Yellowstone

We had been talking about going to Yellowstone for a while now, and when we found out the Ashcrofts wanted to go too, we decided to invite the family and all go together. I'm so glad we did because the kids and the adults had so much fun! We decided to hit Bear World in Rexburg on the way up. Brad was pretty excited to see some bears on this trip and we saw plenty, along with a bunch of other animals. The kids got to go on some rides with the Rich boys. They met up with us just in time. Ryker was really nervous to ride the ride that takes you up and drops you so Brad was lucky enough to go on that one too. Ryker's faces were pretty funny. The drive through part of the zoo was pretty neat. The bears would come right up to your car. It was fun to see just how huge they really are close up.

We finally got to Jackson Hole a little bit later and met up with the Ashcrofts. We went and ate at Bubba's that night and the kids went swimming. The next day we went to the antler arch in the middle of Jackson Hole and then headed out to West Yellowstone. Along the way we stopped at Huckleberry Hot Springs and Old Faithful. We weren't quite sure where Huckleberry was because it had been a while since we'd gone, but the boys eventually found it. The girls were out when we realized that you had to cross a freezing cold river to get there. The next stop was Old Faithful. It was pretty cold, but the kids were really good sports. We walked around on the trails for a little while and at one point there were a couple buffalo just hanging around the trail. Brad wanted a picture and got a little too close for me.

Late that night we finally made it to West Yellowstone. It was a little late, but the kids were more then ready to swim. We pretty much took over the pool, but they had so much fun. The next day we headed to Mammoth Hot Springs. On the way there we got stuck in a buffalo traffic jam. No joke we were sitting in our car while buffalo ran up the road with us. There was a mountain on one side and a cliff on the other so there was nowhere for them to go but stay on the road with us. It probably added an hour onto our drive. We got so sick of stopping and going and cars that wouldn't pass them. It was pretty funny the first time to look out the window and see a buffalo running right by your car, but after an hour or waiting, not so much. After that, we made it to Mammoth. I'd never been there so I didn't know what to expect but I can say this after going. Totally over-rated. I guess the hot springs used to be pretty neat, but they are kind of drying up. There really wasn't that much to see. We were taking a different way back to West Yellowstone so we could see some other sites but when we drove about twenty minutes we discovered the road was closed and we would have to go back the way we came. No fun! Brad was determined to see a grizzly so we actually drove to a meadow and someone had spotted one using their scope that was really far away. That was our grizzly sighting! After that we turned around and went back to our hotel. It was such a fun trip and I'm glad we could all go together!

Side note: I found out I was pregnant right before leaving on this trip. It was a total shocker! It threw me for a loop and I couldn't quit thinking about it while we were driving around. Funny how it's not always our timing!