A couple weeks ago we decided to head north to Yellowstone. There has been a hike on my list for a while and we decided to make a day of it. So after breakfast we packed up and headed out to see if we could see Lone Star Geyser.
We were about 45 minutes into the drive and Calla was suddenly starving.
Good thing we had packed lunch. But she was going to have to wait. So she did. Kind of.
Nothing like a lunch before a hike.
Even for daddy.
Now this particular hike is a couple miles in, but the trail is mostly paved and bikes are allowed on the trail. We came prepared.
Carsten didn't get wheels to start, but he was plenty happy.
The scenery was beautiful. The trail went right along the Firehole river for quite a ways.
Looking for fish . . .
It was such a glorious day that Calla had to get out of the stroller and skip along for a while.
We finally arrived, but had missed the eruption by FIVE MINUTES.
With a three hour cycle, we had some time to kill. I certainly wasn't going to miss it since it had been on my list and we had come specifically to see it erupt. And this is likely our last summer in Yellowstone since we are moving by the end of the year.
So we played in some water for a bit.
Jumped over it to the little island.
Headed down the trail further and found some wild flowers.
Came across a back country camp spot.
Wandered around there balancing on beams and such.
Perched on the seats around the fire pit.
Discovered an interesting sign and followed it.
Yes, this resembles a toilet. With a little stick for TP and everything.
Bison obviously are not toilet trained. Even if it is available to them.
Then we found the river and by the river there were a couple hot pools. It was pretty fun to poke around there.
There were hot spots in this little pool by the river, too.
Carsten just sat and watched. He's pretty good at that.
And then we headed back. When we got back to Lone Star, it was starting to gurgle and spurt. And then it went for a little pre-eruption eruption.
Carsten thought that was pretty neat.
The water rolled down the hill and the girls went to check it out with daddy. Carsten was intrigued.
He just had to join the fun.
We continued to wait and the girls pulled out their Junior Ranger stuff. I had come prepared to wait for three hours. I was not going to miss this.
I had even brought snacks. Carsten was intrigued.
And then Lone Star started in earnest.
Water is so appealing to children.
Obviously it's appealing to children of all ages.
The eruption built and built and is really quite impressive.
It ends with a steam phase where it just blows steam for a while. It's pretty powerful.
Carsten ended up just sitting in the water. I'm sure geyser water has some sort of amazing properties that are beneficial to babies. He was certainly happy about it.
The eruption got his attention for a few moments here and there.
But mostly he liked the water and the rocks.
He's such a ham.
The major eruption lasted twenty five minutes. And it was worth waiting for. The one we missed lasted seventeen according to the log. And we'll be going back in a couple weeks with my family. They want to check it out, too.
Grace needed to see the mud pots on the way back. So we stopped. I asked if she wanted her picture by them. She said yes, but couldn't handle the sun in her face.
While it was funny, I did get her a better one.
It was a great day trip. I am going to miss having Yellowstone Park in my back yard. But I also fully intend to take advantage of it while we're still here.
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