LONG Yellowstone Post

Yellowstone…. Left Friday afternoon at 3. Got to 800 N and had to turn around because Shane forgot to get the new registration sticker for the trailer out of my car…. Set us back 30 minutes!!

We *regretfully* had a DVD player in the truck for Chloe because there was going to be a LOT of driving. She LOVED it. We watched Toy Story, Little Mermaid, and Baby Einstein (Animals of the World) about 10 times each.

The drive was fine. Little patches of traffic around Salt Lake and Ogden. Stopped in Pocatello at about 7 to get some food at [our tradition] Applebee’s. Headed to Idaho Falls where we originally were going to stay the night at Patrick and Cindy’s but Shane wanted to just drive straight through. We stopped by for a bit - they were out of town but left the house open for us. Chloe had SO much fun, wandering around from room to room, going up and down the stairs and playing with the little toys they have. I snooped a bit and admired how much room and land they have. If it wasn’t so dog-done cold and far away, we might just live up there.

Left from IF at about … 9PM then headed up towards West Yellowstone. Shane refused to camp inside the park for multiple reasons --- dogs couldn’t play, no fires, shoulder to shoulder, PAY…. So, he planned to camp in the National Forest just outside of West Yellowstone. Well…….. To make a long story short(er), we didn’t end up finding a place until…. 2:38AM. We got stuck in a tight spot at one point. He had to unhitch the trailer, move the truck, and RE-hitch from a different angle. He had to chop down a couple of small trees and I even had to help drive the truck. Needless to say, I was NOT happy at all during this time of mindless, endless driving. But there was nothing I could do so that was that! We (and when I say “we”, I mean “I”) found a great spot. We got in and settled by about 3 and finally fell asleep.

Woke up and headed to the park by about 11-12. I was very excited to be there! It was a “fee-free” weekend so we got out of paying $25!!! The drive was 14 miles to get to the junction to go to the north or south loop. There were a few jams …. Set us back about 30 minutes! The first one was just for a small golden eagle. The second was for a few cow elk on the banks of the river. NOTHING worth the 4 mile line going about 10 MPH the whole time. But it was a beautiful day! We headed on the south loop and stopped at a few exhibits - hot pots and some other cool geyser type things. It was HOT around them though and a little bit stinky too!

We saw lots of buffalo on the sides of the road - one actually held up traffic and crossed the road. Some stupid woman kept walking closer and closer to it to get a good shot. Dummy! Anyway, we finally made it to the Old Faithful area. We had JUST missed the last “showing” so we hung out in the gift shops and got some lunch. It was PACKED!! Absolutely claustrophobic. Ugh….. Anyway, we had to hurry back to the seating/viewing area. We found our spot and waited just a few minutes; it teased us a few times with just little spurts of water but then it FINALLY went off. It was pretty cool. I got some video and some good pics.

We went over and got some ice cream after Shane ran back to the truck and got my extra camera battery. (We were parked almost as far away as possible). It was nice to just sit inside and relax for a few minutes in an air conditioned building. Chloe, though, was getting very restless. Hours in the car and sitting in the hot sun in the stroller… She did entertain herself at Old Faithful though by playing in the gravel, in her pretty white shoes and cute outfit. Oh well ---- she had fun.

After O.F., we decided it was time to get back to camp. The problem with that plan is that we only have ONE road and lots of onlookers. Our poor dogs were just in the trailer back at our camp so I was paranoid for MANY reasons. After getting stuck behind a few clumps of cars, we finally got back to camp. It was late, but we made our dutch oven chicken and potatoes. Yummy… Chloe had a bath and I got her all ready for bed. I put her in to bed so I could shower. Shane was out by the fire at this time. Chloe was NOT happy to be in that bed by herself. It took me a few minutes to get showered and dressed and by the time I got to Chloe she was in hysterics, even though Shane was now holding her. She just wanted Mommy. I was all clean and dressed so I picked her up. Then she threw up on me. She cried so hard that she made herself throw up -- all over our freshly cleaned selves! Oh well, it was just liquid. Anyway, I snuggled her and we set up the computer to watch ‘Friends’. Chloe fell asleep within minutes of me holding her - less than 5, I’m sure.

Me and Shane watched Friends and ate oreos for a little bit then went to sleep. We actually slept pretty well that night! We intended to wake up at 6 and get on our way by 7 so we could see the early morning wild-life. Didn’t happen L But we were on our way by 9. Funny thing is, there was traffic at the same spots as the day before! We did the north loop on this day.

The weather was very overcast and the sky was just threatening. We just stopped at a few exhibits on the way. Mammoth hot springs was cool, but we couldn’t see it all because it started raining HARD. During the rain we drove up to the North Entrance to see the famous arch. It was pretty cool! By the time we were ready to look at more stuff, the rain had pretty much stopped. We were able to see the petrified tree and a few other hot pots.

Along the road we ended up sitting in stopped traffic -- which turned out to be because of a mama black bear and her two cubs. SO cute! Shane left the truck to go see what the hold up was and while he was gone, traffic started moving so I jumped in to the driver’s seat! I picked him up and saw the cute cute cute little bears J We stopped at another overlook on the road and I got some interesting stares from the girl in the car next to us - I would assume it was because I was driving this ginormous truck and Shane was in the passenger seat! Anyway, we walked down to the canyon overlook - very pretty!! On our way again to Tower Falls. We ate some lunch then walked down to see it. It was pretty cool, I guess… There were other, cooler things! Checked out the gift shop then hit the road again!

We went to a museum that was just outside of the park and it was so cool! It was actually the Union Pacific station in West Yellowstone (before that train route shut down). SO interesting! They had a display off the different China used in the different railways dining cars. They were so pretty! It was all just very cool for me; but then, I LOVE museums!!!

LOTS of driving --- LOTS. Our camping spot was probably 15-20 minutes outside of the park. It was nice though. I wish we could have spent more time there. It was fun to have our first real, family trip where we weren’t meeting someone else, staying with anyone else and we went to a REAL place, not just some random camping spot. I love our regular camping trips, but history is my thing and the whole time we were at Yellowstone, I just kept imaging the cars from the 50’s driving around with their luggage tied to the top. (We even saw a couple of these vehicles throughout the park)

After we got out of camp, I realized that my wallet was gone… We made some calls, filed some reports and found that there had been no fraudulent activity on any of my cards and they were all shut off. I can expect new ones within 7-10 business days……. Good thing I had VERY little cash and no SSN card in the wallet. I am 99% positive that I just kicked it out at one of the many stops we made L Shane freaked out a lot more than I did… I’ve been wanting a new wallet anyway! I am hoping that someone turns it in to the park lost and found and they ship it back to me! Ugh….. Annoying anyway. ****I found my wallet the night we got home ---- in my makeup bad?!?!?****

The drive from Yellowstone to Alpine, WY was so pretty, but SO long. We stopped at WalMart in Idaho Falls to get some BBQ sauce and Subway. Chloe needed to run around a little too so we chased each other up and down the dressing aisle. She ate about 4 inches of my 6-in sub (loves those!) and it was on the road again. I fell asleep a little bit and woke up in time to drive down the long dirt road to the traditional camping spot at Grey’s River. We’ve never pulled our trailer into that spot before so it was lots of fun at 12AM!! Chloe was out COLD - out enough that I was able to change her diaper and pants and she didn’t so much as open her eyes. She has slept with me every night - been my little space heater!

That’s about it! Chloe asked if all of the animals were puppies…. I thought that was pretty cute J