Yellowstone

Picking up where I left off:

We arrived at our campsite at Bridge Bay late Wednesday afternoon.  Colleen and Andrew were already there, and Andrew helped us set up our tent.  

We had previously divvied out meal assignments; Colleen and Andrew were first on the docket.  They cooked up tin-foil dinners and we sat down to eat not too long after we arrived.  My kids were keyed up from the long days of driving and the excitement of finally arriving and the anticipation of "camping!"  Bryce couldn't sit still to eat his dinner.  In his wiggling, he managed to slip and smash his mouth on the picnic table.  His top tooth bit hard through his bottom lip.  Cue blood. Lots of blood.  And screaming. Lots of that too.

Not long after that inauspicious beginning, Kira and her crew arrived (with my brother, Ian too!).  Their presence helped provide enough distraction for Bryce to forget about his pain (though, if you ask him now about our trip to Yellowstone, he's sure to tell you about how he hurt his lip above any other story). We spent the evening at the campsite, setting up tents and fires, eating s'mores, and getting dirty.  

Bryce and Kylee immediately re-connected and (as Kira says) were "as thick as thieves" the rest of the trip.  

Aubree, lacking cousins her own age, rejoiced in the attention of her aunts and uncles.  Colleen claimed Aubree as her "buddy" for the week and Aubree took that claim seriously.  

Thane took great care to try to taste every rock and stick in the vicinity of our tent.  Kira brought a mini-tent for the babies (Thane, Elizabeth, and Tyson), but it took Thane about 5 seconds to figure out how to get out.  Besides, Kylee and Bryce soon claimed it as their own.

My kids were exhausted from the day, but still bedtime was rough.  It didn't get dark till super late and the novelty of being in a tent was too much to afford ease of slumber.  Thane especially had a hard time falling and staying asleep and ended up sleeping with me.  I suppose that was semi-good because it got cold (cold!) at night.  I thought I'd prepared well enough by bringing warm clothes and lots of blankets, but we were still thoroughly chilled in the night.  Since Thane was next to me, I could keep him warm, but I then had a hard time getting up to help Bryce or Aubree.  Whenever Thane woke up, he'd scream, which would then wake up Tyson or Elizabeth (or the rest of the campground).  As the long night progressed I wondered, "why, WHY?? do we camp with little kids again?  I need to remember this so I don't do it again!"

As soon as it was light, the kids were up and anxious to go.  Since we were camping in Bear Country, we had to keep everything that could possibly have a scent (dirty clothes, food, toiletries, etc) in our cars.    That added a lot of time and effort to the morning and nightly clean-up chores.  Thankfully, all my siblings and their spouses were incredibly helpful the entire week.  I would turn around to find Kira had washed all my dishes, or Ian had taken Bryce to the bathroom, or Andrew had taken down my entire tent, or Colleen had put sunscreen on all my kids, or Stew had taken over cooking a major part of my dinner...  Camping with three little people alone would have been totally overwhelming and frequently miserable, but with their assistance we ended up having a lot of fun.

For our Thursday adventures, we began by driving to Mud Volcano.  On our way we saw a few herds of bison.  Aubree and Bryce thought it was hilarious when a Bison would walk in the middle of the road and stop.  It was as if they took great pleasure in their ability to halt all traffic.  Aubree and Bryce took to calling them, "stop signs."

Thane and Tyson fell asleep on the drive, so I stayed in the car with them while the rest of the crew went on the short hike.  When the babes woke up, we joined up to see some of the most amazing sights.  Yellowstone sits on an old volcano and has many very unusual and stunning features.  It was fascinating to see the numerous geysers, boiling springs, waterfalls, canyons, etc. 

We drove around site-seeing for a while then stopped to have a picnic lunch.  We then made our way to the "Grand Canyon of Yellowstone" which featured some stunning waterfalls.  We admired the view of the Upper Falls for a moment, then undertook the "Uncle Tom's Cabin" trail which led us down to see the Lower Falls.

I don't think I quite knew what we were getting into on this trail.  I had Thane in a hiking backpack, Ian had Bryce as a buddy, and (of course) Aubree was with Colleen.  After a pleasant hike through the woods, we came to a steep, grated staircase that led down, down, down.  Through the grates you could see the ground and slopes below you.  With Thane on my back, I felt very off-balance and anxious.  I don't normally consider myself to be afraid of heights, but in this instance, I think I might have been a little bit (medium-bit?). I tightly gripped the hand-rails as I slowly made my way down the 328 steps.

I didn't realize until much later (when I saw the picture below) that Ian carried Bryce down on his shoulders.  It's a good thing I didn't know, because I never would have allowed it.  It makes me nervous just looking at the picture and I know everything turned out fine!

When we finally reached the bottom, we were greeted with this spectacular view.

We stayed for a while to admire the scenery, but all too soon it was time to re-trace our steps.  The return trip was much less distressing, but infinitely more arduous.  About half-way up, Ian took over carrying Thane, and Bryce became my buddy.  He kept begging, "carry me!" but I hadn't just swapped a 24-lb. kid for a 34 lb kid!  Even if I'd wanted to, I couldn't have carried Bryce up those steep steps.  He proved himself to be a trooper and pushed through.  When we neared the top, he was about ready to give up, when we heard the siren of an ambulance.  The thought of seeing the vehicle at the top gave him a second-wind and he quickly regained his enthusiasm and raced up the hill.   I was also super proud of Aubree, who completed the whole hike without any assistance.  Well done!

After the hike, I took my crew back to camp for naps.  At least, that was the plan.  Ultimately, it was a bust.  I think Bryce fell asleep for a little while, but Thane did not and Aubree certainly didn't.  That night it was my  turn to cook and we had hot dogs and beans.  We'd just finished eating, when a thunderstorm blew in fiercely.  It only lasted about 20 minutes, but the wind howled and the rain poured, and the kids screamed.  

That night Ian came to sleep in our tent and that helped a lot since he was able to help take care of keeping Bryce warm.  The second night was a bit warmer, but it was still long.  Thane wouldn't sleep on his own, but he hates sleeping with me these days, so we battled all night.  

Friday morning we caravaned to Old Faithful and spent the morning hiking around the geysers.

Old Faithful erupts about every 90 minutes and we were able to catch a "show."  I don't think the kids were overly impressed, but they appropriately said their "oohs and aahs."  Truthfully, I think they were more captivated by Colleen's animal crackers.

We had a fun lunch shaded in the back of our van, then spent the afternoon at the Old Faithful Visitor's Center.  We loved it there.  They had a big "young scientist" room for kids and we spent a long time in there letting the kids run around.  I especially appreciated being able to put Thane down in a place where he couldn't eat any dirt!  Aubree picked up a packet of activities to complete to try to earn a Junior Ranger badge.  She worked diligently to finish, but unfortunately we ran out of time in the Park to complete the requirements.

After Old Faithful, we drove to a nearby campsite that offered pay showers.  Oh, bliss!  Of course, within 10 minutes of being back at our camp, the kids were the dirtiest they'd been on the trip thus far.  So much for getting clean.

Our last evening at camp we indulged in lots of s'mores.  Thane had a doozy of a time going to bed, but Aubree got to "stay up extra late" to go on a special outing with her uncles Stew and Ian.  They took her to Fishing Bridge and to a souvenir store where they bought her a bag of polished stones.  That was one of Aubree's favorite parts of the trip; she felt so grown up and privileged.

The last night in the tent was, by far, the best night. We slept much better (probably because we were exhausted) and, since we didn't get up with the sun, were able to enjoy the sun warming us in our beds in the morning.  Sleeping in...that's a true luxury!  Does it just take three nights to get used to camping?

Regardless, we spent the morning packing up.  Since we were the only ones leaving that day (everyone else left Sunday), we had lots of help.  THANKS!!

My youngest sister, Lauren, drove in that morning from Rexburg.  She took a wrong turn and ended up in Montana, but was still able to make it in time to join on the morning's adventure.  I insisted that Lauren ride in our van since we'd only have a few hours to spend together.  I'm so glad I did!  I love talking with Lauren.  She's very introspective and aware and we always have great conversations.  I tried to get her to agree to drive back to Washington with me.

We drove over to Grand Prismatic Springs and took a short hike along the boardwalk.

Kylee hopped up on the stroller as a joke, but ended up staying for most of the hike.

Before leaving the Park and beginning our journey back home, we made one final stop for a picnic lunch.

We found a beautiful picnic area along the river and ate and played and took pictures and generally just avoided saying good-bye and getting back in the car.

Overall, we're so glad we went.  To answer my own question, "WHY do we go camping with little kids?"  For the memories.