Yellowstone 2010

We went to Yellowstone September 9th - 12th. It was one of the best vacations we've had as a family!

Star graciously invited us to stay at her family's gorgeous cabin in Island Park, Idaho. Cabin is not the right word. It's a beautiful dream home in the woods. Kiernan and I kept saying how much prettier nature is, and how much easier it is to appreciate its beauty when you are not camping in it! It was so nice to be able to wander around in nature all day, then go home to cozy beds, roaring fires, and warm baths.

We bought the girls some matching pajamas, which ironically enough said "One of a Kind." Whatever, they were cute!

Before leaving Salt Lake, we of course ran into our obligatory car trouble. Have we ever planned a road trip and not had to visit my favorite friends at AutoZone on the way out? Usually it's a battery, so no surprise when the battery proved to be a problem this time. After lots of jump starts, elbow grease, reading manuals, and visits to AutoZone, we got the car working before we left town. The first morning in Idaho, we awoke to a flat tire. Of course! What kind of trip would we go on that only has ONE car problem? We got it all fixed (when I say we, I mean Russ and Marshall), and took off to the park. But you know what they say about 3's, right? By that evening we had discovered our third- the heater went out. Good thing we brought blankets.

The first day in Yellowstone, we had grand plans to tally every animal we saw and try to see all the ones on our wish list. Unfortunately, we never did see a wolf, bear, or moose. And by the time we topped 40 in our count of elk, we just stopped the tally.

The first day, we were also very cautious of our proximity to the bison.

We took pictures at nice, safe distances.

By the last day, we were less cautious. Okay, not really. This one just walked up to our car, and we were so scared, we rolled up the window!

While at the park we visited Old Faithful, of course. While at Old Faithful, I actually got the privilege of calling and announcing to one of my couples that they had been chosen for a placement. What a fun memory! Hopefully nothing else urgent happened that weekend, because Old Faithful was about the only part of the park where I had any reception.

We also walked over to Castle Geyser. This was an awesome geyser! We waited around for it to erupt, and I hurriedly snapped a bunch of pics of people before it stopped. Yeah. It kept erupting for more than a half hour.

Wes was anxiously waiting for the geyser to start.

He wasn't disappointed.

Kalen was incredibly cute while waiting for castle geyser.

But even when she's a gremlin, she's incredibly cute!

Star and Russ like each other.

These 2 pics of Russ bring endless entertainment when flipped back and forth. It's animated!

Carly was really impressed with how smelly everything was. She and Marshall kept quoting Labyrinth, "Smell Bad!" as we were walking, and then dissolve into fits of hysterical giggles. Those two were their own little team this trip.

We rounded out the first day with a visit to Yellowstone Lodge to sit in the rocking chairs and admire the gigantic fireplace.

The second day we some sights other than geysers. We saw some mud pots, some rainbow pools, and a waterfall. The waterfall was Lower Falls, and the hike down was totally worth it! What an amazing sight! It was breathtaking. The kids didn't seem too scared of the immense height. But the adults couldn't get over how numb our arms felt if we leaned over the fence to take a picture.

One of the places we visited was the Mud Volcano and Dragon's Mouth. Talk about stinky! We parked and before we even opened the doors we were all smacking our lips at the pungent taste of sulphur. We thought we would acclimate, but it just kept getting stronger. Once out of the car and walking around, the smell seemed to dissipate- or we got used to it. But once back in the car, it was again overwhelming. Then we noticed we were parked over the large grated drain. Where all the stagnant sulphur was running off and pooling. Geniuses, I tell you.

Carly did great with letting us know when she had to use the potty. And even did well holding it for a while. But sometimes we were just too far from an actual toilet and had to practice some of our outdoorsmen skills. She did a lot of pottying sitting on logs. Side note- Similarly, we used a lot of port-a-potties. This gave opportunity for me to disclose a phobia of mine to Star and Kier: Biffyman. Ever since girl scout camp when I was like 9, I have been terrified of men hiding in port-a-potties, because that was the big spooky tale I heard at camp. Star and Kier both minimized my fear, and suggested I snopes it so I'd never have to be weird and phobic again. So I'll link my findings here, and set the record straight that men have been arrested for hiding in potties, and I'm not crazy. That is all.

This is the first Andrews' Family trip we've done without Steve and Londa. We were unsure how it would all workout without built in authority to make all the decisions. Not to mention to buy us lunch! Luckily everyone got along really well, and decisions were made as a cohesive group. I think everyone got to see what they wanted to see, and I don't think anyone felt their voice wasn't heard. So now we know, Steve and Londa make for a fantastic vacation. But in a bind, the new generation doesn't do half bad!