Yellowstone Day 1

After Dillon, we drove on to our place outside of Yellowstone.  But wait, I can’t miss that on that drive (which was actually quite interesting and lovely save the almost collision with a pronghorn) that we crossed/drove along the Oregon Trail!!  Tav jumped in for a fun picture at a rest stop.  Love this kid.

Ok, we made it!  YELLOWSTONE!  This is a pinnacle point in the trip for sure.  I mean, it’s Yellowstone…first national park in the world!!  On a national park, cross-country trip, that’s pretty fantastic.  Plus, this is another one of those stops I totally remember from my childhood trip.  I was so excited to share it with Doug and the boys.

First of all, if anyone out there is planning a road trip/national park trip/cross country trip.  Definitely check out the GypsyGuide app and see if your route/plans are included.  It’s absolutely worth the investment.  We have been loving the insight, stories and information it gives as we drive through the parks.  The boys have named the voice, “Gypsy George.”  It really is a value-add to the trip!

But first, before we jump into the park, look where we landed…a dude ranch outside the East entrance of the park. We are in the “Big Horn” cabin (which is pretty funny because Doug has been obsessed with seeing a Big Horn sheep ever since we entered Colorado…still no luck!).

Upon our evening arrival, we unpacked and promptly got the boys into the pool.  

And then Penn was super happy to discover that they had a pool table in the recreation lodge!

We had dinner at the ranch because it was so convenient (a little light on the green vegetables, but hey, everyone had full stomachs!) and then got everyone to bed because the next day was our first trek into Yellowstone!

The dude ranch has a great rancher’s breakfast.  Steep in price for the adults, but the boys were half priced and they ate every cent of it!!  A helpful energy-store for the long days of adventure.

Now on to the park!!

So not only do we have Gypsy George, but I have also put quite a lot of effort into the planning and routing of our days in Yellowstone (and the Grand Tetons, but that’s another post).  I mean, what else is there to do on ridiculously long rides across this amazing country (well, except for passing out snacks and settling arguments, pressing play on podcasts and updating the blog)?!?!

For Day 1 we are doing the upper portion of the Grand Loop.  First stop was actually unplanned, we were just too excited about all the beauty around us!  It was the LeHardy Rapids and it was gorgeous.

Plus it gave Doug a chance to continue answering Jansen’s fly fishing questions.

Then on to the Mud Volcano and Sulphur Springs.  Pee Yew!! But also amazing.  And there were bison hanging out enjoying the stench and the warmth (I guess?!?) so that was pretty exciting.  

With all the hype and news stories about people being gorged in Yellowstone this summer by bison when getting too close and trying to take selfies I was on high alert and nervous.  I mean there was one just 50 feet from us (they can run up to 30 mph, so that’s like a second to cover that ground), so I pulled the boys away to easier viewing grounds when this guy was ambling towards us.  Yikes!

Next stop…the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone!  Upper and Lower Falls.  Absolutely outstanding.  I mean, I can’t really compare them to the actual Grand Canyon because it is all so different.  But I just LOVE the water features of the falls amidst the steep drop of the canyon walls and the vivid rush of the river below.  

We drove to quite a few viewpoints and short walks to take it all in.  Yellowstone is fun because although there are limited roadways, there is so much to see along the way, you can definitely keep it interesting with features, pull-offs, views (and to be honest, stuffed animals at gift shops).

After leaving the Canyon area, we drove north, stopped once for a picnic lunch (where we got no photos because preparing lunch a la minivan is a chore and there were major horseflies) and then headed on to Tower Falls.  On the way to the falls we were in completely different countryside, green fields, tall hills and mountains, views for miles (and kids going a little delirious in the minivan).

Tower Falls was beautiful!  We also really enjoyed the geological features at this stop.  It’s amazing how many elements there are to take in at this park. I neglected to get a picture at Tower Falls (but Koen got 1000 pictures everywhere & I will eventually do some landscape posts with his photography). But here’s Doug & I at Undine Falls. 

Next we drove on towards Mammoth Hot Springs, but before we got into that natural phenomenon, we went to the Albright Visitors Center and learned a little more about the area as well as about Fort Yellowstone.  For over 30 years the Army was in charge of caring for the park, arresting poachers, boosting squatters and assisting visitors until the National Park Service was created.  Here’s the boys all posing with different antlers/horns. I did not stage this. They come up with this stuff on their own.

Outside the visitor center the elk really enjoy the pristine grass.  Cute!  But they are big and there are warnings all around to be aware if you get too close, they can get mad and rear up and do damage!

We stopped at the General Store and got our national park sticker.  This makes park number 10!!!  We had to start on the second side of the car top carrier.

The Mammoth Hot Springs are other-worldly (and it’s also very hot walking around!).  The sulphur smell wasn’t as bad as our morning stop at the Sulphur Cauldron.  We walked around the lower terraces and then drove around the upper terraces.  These areas with all the boardwalks make me nervous!  Especially walking them with my rowdy, sometimes clumsy boys.  I mean, if I fall off the boardwalk, will I just be singed or disappear beneath the surface or something??  Terrifying!  

Mammoth Hot Springs was our last big stop of the day, but we still enjoyed the sights on the drive back to where we found a spot for dinner at Lake Village.  We even pulled over a few times, including this fun elk sighting. With binoculars we counted about 30!

And we saw quite a few bison through the day, this one was super close, so I got a good shot of it.

And look at the littlest of wildlife spotters (with Erik the Bison).

Things had been a little stressful in the van at the end of the day.  But dinner was a good reset and this unbelievable landscape refreshed us all for the ride home.

Nothing like God’s gorgeous creation to encourage the heart and soul!  We even had a little fun on the ride home…Jansen’s new stuffed animal friend, Erik, the Bison, helped Doug drive for a bit.  

And on a less happy note, we had a close encounter with an elk running out on the road in front of us when we were nearing the dude ranch.  Doug was on it!  But we did have to break and it was a close call.  Thank the Lord for so much safe traveling.  It was a good reminder of how He is carrying us through all these adventures!