Day 11 ~ Half Way

Today is just over the half way mark of our 21 day trip.  It has been fabulous.  While our hometown has gone through storms, flooding, power outages, and heat waves, we have had beautiful, sunny, perfect days - every day!  Two hot days last week, but it was a "dry heat"... haha

This morning was an early one as we wanted to get started in the park before the crowds and while the animals were moving about.  Breakfast was wonderful again and then we were off.  We did see a lot of bison this morning on our drive, a couple of them were walking on the road in front of us holding up traffic.  They were so close!  And then we found so many herds all along the open fields.  (valley) We also saw a good number of elk.  I'm disappointed we haven't seen a grizzly or wolves yet.  

We drove further east today and followed the Yellowstone River to Yellowstone Lake.  There was a nature center and museum there with stuffed birds.  The kids were tired of getting out at every stop, so Kevin and I walked by ourselves down the path to the lake.... it was picturesque!  Made me want to go swimming... until we put our fingers in it and realized how cold it was.

We headed back the way we came and found LeHardys Rapids.  The sound of the rapids was loud just from the parking lot!  We all climbed down a hill side of stairs to a wooden overlook.  The kids were not so impressed, but I love a good waterfalls!!  After a few photos, we climbed back up all the stairs.  We are all getting a bit tired of all the walking and climbing we are doing, but after a week of driving in the car to get here, it's good for us!  Our legs are certainly going to enjoy the rest on the drive back home.  

Our next stop along the road was Mud Volcano.  This was quite a hike up, but the views of the valley and far away mountains was stunning.  If you look closely at the photo after the rapids, you can see a couple bison in the dusty area.  Panda took a few nice pictures and got close ups.  She even found a bison hoof print!  We arrived up at the top of the path and then it kept going off to the side.  We followed it, but as I was going along, all I could think about was the walk back... I was so excited to see after a while that it was just a big loop and we were actually closer to the parking lot going the forward path than if we had to turn around and walk back.  Along this trail we saw gurgling mud pits and sometimes they spewed upwards of 8-10 feet.  A lot of heat was coming from some of these locations, and the stench was awful.  The final viewpoint we had on this hike was something called the Dragon's Mouth... it was a deep cave and smoke was coming out. The ranger there said it made "dragon type" noises that could be heard miles away.  

From the start of our trip we have been keeping a list of the license plates from the states.  We have done well so far and as of this morning, the only western states we needed were Alaska and Hawaii... and we found BOTH today!!!  All we are missing from having all 50 is about four or five from the east coast, and I really think we can get those on the way home!

We next went to Canyon Village area to see the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone (river).  Our first outlook was at Angel Point.  This was one of the more crowded areas we encountered on the trip, but we took our time and as people moved out of the way, we could see the falls and then the river that flowed through the valley.  The canyon walls were incredibly steep and jagged.  I always get nervous about steep drop-offs, so I will walk a couple feet over from the walled off edge and keep a close eye on the fam!  At the top of the trail, Kevin found a great big yellow stone.  It was a lot more "yellow" than the picture below.  We hopped back in the car to go to the next recommended viewpoint... Brink of the Upper Falls.  A short path took us to a couple different stops along the first drop of the biggest fall.  The noise was deafening and made it hard to talk.  And hard to get a decent picture to show the immensity and power behind it.  We had a third stop to make to see the falls, but the traffic was backed up so we detoured and stopped at the visitor center instead and bought a couple souvenirs.  

It was just after noon and we were all getting hungry, so we were looking for a picnic spot.  I found a one way road off the main road that sounded fun--Virginia Cascades.  We drove for over two miles along the Gibbon River and there were times I got really nervous!  It was a sheer drop off the side of a cliff with virtually no barriers.  Some of the road side was crumbling off and it was narrow.  Someone did not read the one way sign and we had to carefully maneuver to pass each other.  One spot had a great view and since there were jersey walls just in that area, so we stopped for a quick picture.  This was definitely a scenic route off the beaten path!  It seemed deserted until we got to the picnic area where people were coming and going.  We ended up at an opening with flat land and picnic tables.  The kids got all dusty playing basketball, and Kevin took a walk along the edge of the field and trees... making sure he had his bear spray.  I kept watching and listening for animals; he came back in one piece and we packed up.

The next stop as we made our way back to the hotel was the Artists Paintpots.  This was another hike and we left the tired kids behind.  Ended up being almost an hour hike, and my legs were about done!  We climbed to the top and had a great view of the springs, and gurgling geysers.  The colors were beautiful and I can see how it got it's name!

Kevin drove back to the hotel and the rest of us had naps along the way.  Apparently I missed the scenic route he took along the river... but I was so tired!  We had gotten up about 6am to eat our buffet and see early morning animal sightings, so we called it a day mid-afternoon.

Kevin got his nap in at the hotel while the kids and I relaxed and went to the pool/hot tub.  The pool was chilly and the sun had just gone behind the hotel, so we didn't get in that and went to the hot tub instead to relax our tired muscles.   

We headed into town to a highly recommended BBQ place and it was so crowded and smelled so delicious!  We ordered brisket, pulled pork, mac and cheese, and corn salad.  Everyone was so hungry, but we took it back to our hotel and ate on the outdoor patio balcony and enjoyed the view while we chowed down.  It was the best I had ever had and we don't have many leftovers like we planned for tomorrow!

A walk around the town to look for Yellowstone apparel was next.  I could not find what I wanted, but Panda bought herself a hat, and Tiger, always looking for the good stuff, got himself some ice cream.  A huge dust storm came upon us as we headed back to the hotel.  That was unreal... it felt like a rain storm with the wind, and there were a couple rain drops, but the main attraction we felt was the grit in our faces and there wasn't really anywhere to hide until it was over.  

Tired kids and tired parents hit the hay EARLY!!