Yellowstone continued.

Our campsite has cellphone service and I can’t get ready for bed until I finish my beer, so here is the continuation of the past two days. 

What lucky, wonderful days!!

Marian helped navigate us to Yellowstone (the girl loves her atlas) and we were fortunate to find a beautiful campsite just outside of the East entrance of the park. 

The setting was beautiful and so close to a river that was chocked full of river rocks, perfect for throwing and sand for flinging. Both Marian and Milo enjoyed covering Marian in said sand, so we got to use the outdoor shower of the RV for the first time and Marian got a nice little bath. 

The kids were pumped for the day to start, so Marian opted to wake up at 5:30am and we got a relatively early start to the day (even with a lengthy breakfast and another visit to the river). And we headed into Yellowstone National Park. 

(Side note- we almost skipped it because of the hordes of Trump flags, Trump shops, tourists, and people without masks. Also, with the anecdote of a friend of a friend who came with her 10 year old grandson and got COVID and was in the ICU while he was in a hotel room by himself, also with COVID.) 

But, we ventured forth and thank goodness we did. What a day!!

We started with a hike around the Mud Pots with acidic pools and boiling mud and dragon’s mouth and wildflowers and a bison in the midst of it all. It was a hilly 2/3 mile hike and Milo rocked it. 

We hopped back in the car and drove past herds of bison and to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone (with two gorgeous waterfalls). We did another quick hike after lunch to check them out and Milo ran around chasing squirrels, despite his mask. 

It was time for the kids to nap, so we drove while they slept and they both woke up in time for an Old Faithful showing. They were bigger fans of the gravel around it, but it was fun nonetheless. 

After we witnessed that wonder, we hiked the three mile loop around the geysers and cauldrons, marveling at the colors, the smells, the heat of the steam, and the sheer majesty of the whole scene. As Milo pointed out, this is NOT like Indiana. He also repeatedly noted that these plants must be tough. Marian kept making a boom sound when she watched any geysers. It was wonderful. 

The far end of the loop terminated in the Morning Glory- which was worth the walk and was simply stunning. (It’s the photo above- called morning glory because of the shape.)

As we trudged back, Milo counted to 100 to pass the time and we paused briefly when we could see the Grand Geyser going off at a distance. 

We returned to our “home” and scarfed dinner - tired and hungry, but not done yet! We headed back toward the west entrance where we could find the Midway Geyser Basin, which we had skipped earlier due to traffic. A short-lived rainstorm ensured that it was not crowded and parking was easy. 

We hopped out and walked The 1/2 mile around the steamy geysers full of colors, with Milo completing the picture in his all-red outfit. It was a gorgeous end to our hikes.

 Perfection. 

We drove out of the park, witnessing a purple sunset over the mountains and it felt like we were driving through a postcard. 

I am SO glad that we went. That we took advantage. And that my kid hiked well over four or five miles at a high altitude and big hills without complaining. (I was quite impressed; he earned that one marshmallow for sure.)

Our luck has continued to hold and we found a campsite at the first place we stopped. We have moved into Idaho and have some beautiful country ahead of us, but we are all eager for Klamath. (Milo: I cant wait to get to Klamath and play with my best friend, Annie. I’m also so glad that I’m older and that she’s older, because we are closer to getting married.)

The beer is almost gone and randal and I are beat. But, AMAZING day. What beauty and majesty and color we saw today. We are lucky, happy, and tired. 

And did I mention dirty? We’re that too.