Yellowstone

We thought we'd take advantage of the free weekend at Yellowstone (August 15-16), but then changed our plans and paid the $25 to go on Friday instead (August 14). It's a good thing we did, because Obama and his entourage took over the Old Faithful area for four hours on Saturday.

Of course, our girls had never been to Yellowstone before, so this was a new thing for them. And Seth hadn't been since he was a young teenager, so I was in charge of charting our course through the park.

We stayed at Grandma and Grandpa Hendricks' cabin on the night of the 13th and woke up the next day only to have the electricity shut off. We had planned on having a delicious crock pot meal awaiting our return that evening, but without the power, we couldn't set the cook time on our unit. I pulled Bekah's hair back and tried taming my bedhead (there's only so much you can do without a blowdryer and curling iron), and we set off on our journey.

Shortly after entering the park via West Yellowstone, the traffic slowed to a crawl. It continued that way for about 20 minutes. Then we finally saw what everyone was slowing down for. A bison. ONE bison. It wasn't in the way; it was next to the side of the road. Every car had to take a turn stopping right next to it, rolling down their windows and taking countless pictures of the animal. Good grief, people. Keep driving and see the rest of the herd!

Our first stop: the Fountain Paint Pots. The girls were sufficiently impressed with the sights, but Bekah did not enjoy the smells. Several times she would crouch down to avoid a smelly steam cloud and squat-walk.

Seth and Bekah walking along the boardwalk at the Fountain Paint Pots.

Analee and her unbelievably cool glasses at one of the geysers in the Fountain Paint Pots area.

Second stop: Old Faithful. We got there in time to wait just 15 minutes before the geyser erupted. Analee enjoyed watching the spouting water. Bekah barely glanced in that direction. She was too busy building a sand castle. In fact, on our home videos, you can hear Bekah say, "Look, Dad! A sand castle!" only to have Seth (the camera operator) wryly reply, "Look, Bekah! A geyser!"

Analee watching Old Faithful, Seth recording it, Bekah ignoring it.

After watching the geyser, we went inside the old Yellowstone Inn to check it out. Seth was skeptical that it was worth a stop, but he found out why I wanted to see inside. The girls loved climbing the old log steps, and would have gone all the way up to the crow's nest had there not been a gate with a lock and a sign saying it was no longer safe for visitors to ascend.

We also did one of the walking loops in the area to see Beehive and other geysers. We were incredibly grateful Seth thought to load up the wagon before we left home. The girls enjoyed the ride. Seth enjoyed the workout.

Third stop: Lunch. We stopped at the Scoup Lake picnic area to pull out our blanket and fare. As we were finishing the meal, the girls found a friend.

They named the beetle Noodly.

Although we were the only patrons of that picnic area when we arrived, by the time we left, there were about a dozen cars there. We are quite the trendsetters.

Fourth stop: the Mud Volcano area. Seth said he didn't think he had ever been here before. We're glad we stopped here because it proved to be a family favorite. The girls loved looking at and listening to the Dragon's Mouth, smelling and seeing the mud volcano and watching the Black Dragon Cauldron churn.

Ana and Bekah checking out the Dragon's Mouth.

Fifth stop: the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Another place Seth had never visited. We had to trek down paved switchbacks for three-quarters of a mile to reach the brink of the Lower Falls, but it was worth the time and effort.

The view of the river and canyon from the brink.

Analee, Seth and Bekah on the way to the bottom.

Andrea, Analee and Rebekah at the falls.

Although Ana wanted me to carry her the whole way up ("But, but, but, but ... I NEED you, Mommy!"), Seth chivarously took her from me, plunked her on his shoulders and practically ran back to the parking lot. Bekah hiked all the way back up by herself, but we did take two rest stops on her behalf.

Sixth stop: Norris Geyser Basin. By this time, it was early evening, and we were all tired. We didn't walk the 1.9-mile loop to see everything that could be seen. Instead, we walked far enough to see Echinus Geyser, Steamboat Geyser and Cistern Springs.

Again, Bekah was overwhelmed by the smell.

Rather than risking going back to the cabin and having no power, we stopped in West Yellowstone on our way back and ate a hearty and costly McDonald's dinner. (By the way, there WAS power by the time we got back.)

The next day, we had a few Grover festivities of our own. The girls and I had made piñatas at the house, so we took the time to fill them and whack them to pieces.

Bekah's expertly crafted and painted piñata, about to fall off and be crushed by a big, wooden bat.

Ana's attempt at cracking open her piñata. Notice her hold on the bat, which ultimately ended up with her ...

... whacking herself in the head and having to be comforted by her mommy. I did help her crush the papier-mâché contraption following the storm.

All in all, we had an incredible time. The girls got to see elk, bison, a coyote, geysers, mud pots, springs and stinky steam clouds. Who wouldn't want to experience all of that?! To see even more splendiferous images of our trip, click here.