July 2010 - Trip to MT/WY - Yellowstone N.P.

DRIVE TO YELLOWSTONE:

After the Tolman family reunion we ditched the rest of the family and went to Yellowstone National Park. On our way we stopped in Livingston, MT at a park to get dressed, have breakfast, and take a break from the drive. It was a fun town. The ride between Livingston and Yellowstone is breathtaking. We then made to the “gateway to Yellowstone” in Gardiner, MT.



YELLOWSTONE WILDLIFE:

We saw some fun wildlife of course. One of our favorite animals encounters was a female elk that came up right by us while we were throwing rocks in a river by our campground. She came down the hill and took the spot where we had been playing. Once we realized where she was going, we scrambled like crazy to get out of her way. The kids got the biggest kick out of it. You'll notice a picture with Lacey in the foreground marking “elk” off of her animal list, with the elk in the background. We saw lots of other animals as well, including a postcard perfect scene of a buffalo walking in front of Old Faithful.



MADISON CAMPGROUND

While we were in Yellowstone we stayed in the Madison campground it was fun but it was still cold, the kids had fun helping us put up the tent and get camp ready. Riley's job when we set up camp is to drive the tent stakes into the ground. I don't know who likes throwing rocks more, Lacey, Riley or Ron :) I guess we all like the noise (plunk) it makes as the rocks drop in the water. They had a pretty neat ranger program and man it was cold so we all snuggled up in a blanket and enjoyed the program. You can see in some of the pictures that Riley is starting to get a little sick too. Don't take that wrong, nothing graphic, I was just talking about his nose and cheeks.





Lacey was so excited because she was old enough to be a Jr. Ranger, she had to fill out a fun activity book and complete some assignments and once she did all her assignments she went to a visitor station and was sworn as a Jr Ranger, she liked that a lot.



OLD FAITHFUL HIKING:

One of the fun hikes we took was a ranger guided hike on up above Old Faithful, the view was amazing. We then walked around Old Faithful and saw some of the other geysers in the area. One of the most impressive was the Beehive Geyser, wow it is powerful and pretty cool! The thermal pools were pretty neat too and it was nice to stand by them because it was chilly and you could feel the heat from a ways away. You just need to get past the smell. After looking at the beauty outside, we checked out the Old Faithful Lodge. It is gorgeous inside The architecture is beautiful.







OTHER YELLOWSTONE HIKING:

Mark, Susan and family joined us for part of out time in Yellowstone. We went to Fire Hole Lake, Fire Canyon drive, and the Fountain Paint Pots. The pictures speak for themselves.