August 2, otherwise known as
THE.BEST.DAY.EVER on our vacation. We sure packed a lot into this day, which started at 8:15 AM as we climbed into Dad's rig and headed to North Yellowstone. We had to get an early start because traffic moves really slow due to road construction and even slower when we have to wait for a buffalo to lumber along the roadway, like we did on this morning. This big guy didn't care that we had a plans, a schedule, things to do, places to go... he just lumbered along for 15-20 minutes blocking traffic. I had plenty of time for lots of pics as I hung out the side window. Also, please note the pic of the narrow road with absolutely no shoulder. If I haven't mentioned it before, please let me say how grateful I am for my Dad driving and us not having to take our rental Rolling Turd on these skinny streets.
The buffalo made us a little short on time, so we had to do just a quick run through at Mammoth Hot Springs for a few photos. Our ultimate goal was to get to Gardiner, MT by 10:20 AM, where we had booked a 2 hour white water rafting trip with the
Flying Pig Rafting Adventure Co.
Emotions were high and we were so pumped about our first time rafting experience. We arrived just in time to get geared up with our super-tight vests, water shoes and paddles. There was a pretty steep decent to get to the rafts and then we had a debrief on how to paddle, what to do if you fall out, how to pull someone back into the raft and how to flip the raft back over if it capsized, blah, blah, blah. I never once thought I would
REALLY have to know that stuff.
Our raft guide was Anna from Australia and there were two other couples from England with us in our raft, which brought the total to 11 people {or mates as guide like to call us}. I thought it was pretty amazing that there were three generations of Sells/German's in the raft. Kippy was asked if she wanted to ride up front and she immediately handed over her paddle and perched herself on the edge with her legs hanging over the front.
Once we started we hit some rapids right away and Kippy was knocked back into the raft with water rushing over her so fast she could hardly catch her breath as I clung to the back of her vest holding her head up. The water was INCREDIBLY cold and we were all soaked in the first 30 seconds. Kippy got herself situated at the front of the raft again only this time when we hit some rapids, she was swept over-board. I can not exactly remember what happened, except I know that I lunged over the edge and grabbed on to her life vest for dear life and I could feel her getting sucked under the raft as we continued down the river. It was pure adrenaline when I hoisted her back in the raft with my heart racing out of fear. Kippy was fine and still wanted to sit on the front edge, only for the rest of the trip, she hung only one leg over instead of both so she could balance better.
In two hours, we traveled 8 miles and went through some amazing class II and III rapids (Man-eater, Rock Garden, & Sleeping Giant). We also floated past scenic views of Yellowstone National Park including 11,000ft Electric Peak and Devil's Slide. Further downstream we got to stop and put our hands and feet in hot-springs water. And compared to the freezing river, it felt
burning hot.
I brought a disposable water camera with us, but the pictures were really disappointing. Thankfully, the Flying Pig Adventure Co had a strategically placed photographer who took action photos of our raft going through some rapids. Talk about an excellent keepsake (thanks Mom for buying the CD)!
In one of the calm sections, we played
RODEO, which involved having someone stand up on the edge of the raft in the front while the rest of us spun the raft in circles. If you made it 8 seconds, then you won, if not, you basically took a swim in the freezing water. Guess who played RODEO first? It was Kippy, she made it 8 seconds before she fell into the river; next up was Abby, who also made it 8 seconds before her trip into the river; I got talked into it next and I made it 22 seconds before I got back down in the boat - no river swim for me; Steve was the last one and he didn't quite do 8 seconds but he did get a little extra help from me into the river (ALLEGEDLY).
The only thing that would have made the rafting trip better is if we would have done the 1/2 day trip and gone the full 18 miles. It was definitely the highlight of our vacation and I would do it again in a nano-second.
With rafting done, we still have 1/2 of our day left. After a picnic lunch in Mammoth, we drove the YNP loop and stopped to see many of the popular waterfalls including Undine Falls, Tower Fall, as well as the Upper and Lower Falls.
The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is breathtaking. Some of the sights had challenging hikes to get up close, but well worth it. The girls and I took so many pictures, but it is impossible to capture the real beauty of the area. It was after 8:00 PM before we got back to our campsite, completely fatigued and happy. Truly THE.BEST.DAY.EVER!
Oh, the fun of messing with the angle of the lens.
Both Steve & Bella do enjoy a fast boat ride, so they do have that in common.
We packed up in the my dad's BAT truck and left the campground by 8:30 AM. Our first stop was at Lewis Falls where we got to walk out on a log jam to see them closer. Of course, there were lots of helping hands along the way to make sure no one took an unexpected swim.
In seemed like no time at all and we made it to the gorgeous Grand Tetons. We had a picnic lunch beside Jackson Lake. We had to put our sweatshirts on because it felt so cool in the shade. Seriously, the pics don't do it justice. Maybe it is because I am a flat-lander from the prairie, but the mountains take my breath away.
After three hours in the truck, we were very interested in going out on a hike, particularly, Kippy, who wanted to hike IN.THE.MOUNTAINS; however, she had to settle for hiking around the mountains instead. We picked a trail along Jenny Lake with an interesting destination of "Hidden Falls." We even took Miss Bella on the hike with us along with what we thought was plenty of water. Turns out, we are bad map readers and what we thought was going to be a 3 mile hike, round trip, ended up being 5 miles and taking 2 1/2 hours. Although the terrain was challenging at times, the view of Hidden Falls and the shear SIZE and the SOUND made it all worth while. We were all pretty dusty, tired and completely out of water by the time we got back to the BAT truck, but felt we had accomplished something special. Of course, ice cream treats all around helped brighten everyone's mood.
Some of these flower pics were taken in YNP and some were from Grand Teton National Park, so I don't technically have the collage labeled correctly. Beauty was all around us and I feel so blessed that we were able to see and appreciate it up close and personal. We certainly had a lot to talk about on the way back to W. Yellowstone. We enjoyed a late supper at a local Mexican Restaurant which had the spiciest salsa. I couldn't stop eating it even though my lips were BURNING. In fact, that meal was only one of 4 meals the entire trip where we ate out... all the rest were meals-on-wheels from our camper or picnic lunches we had packed. It was a wonderful day and my folks definitely make great tour guides.
After lunch we biked downtown to snoop around a do a little souvenir shopping. After a lot of looking, we each picked out a t-shirt.
Steve's shirt gave a nod to the whitewater rafting as well as his accident-prone character.
My t-shirt was directly inspired by the dog incident earlier that morning and gave a nod to my slightly competitive nature.
The girls had a great time in one of the shops which had a ton of different hats. {I know what you are thinking and I can totally understand. I tried really, really hard not to think of how many other people had also done the same thing.}
I took pictures of the painted buffalo scattered throughout town. The creativity and designs were amazing.
The buffalo made us a little short on time, so we had to do just a quick run through at Mammoth Hot Springs for a few photos. Our ultimate goal was to get to Gardiner, MT by 10:20 AM, where we had booked a 2 hour white water rafting trip with the Flying Pig Rafting Adventure Co.
Emotions were high and we were so pumped about our first time rafting experience. We arrived just in time to get geared up with our super-tight vests, water shoes and paddles. There was a pretty steep decent to get to the rafts and then we had a debrief on how to paddle, what to do if you fall out, how to pull someone back into the raft and how to flip the raft back over if it capsized, blah, blah, blah. I never once thought I would REALLY have to know that stuff.
Our raft guide was Anna from Australia and there were two other couples from England with us in our raft, which brought the total to 11 people {or mates as guide like to call us}. I thought it was pretty amazing that there were three generations of Sells/German's in the raft. Kippy was asked if she wanted to ride up front and she immediately handed over her paddle and perched herself on the edge with her legs hanging over the front. 
I brought a disposable water camera with us, but the pictures were really disappointing. Thankfully, the Flying Pig Adventure Co had a strategically placed photographer who took action photos of our raft going through some rapids. Talk about an excellent keepsake (thanks Mom for buying the CD)!
With rafting done, we still have 1/2 of our day left. After a picnic lunch in Mammoth, we drove the YNP loop and stopped to see many of the popular waterfalls including Undine Falls, Tower Fall, as well as the Upper and Lower Falls. 
The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is breathtaking. Some of the sights had challenging hikes to get up close, but well worth it. The girls and I took so many pictures, but it is impossible to capture the real beauty of the area. It was after 8:00 PM before we got back to our campsite, completely fatigued and happy. Truly THE.BEST.DAY.EVER!
I loved witnessing the excitement on Kippy's face as she was able to see and photograph the sights. I think that alone made absolutely everything (planning, time, expense) worth it. My heart was definitely singing!
We explored the Lower Geyser Basin and read a lot of information about the various geothermal features and saw the famous Fountain Paint Pots and watched Fountain Geyser erupt.
We spent so much time at the Lower Basin that we skipped the Middle Basin and headed straight to the Upper Geyser Basin. After grabbing a quick lunch, we headed to see Old Faithful only to find out that we missed the eruption by 2 minutes.
Our patience was eventually rewarded and Old Faithful made a great showing. From our vantage point on the boardwalk, we were able to see, hear, smell and actually FEEL the steam from the eruption. It was amazing. Afterward, we rewarded ourselves with big scoops of ice cream. You can enjoy Kippy's sideways version of Old Faithful here {she recorded it with her new camera that she bought herself the week before we went on her trip}.
Highlights:
Our first tourist stop was to see Salem Sue, the largest Holstein cow in the world. When the decision was made to take the Rolling Turd up the steep hill, we didn't really consider whether or not there was adequate space to turn the 33 foot rig around. After exploring and taking pictures of Sue, I ended up having to ask several people to move their vehicles while Steve began the process of turning around. I am sure it was a comical sight, but pretty stressful for both the driver and the navigator. Our first major hurdle was a success!
We continued on down the road until we reached the Painted Canyon and were able to meet up with my folks and Miss Bella. The views were breathtaking and a welcome change from the prairie. We made a brief stop in Dickensen for groceries and headed on to Medora to get checked into the Red Trail Campground. Russ & Kristy arrived at the same time and we got all three rigs situated next to each other and appropriately set up. It was very good for us to be nestled between two experience campers because they provided help, insructions and also some missing gear to us.
The highlight of the day was definitely the Pitchfork Fondue and Musical. Although we had to stand in line for the food in the HOT, HOT, HOT sun, it was delicious and a very unique experience. Can't say enough about the Musical. Our seats were amazing - right down in front. Noah, Kippy & Nixin went on stage to try to learn to clog and got a fun souvenir for their efforts. I was stunned that my shy 5 year-old nephew, Nixin, would even want to go up on stage in front of the sold out crowd. There was a special performance from the Magician, Jay Mattioli, which was fantastic. Abby said, "Mom, when I try to figure out how he did those tricks, it makes my head hurt!" It was rather late by the time we got back to our Rolling Turd and just as we settled in to sleep, there was a major rainstorm and we were ever so grateful that we were not in a tent!