Day 13 - First day in Yellowstone

Day 13 - First Day in Yellowstone

Guess we were tired. The Chalmers family didn’t roll out of their tent until after 8:30. When we arrived everyone else was cleaning up from breakfast. Now, in past years we always assigned one breakfast and one dinner to each family. But, because of the logistics this year we decided that each family is responsible for their own breakfast and lunch and each night one family will cook dinner for the masses. It’s the best dinner party ever; you don’t have to clean your house and the guests do their own dishes! Anyway, the only communal part of breakfast was going to be the coffee which is all fine and well until you are the last family to arrive and there is only enough for Mark and I to each have a half a cup. I have been very coffee deprived this trip. It makes for a slow start.

After breakfast everyone got ready for the days adventures. Today we planned on heading out to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Another thing to keep in mind as I describe our trip, everything we chose to do or see in this park will require a drive of at least 15 miles, but more like 30-40 miles. Today’s event was one of the closer sites so the car weary travelers hot a little bit of a break from car time.

The ride out to the Canyon was beautiful. The hills were alive with Bison and lots of native birds. There is a lot of rubbernecking due to the strong desire of all tourists to stop and see every Bison and Elk that is within their range. The strangest thing happens though when you match tourists up with expensive cameras…they lose some brain cells. There are signs all along the roads warning you “NOT” to get out of your cars because the animals are unpredictable. There are other signs that warn you that Bison will charge and potentially gore you. What do these people do, they get out of their cars and pose for pictures with the Bison standing right behind them. Just 5 days ago a man got a horn in the butt from a Bison, but evidently that doesn’t detour some folks. The picture is worth the chance.

Anyway, we arrived at the beginning of the hike through the canyon. Got the troops ready, reminded everyone of bear safety and grabbed the cameras. Off into Yellowstone we go. What a hike it was. The length wasn’t overly impressive, just a mere 2+ miles, but the views were gorgeous. There are two falls along this walk, Upper and Lower. After seeing Niagra Falls you would think that other waterfalls would pale in comparison, but that is not necessarily true. Although the falls weren’t as large or as long, they were still very impressive. At the top of the falls the water was bottle green the water at the bottom sent up so much spray that there was a permanent rainbow visible from any angle. The walls along the gorge are pale, soft and yellow in color. At one point of the hike you can climb down 800 feet into the gorge to get an almost full on front view of the lower falls. I counted 328 stairs down to the viewing spot. At the top was a sign that warned people that this was NOT a recreational walk. As we are walking down you can see people really struggling on their way back up. The kids were great, no complaints and they all loved the view of the falls. I think we’re all just plain sick of the car so anything is better than the leather seats.

The hike finished at a place called ‘Artist Point’. It was the most perfect view of this canyon. The camera just does not capture the sights like our eyes do. It’s now 2pm and we found some picnic tables in the woods to have some lunch. Well, this was not going to be a typical lunch. There was a 6-point Elk who decided to graze right in the picnic area. He was enormous and everyone was trying to get a good vantage point for pictures. He kept moving his way through and finally settled on someone’s picnic table for a snack. He helped himself to their carrots, sandwiches and the bread left in the bread bag. After that he moved up into the parking lot where he worked his way through all the cars looking for more food. It was certainly an interesting experience.

After our exciting lunch we headed off to see a Sulphur Caldron and Mud Volcano’s. Fascinating works of nature. The smell that is emitted from both these sites is painful for the olfactory sense. Think of rotten eggs on a 100 degree day. Something we had to get used to. But, to stare down into the Sulphur pit and watch the light gray mud just bubbling away was captivating. It looked so inviting, but then we read the geological explanation and quickly realized that it’s not something you would ever want to get too close to. The PH level is one step below battery acid. So, we kept our distance and just watched the mud churning. Then the Mud Volcano’s were equally as smelly, but they looked a little more like small water holes filled with mud. The Mud Volcano’s were not as acidic and the kids saw many animal tracks around the edges. The most fascinating fact about both these sights is they can change in size, dimension and location at any point in time. These formations are caused by volcanic activity below the surface. At any time this activity can change and cause a shift that redefines these sites. In 1975 one of these major shifts occurred and created what we are looking at today. Wonder what we’ll see next time?!?!

It’s been a long, hot day. Temperatures topped out at 88 and everyone is looking a little weary. We headed back to the campsite to start dinner and clean up a bit. On the way back Mark and I stopped at a Ranger Station to find out if there are any recommended swimming areas close by our campsite. The very helpful ranger explained that swimming is somewhat limited in the park. The rivers run fast and the lakes are frigid. But, he did give us a couple of suggestions, all of which require driving to. This is the first time we have ever camped without having lake or river access. The kids are not too happy about the swimming issue. Sorry kids, didn’t really think about it before we left. Just assumed the water would be swimmable; lesson learned.

Dinner was a perfect camping meal of franks and beans. The kids were famished and many had seconds and thirds. After dinner the parents got together for our ‘Mandatory Parent Meeting’, beverages required, to discuss the next day’s activities. One of the many changes I have noticed about camping with the families this year is the kids are so into seeing each other that they require very little from the parents. The 18 children have this amazing ability to organize themselves into group games like Capture the flag, Red Rover and pickup lacrosse. Meanwhile, the parents can sit around and actually have adult discussions without interruption. After our parent meeting, we got to watch a brief slideshow of yesterday’s hike and sights, particularly the Elk. Isn’t technology grand!!!

Highs of the day: seeing all the wildlife, especially the up close Elk, the beautiful waterfalls in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and the fabulous hike down into the Canyon.

Lows of the day: Alexia’s back going out. Mosquitoes eating us alive. The kids really didn’t care for the Sulphur or Mud Volcanoes smells and running out of water on the hike. We only brought one water bottle per person and we flew through the water during the hike. We will buy some more bottles tomorrow to be better prepared.

Stay tuned for more updates tomorrow if possible…I think I’ve located some spots in the park where I can get some service. I’ll have to drive, but I won’t complain. The mosquitoes aren’t as bad in the car ;-)