Spontaneous Yellowstone Trip

During the third week of May, we got to go to my hometown to see my brother graduate from seminary and from high school. The graduations fell on a Sunday night and a Thursday night, so in between those two events, we left Oakley with my parents and headed to Yellowstone National Park for 2 1/2 days. We go to the park a few times a year; it is Cameron's favorite place to go and there is so much to see and do. We have never stayed in a hotel in Yellowstone before so we decided to try to get some rooms this time since it was so early in the season. There was a room available in the Old Faithful Inn on Tuesday night and a room at Mammoth Springs Hotel on Wednesday night. They were both very interesting and we are glad we had that experience. It rained most of Wednesday so we were glad to get to go to the hotel rather than a tent! (our original plan was to camp in the West Yellowstone KOA).

Anyway, the trip was very memorable and Jacoby was a trooper and a lot of fun. It is definitely harder traveling with a young child but we are learning to plan better so that we are all more comfortable traveling. And he is so fun to photograph! I can't believe how handsome he is getting. Cameron and I just can't get enough of him.

Here are some pictures of our trip. One of my favorite parts included running all together Wednesday morning around the geysers--we were staying at the inn and it was so neat to run the loop and look at geysers while hardly anyone was around. We also saw a lot of animals on this trip: three black bears, one grizzly bear, one wolf (very far away), several bison and elk, and a herd of big horn sheep. We also saw coyotes and eagles and of course squirrels and chipmunks. We spent a lot of time at Old Faithful, Mammoth, Lamar Valley, and stopped by the grand canyon of the yellowstone, including climbing Old Tom's trail for the first time.

Walking around the geysers 

 Having dinner (spaghetti) in the picnic area outside Old Faithful. 

We had to include our Yukon in the picture. It was great to travel in. 

 Messy Dinner!

 A cast iron, claw footed tub was our bathing faculties in the Old Faithful Inn.

Jacoby loved it!

 A vies from the top floor or Old Faithful Inn

 A geyser letting off steam during our morning run

 Cameron was so awesome to suggest us all go running! It was a beautiful morning. 

 A view of our room in Old Faithful Inn

 Biscuit Geyser Basin

 Aww, baby bison are so cute! And then they grow up and are ugly!

 Cameron took tons of pictures of waterfalls this trip. They were more spectacular this time of year 

since it is early in the year. 

 Climbing down hundreds of steps on Old Tom's trail to get to 

a lookout of the Lower Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

 It rained off and on during that hike so Jacoby is covered by a rain cover

 He was happy to get out of the backpack for the moment.

This is his new "look."

 Artist Point of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Beautiful!

 Our room in Mammoth Hotel. We had to share a bathroom

down the hall, but it was still better than camping in the rain

 A herd of bison in Lamar Valley

 Eating lunch in Mammoth

 A view of our hotel we stayed in the night before

 Mammoth Terraces

Leaving the park...or at least trying to leave until the bison decided to take a break in the middle of the road.