Yellowstone

Pictures are of Bowen on his horse, Mickey. Bowen with his new lasso. The lower and upper falls at Yellowstone. Gabe and his creation on Yellowstone Lake. Old Faithful erupting, a lovely hot spring and Tower falls in Yellowstone.

Before we left Cody, WY we got the chance to see a reenacted gun fight with Buffalo Bill Cody, Wyatt Earp and a few other historic cowboys . The kids really enjoyed seeing that with all the loud guns and fighting. We also visited a skatepark in Cody, this was even better than the last. It was huge and all of the kids and John loved riding it. Our final adventure for Cody was horseback riding. Yes this 5 month pregnant chic got her butt on a horse proudly named preacher. I must admit it was a bit nerve racking as even Bowen had his own horse. None of our kids have ever been on horses outside of a pony ride at the fair. The trail was steep and rugged. The baby was bouncing around inside me like a washing machine. All in all it was fun and we got to see some wildlife and made a really cool memory. Jadon seems to think she wants a horse now though.
We headed west from there to Yellowstone. Once again a really amazing drive into the National Park. We stayed there for four nights. We had no cell or computer service so that is why so late on getting things posted here. We saw huge wildfires on the way into the park. Fires were a part of our stay there all week. It was a little eerie seeing fire so close to us but we later understood the importance fire plays in maintaining the habitats of the park.
We saw so many buffalo we lost count. They would just hang out on the road causing people to lose their minds and act all crazy with desire to get one more picture. It was almost like buffalo anarchy John said. People would drive all over the road like they were the only ones there. It was a neat experience to be where the "buffalo roam, and the deer and the antelope play",that also became the theme song for the week.
We had to do a ton of driving in the park as it just enormous. You can fit both Delaware and Rhode Island in Yellowstone. So in order to see everything involves hours of truck time. We saw geysers and hot springs and mud pots. The diversity of this park is unprecedented in what it offers one to see and do. Yellowstone lake became a favorite of ours as it was beachy and even had small waves. The kids swam in this lake that was frozen until mid-June, to give you an idea how cold it was. Gabe said once you were in for three minutes you went numb. No thanks.
We witnessed Old Faithful erupt several times and showed the kids the same waterfalls that we had taken a picture of 15 years before. They had a hard time believing that one.
Mammoth hot springs was a bit disappointing this time as it was so dry there was no spring to be seen but on the long drive there Gabe saw a Grizzly bear so that was worth it. The kids were also able to earn their Jr. Ranger badges so they learned a lot here in addition to having fun.
I know I have said this before but Yellowstone is remarkable. It is worth the trip at least once in your life. Wyoming in general has to be one of the most stunning places to see. We talked about how nice it would be to live here would it not be for the 15 feet of snow they get in the Winter-yuck.
We left Yellowstone yesterday and are now currently in Livingston, Montana. Last night we went into town and visited the Park County Fair. Talk about small town fun. We even got to listen to a cowboy play the steel guitar along with another small rodeo. I love these unexpected treasures God blesses us with along the way. We have the huge snow covered mountains out our front window and the Yellowstone river to the south of us.
Headed north to Great Falls to see a midwife then on the Glacier.