Yellowstone

After Mt. Rushmore, we didn't get a picture of Crazy Horse, but we do have Silly Horse in the car.

"Is Christmas coming?"

Our welcoming committee

A collaborative project between the Warner kids and parents

Driving to Yellowstone and once we arrived it was exciting to see snow in May. Simeon asked if Christmas was coming. The kids were glad to stretch their legs, running on the dark sand by the lake before we went over to Fishing Bridge. On the banks the kids threw rocks into the water. A friend gave me some hand sanitizer and I'm positive that she never would have guessed it's first use would be after Simeon mistook bison dung for a big rock. 

On the beach - Snow capped mountains in the back

Sand angel?

In Yellowstone we saw lots of wildlife. We saw bison, 311 bison! We saw a black bear, elk, pronghorn, chipmunks, a fox, and through a scope we saw a white wolf dining on an elk carcus.We also saw a pelican and geese. At the end of the first day we came across a field of 100 bison, including lots of babies and the second day we had a very slow drive through part of the park while we waited for a herd of bison to make their way down the road.

Elk

Mama and baby bison

Coyote

Simeon's bison

 We saw Old Faithful erupt twice. Andrew's prediction about the timing of the  next eruption was correct! It was actually closer than the park ranger's prediction, which was pretty exciting. Old Faithful is a geyser. Below ground there is a small tunnel, like plumbing, and something as small as a penny can plug it up.

Other geothermal features we saw included the mud pots and artist paint pots.  The last time we were here the sulpher smell really bothered Kevin and Mary Beth, but it didn't seem to be as overpowering this year.

Artist Paint Pots

Lunch on our second day was very exciting. We were eating lunch and the kids were sitting on logs on the edge of a field when across the field a black bear came out of the woods. Mama quickly snapped a picture before throwing all of the kids and food in the car.

Yellowstone had the most involved Junior Ranger program and was also the only park where we have had to pay a small fee for the book. The National Parks have started a program called Every Kid in a Park, which gives 4th graders a free pass to all the national parks and monuments. Because Andrew has just finished up 4th grade we have been able to use this for our admission to all of the parks we've gone to, which has been great!

Proud Junior Ranger

Sunset leaving the park