. It thunderstormed severely both nights, but the kids were brave and the tents did their job.  We were all ready to be out of the car for a change, so our first morning we took a somewhat ambitious hike through the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone - gorgeous waterfalls, crystal clear rivers, and unbelievable views. We were not, unfortunately, prepared for the 40 degree temp or the sudden downpour that came our way. Oops!  anyway, we made it and at least some of us thought it was worth it.  ;-)

After that day, we learned to pace ourselves a bit better. Our next few days included a second, less secluded campsite in the southern park, shorter hikes, more leisurely exploration, and ice cream stops. In the hot springs area, we saw  gorgeous, naturally formed terraces made of travertine marble. In the valleys, we were stuck in a 1 hr traffic jam caused by a herd of bison. In the geyser area, we watched Old Faithful do her thing -- twice. The best part of the Yellowstone stay for the girls was probably a fun morning spent body-surfing down the rapids of a section of the Firehole River (naturally heated by the thermal hot springs). It was a real test of nerve for them (and for us), and they went back for at least three long runs.

We've really gotten the hang of the tenting thing now, but we do long for the comforts of home. We are DEFINITELY ready for a laundry and some new food, and there has been some homesickness, but nothing that s'mores and a few games of hearts couldn't cure.  Rafting in the Tetons is our next adventure and then we are off to a hotel and warmer climes.