Our Yellowstone for the year

Well, camping anyway. This baby is due in just a few weeks and this mama thinks any more camping might just do her in.

Granted, camping for us is pulling the 1988 5th wheel an hour away and turning on the generator if we are in need of some air conditioning or coffee or toast. And FYI, this trip there were weird people there. One family camped across from us was actually parked in our spot when we got there. And the next morning their kids were screaming at 7am and continued to do so for a good hour or more. But, for some reason she felt that we needed to turn our generator off by 8:15. Ironically, the generator was much quieter than her screaming children.

Oh, and then there were the drivers. At one point we had not one, but TWO vehicles pull out in front of us and nearly hit each other when it was obviously OUR right-of-way.

But, in spite of it all, we had a good time. I would have liked to do some hiking, but my 9-months-pregnant self just wasn't up for it. Plus, the kids were already exhausted by the time we got there. See this??



This was the only way Calla and Violet got along. It was quite pleasant when they were both doing it at the same time.

Our biggest adventure of the trip was going up to the Lamar Valley and finding the big herd of bison.





The Lamar Valley was new for us. And we sat and watched the bison for about 20 minutes. Do you have any idea how goofy the noise bison make is? It's a deep, rumbly, gas-y sounding noise. And it still makes me giggle. But the herd was so neat to watch.

The scenery was beautiful, too. The Tower area of the park is incredible and kind of reminded me of Glacier park. And I was thankful that we weren't pulling the trailer up that mountain and back down the other side.

Tower Fall:



I'm not sure why it's just Tower Fall, and not Falls. Maybe because it's just one, but I really have no idea.

Funny (kind of) story. On the way to the Lamar Valley we took a little detour to see the petrified tree.



The little info thingy said that there actually used to be three of them, but "thoughtless tourists" chipped away at the other two and now this one is surrounded by a fence. While we were standing there, a family came along and the kids were very vocal about wanting a piece of the tree. Apparently the kids wear the pants in this family because the dad was trying to get them one, reaching through the fence as far as he could and walking up and around to see if he could find one. I rolled my eyes and refrained from saying anything. I'm telling you, the people in the park this time were just weird. We even checked to see if the moon was full or something.

After visiting the bison we headed back up the mountain and down the other side. We decided to stop and stick our feet in the water. Mama mostly watched. It was a nice break from all the driving.



Now to continue the funny story. Calla, our little rock hound, filled her pockets with "gorgeous" rocks she found while wading in the river. When we left, I told her that instead of taking fifty rocks, she could have two. Upon examining them, we discovered that one of the ones she found was in fact a piece of petrified wood. I just laughed and shook my head.

Back at camp, the girls and daddy broke out the laminated card daddy decided they needed to identify flowers and trees. We had three different kinds of trees in our little campsite.



Darned if I know what they were, or even where the card is at the moment, but they had fun.

The next morning we went down to Yellowstone Lake. So pretty! I actually threw Violet up on my back for the walk to the lake. I think it was our first babywearing in the park this time. Behold, me at super pregnant with a two-year-old on my back.



And the kids had fun playing in the sand.



After that, V was ready to go.



So off we went. And we stopped at Old Faithful. It's Grace and Calla's favorite geyser. Or so they say.

Mama worked it so she didn't have to carry anything.



At least for a while.

We did go up around the top loop while we waited for Old Faithful to show its faithfulness. And after much whining and "I'm hot" and such, we finally saw it.



Oh, tired kids. So much fun. Especially paired with super pregnant mom.

This right here is why we didn't do much babywearing.



She's a hiker. For about 100 yards.

But on the way back we did stop for ice cream. That may have been a highlight. In fact, we stopped for ice cream all three days of our trip. We may have created a problem. But oh well.

No matter, the trip was fun. And we're looking forward to going back when mama isn't pregnant. Maybe we'll make some day trips this fall after the baby comes. I did suggest to Grace that maybe we should do that for her birthday.