Days Three and Four

I am so thrilled this is day three of straight blogging!! Yeah for me!!!

Anyway, back to my trip (I know you all are waiting with baited breath!)... Day three we woke up in Cody, WY and walked around this cute little town. We found the most amazing store . It had the most unique Christmas decorations and hand-made furniture that I totally would have bought and shipped home if I had a bigger house and had loads of money sitting around! Obviously, I only left with a Christmas tree ornament and a snowman to add to my collection!! We had a yummy lunch at Cassie's then headed on toward Yellowstone.

One thing that Chris had to explain to the boys before we began this trip is that he and I like to stop often to take pictures or explore. We did this when we went to Rocky Mountain National Park when I was pregnant with Colby and then again in England. If we see a dirt road, we're liable to take it. If we see an unusual rock, we're liable to pull over and take a picture of it...hence, Chimney Rock...

We also passed a forest fire before getting into Yellowstone. The firefighters were everywhere trying to save this ski town.

Luckily, my husband has been married to me long enough to know that when there is a sign that explains where we are at or what we are looking at, I need a picture!

Our first "animal sighting" was an elk; but, soon found herds of bison. As the days passed, it was funny to see how people would stop in the middle of the road, pulling off if they could, and then getting out of their cars and within feet of these wild animals to get pictures of them. Now, mind you, we are right there with those people! It was so exciting to see these animals in their natural habitat. Luckily we never saw anyone have a close call with an animal. I joked that if these people were to pass a deer on the side of the road in their hometowns, they wouldn't give it a second look -- kind of like we do when we go down Hwy 242 and deer are on the side of the road!

Our first "geological sighting" were the Mud Volcanos and Upper Falls. It amazed me to see how many different geological things are happening miles from one another in this patch of earth. Just simply amazing!! Even the wildlife likes it!


After dinner, we headed to Hayden's Valley and sat on the side of the road for an hour and a half mesmerized by the herd of bison grazing in the valley. We learned from a local man that bison can actually run 30-40 MPH, outrunning even bears! And, here we all were standing on the road, taking pictures, thinking that we would totally make it to the car if one of them made a funny move! Our goal the rest of the week was to make sure some other person was in between us and the animal -- surely the animal would get them first!! :)


Day four, we began by seeing the biggest 12-point elk ever!

Stopped at Virginia Falls and Norris Geyser Basin, North America's most volatile and oldest continuously active geothermal area. So beautiful, each in their own way.




We came upon Sheepeater Cliff. This is an amazing area where half-million year old hexagonal basalt columns are stacked on each other like huge building blocks. As soon as we exited the van, all three of my boys took off for the rocks and began climbing!

As they reach the top, I hear my boys coaxing me, "Come on, mom!" A little secret about me...I HATE heights! I have had to do things since having boys that I never thought I'd have to do -- like learn about tractors, sit on a baseball bleacher night after night, and not have pretty pink dresses to dress them in! But, heights! Yikes!! So, here I am making my way - SLOWLY - to the top!

It is a good thing voices cannot be heard on pictures. Otherwise, behind my brave-looking smile, you would hear me practicing my ventriloquism skills, screaming, "Take the picture quickly!!"


Of course, my husband has to be a funny guy and pretend he is falling!

We all made it down the cliff safely and were walking out of the forest when we hear a sound and see the cutest elk in Yellowstone!

After lunch, we explored Mammoth Country. Once again, the land is beautiful with different springs and terraces that boast vibrant colors based on which minerals, bacteria or algae has been deposited.




Heading back towards Canyon Country, we found a dirt road! And, guess what!?! We took it and found great wildlife -- a coyote, prongthorn, and a black bear!



That night, we just had to head back to Hayden's Valley to watch the bison again. On the way, we ran into a beaver. We found the bison AND a grizzly bear!! (I'm adding the picture of the grizzly even though it is too dark to really see it!) What an amazing day!