Trotting Through Yellowstone

In the last two months, Vinny has interviewed for new positions in Texas, Utah, South Carolina, Alabama, Maine, Arizona, and Ohio...just to name a few. When Vinny took this position we knew it was a 2 year gig, and those two years are up.

With a move (hopefully) looming on the horizon, we decided to head to Yellowstone National Park (only about 2 hours away) for our family vacation...just in case we live half way across the nation by next summer. After all, the only time we've gone there as a family, little B was only 1 year old. Shame on us!

We had a great time camping (if you can call a trailer with a toilet, shower, A/C, and oven, fridge etc. "camping") and spending time together. Most importantly, we didn't kill each other, so I call this vacation a huge success!

Any good post should start off with a picture of me. So here you go.

Wait, that's not me. Those are our first buffalo of the trip, looking lovely with the Teton Mtns. behind them. We spent our first night in Jackson Hole, WY. Fortunately, Vinny grew up in Jackson so we had our very own tour guide.

My dad, the connoisseur of Chuckwagons, told us that we just had to go to the Bar J Chuckwagon in Jackson Hole. Vinny and the kids had never been to a Chuckwagon dinner and show before and let me tell you....they LOVED it! Even little P was laughing, and he had no idea what they were saying.

We went on a wagon ride in the pouring rain, but luckily this non-covered wagon came equipped with umbrellas. You can thank little B for this pic.
Morning number 1 in the trailer. Hot chocolate and smiles for everyone!
If P had his way, we would have lived in the trailer forever. Everyone crammed into one room = bliss for little P.
Vinny's dad served in Desert Storm at the same time they lived in Jackson Hole, so his name (along with a handful of others who served at that time) is on a plaque in the center of town.

Just one more reason the kids think Grandpa is a hero!
Our little family by the plaque in the town center.
*sniff* This picture was taken just moments before little B was mauled to death by a giant stuffed bear.
Our personal guide took us to a little-known natural hot springs outside of Jackson. The only other group there was a family from Jackson catching tadpoles and tiny fish. So of course our kids joined in.Doesn't this picture look like a fake background with little B swimming around in front? Amazing!How picturesque! The Tetons, an old barn, and a herd of buffalo.
We saw a tiny forest fire being fought.
Our first Yellowstone picture together! In front of our first Yellowstone waterfall.
Beautiful!
Can you tell that Vinny is SO embarrassed in this picture? Well he is.

Let's remember that he grew up making fun of all the tourists that got too close to the wild animals...and here he is, with his wife who is making him sit while holding his children, with his back to a herd of elk and his front to a whole crowd of people snapping away. Poor man. Poor, poor man.

My little K, looking lovely as usual, on the banks of Yellowstone Lake.
Little P plotting his great escape.
Yellowstone is so amazing! This is a close up of Bluebell Pool. It's amazingly clear!
And Black Pool.
Little B kept asking me to take his picture posed in front of....well, everything!
Me and little B, snuggled up to an elk. Awwwe!
As you can see, I was proudly wearing my "Forks" t-shirt. Oddly, I found that wearing this t-shirt is a great way to get teenage girls to stare at my chest. I was becoming a little self-conscious until a girl from Australia stopped me and asked if I was "...actually from FORKS?!!" Then I understood.
Vinny sporting his brand new BSU t-shirt little B had given him for his birthday that morning. The kids loved how easy he was to find in a crowd.
My little hikers.
The steam coming out of this geyser was so hot! It was almost unbearable to take this picture. Sheesh. Poor little B got dehydrated about 4 seconds in.
People travel days and spend thousands to see Old Faithful. My kids were more excited about their homemade seesaw.
But they did eventually pose as it went off. Oh, and Old "Faithful" was 15 minutes late. Pfft!
Vinny's b-day! Homemade, no bake Jell-O cheesecake, with only 24 candles, in a trailer in the woods. Can we party or what!?
Two cozy boys.
Little B by his favorite "paint pot." I think it was called Dragon's Mouth. So, of course he'd love it.
Mamma K and her two little boys. :)
I took this postcard...I mean picture.
Bison are seriously lazy. Honestly, didn't even move when P did his high-pitched shriek.
Um, this is a beautiful waterfall. There are a few of them there and I have no idea what their names are. So I will call this one "The waterfall by the lazy buffalo."
Although most of our family pictures make us look like one, happy, picture-loving family....this is what most of our first attempts looked like. Just keepin' it real people.
I don't understand many things in life. One of them is why P prefers to be folded in half and sit in his stroller with his knees by his nose. But, whatever keeps him happy.
My view for most of Yellowstone.
Little T was always happy, well until he got the "trotts." Hence the title. You see, little P took more than his jammies to Yellowstone; he took some kind of intestinal bug. And you know little P...always the sharer. So poor T spent a few days very grateful we were staying in a trailer...and not dependent on an outhouse. Um, I wasn't scared while we took this picture, but looking at it now makes me so nervous for my poor little family! Yikes! Too close to the edge.
A guardrail...much better.
All my cuties! It was a busy trip, but they really did so good...
...even when I made them pose with wild animals in the background (not to worry...it's just another lazy buffalo).
Close up of the lazy buffalo...who apparently decided to stand up. Ok, so I admit it. He does look a little more horrifying standing.
Um, another beautiful waterfall. We'll call this one "The waterfall by the staircase thing."
Little B looking awesome!
Little P trying to give me a heart attack.
I have a picture of little K and B in this exact pose, at this exact waterfall when they were 1 and 6. If only I knew where Vinny kept the old pics. Hmmmm.....
Little P won over the entire park. Seriously. We'd have people say, "Oh, I saw him yesterday and told my husband how adorable he was...etc." I have to agree. He's too adorable. *sigh*
Remember the Yellowstone Fire of 1988? This picture shows some of the trees that were burnt, but are still standing among the new growth. It was amazing to see how long it takes to grow a forest. The new trees seem so small compared to the old burnt ones.
I love moose. I think they are majestic and cute and amazing all wrapped into one. But I had never seen one in the wild before.

When we were in Yellowstone 5 years ago Vinny promised and promised I'd see one. When Yellowstone moose failed me, he even took me to a special place by Jackson Hole, WY (where he grew up) and said, "I've never been here where there has not been a moose."

Pfft! Until he took me that is.

So it became a running family joke over the years that all moose hide from me. Now, despite their avoidance, I have remained a huge supporter. I buy moose Christmas ornaments, moose knick knacks, stuffed moose etc. But after days and days searching for a moose, I became a little jaded.

By the last 15 miles left in Yellowstone, I had given up my quest for a moose. I began to take a few pics of "unusual wildlife that is not a moose" like this one...
...and this one...
And then I put in some earplugs and went to sleep. With about 10 miles left in the park, Vinny smacked me on the leg and started yelling, "Here's your moose!! Here's your moose!!"

There it was. A lovely moose all for me (and about 100 other people who had also stopped to get too close and take a picture). It was a perfect end to the Yellowstone part of our trip.

Thank you Vinny, who spent his entire time in Yellowstone peering through trees and meadows and ponds trying to spy a moose for me. He very easily could have kept on driving and never even woke me up. What a guy!
We were supposed to spend one night at a KOA in the town of West Yellowstone, MT and then move on to Craters of the Moon in Idaho. But some of us were still "trotting" if you know what I mean.

So Vinny cut the kids a deal and talked them in to spending a second night at the KOA...where we had sewer hook-ups, electricity, an indoor swimming pool etc. Um, it was a real hard sell.

Especially the part about the pool.
Which we went to a few times...
P petted a bear. He's so brave huh!?
We had campfire steaks, shrimp, and smores with the older two. Do you like the special aluminum foil plates I made everyone so we didn't wake the younger two? That's right....no forks. See, we can rough it!
West Yellowstone, MT is also home to the Grizzly Bear and Wolf Discovery Center. When we were there 5 years ago, I remember that a bunch of kids got to go into the bear exhibit (after the bears had been removed...of course) and hide food for the grizzlies. So this time I called ahead to see what the heck all that was about.
Turns out for 2 whole dollars your child can hide a bucket of food for the bears. Since it was limited to the first 30 kids, Vinny drove into town at 7:30 in the morning to sign our kids up as it opened. It was only 46 degrees. Once again, Vinny is amazing!

Our kids were numbers 1, 2, and 3.
While they were learning the ropes of hiding bear food, I saw this little clipboard full of all kinds of horrifying things. It's a list of the bear/wolf sightings in the area. This page was three days worth. Yikes!
T, K, and B lined up with the Keeper Kids to hide bear food.
Getting their buckets (filled with dog food, cabbage, and some other stuff they could not identify).
Little B had a good plan...bury everything under rocks or toss it in the water.
K was the fastest of our kids, probably a little anxious to get the heck out of the bear cage.
And, as I had predicted, little T was the very last of all 30 children to finish. They had to come and help him finish up.

I tell you, this kid is thorough, but he put most of his food in the rocks close to the visitors. Because of him, everyone got a really good look at the bears.
"Sam" digging for hidden food in the rocks.
Bear butt. Sorry, I just had to.
"Illie" (Sam's sister) digging for hidden food as well.
It was an amazing experience for the kids...sure wish they'd let people over 12 feed the bears. :( Boo.

Oh, and there were wolves. Wolves are just not scary to me. Seriously, how tough can they be if they have to attack in a pack. Sheesh.
Speaking of packs. Watch out for these guys. Dangerous I tell you! Dangerous!
B tried and tried to get T to hold up both antlers...I told him we'd all just have to imagine the other one. Can you see it?
So inappropriate. My poor clueless kids. I told them this was a bear hug.
Finally, a trap that works!
Tipi's always sound so fun to kids. Then I ask them where the toilet is.
And that, my friends, was our summer vacation to Yellowstone. I was so worried we wouldn't get there before we moved. Watch, now that we actually went to Yellowstone, we'll end up living here for another 10 years.

Either way, it was a great vacation. I had a wonderful time making memories with my kiddo's and was once again reminded how amazing Vinny is. Family vacations are never really vacations for him. He does all the work, all the driving, and all the hard stuff. Without him, we never could have gone.

So thanks Vinny! You not only made our vacation possible, you made it fantastic!