Yellowstone Trip Part 1

The week after Memorial Day we took the boys and the Scamp and went to Yellowstone for a fun filled five day camping trip!  Twelve years ago Mark and I went camping in Yellowstone for our honeymoon and we hadn't been back since then.  Here's some flashback pictures of us just a few months married in Yellowstone and the Tetons.  This was back in August (our one week between semesters at BYU) of 2004.  We were married in April 2004.

Most of the time on that trip it was raining or snowing and uncomfortably cold even though we went in August! We only saw a few of the main things in Yellowstone because our tent ended up in a lake of melting snow and we went to Jackson Hole to the warmth of a hotel room.  We will always have good memories of our first trip to Yellowstone together despite the bad weather.  I can't believe it took us twelve years to get back there!

 This year the boys got out of school before Memorial Day and we wanted to beat the summer crowds in Yellowstone so we planned the trip for the week starting on Memorial Day.  We got the Scamp out from its winter hibernation and got her all ready to go, which really doesn't take much at all.  We planned to leave Monday and come back Friday.  We knew we would be camping the whole time and so I prepared lots and lots of food for those five days.

We headed out Monday morning with a bit of a rough start.  I made us drive 25 minutes back to the house because I forgot to close and lock the back door.  Then I made us turn around again to drive back and check to see if I had locked the cat in the house after closing that back door in a hurry.  Needless to say it wasn't the best start and I am determined to make our next trip departure much easier. Sorry family for all the extra driving.  Finally we were on our way and we decided to stop at Lava Hot Springs to let the boys experience the natural hot water there.  It was fun and hot and the boys were more fine with that hot water even than I was.  It was a good experience.

Timmy loved Lava Hot Springs, but it also made him really lethargic.  He looked like this for the rest of the drive.

We got close to West Yellowstone and found the primitive just off the road campsite that a nice forest service gentleman had told me about.  It was ten minutes from the Yellowstone entrance, which made getting into the park early the next morning to get a cheap first come first serve campsite really easy.  It was evening when we got there so we quickly set up camp and got a fire going for dinner.

The area was very beautiful and nice and quiet and private.  We enjoyed steak and salad for that dinner and introduced the boys to roasted Starbursts, their favorite treat of the trip.

The next morning we packed up right when we woke up and were in Yellowstone bright and early.  We decided to check out Norris Campground because of its central location and found the best spot there was open.  It was the only site secluded and off by itself.  It took a few minutes to get the Scamp situated but then we were set for three more nights.

We checked out the campground museum and meadow on our way out to visit some more areas.

Our first stop was Beryl Springs, one of the hottest springs in Yellowstone.  This was the boy's first introduction to the thermal features in Yellowstone.  They were very interested and had lots of questions.

We were on our way to Old Faithful, but something backed traffic up for miles so we headed to the canyon area instead.  Timmy fell asleep on our way there so Brian and I explored the views from the top while Mark and Timmy took a little nap.

Then Timmy woke up and was ready for a hike.  We were at the north rim looking into the canyon and came upon the Red Rock Point trail and randomly decided to head down that trail.  I am so glad we did and highly recommend it!  The trail itself is beautiful following a lovely stream.

And then after lots of stairs (106 according to the boys) you get an amazing view of the Lower Falls.

It was perfect and a great place for a family photo. Most of the trip had weather similar to that day, sunny but cool.

After hiking (running in Mark and Brian's case) back up all those stairs we took in some more beautiful views of the canyon from the north rim.

Then we headed to Canyon Village for our picnic lunch and to explore the nice visitor center they have there.

After lunch Mark was feeling a bit tired again, so I drove down through Hayden Valley towards Yellowstone Lake while he got a little nap in.  The boys and I kept our eyes peeled for animals, but we only saw a few bison.  We arrived at Yellowstone Lake and got out to take in its beauty. 

It was much colder by the lake so Mark and I sat in the car while Brian and Timmy used their telescopes to check it out.  Or to check us out in Timmy's case.

After checking out the lake it was time to head back up through Hayden Valley, through Canyon Village and back to camp at Norris.  On our way back we stopped at the Mud Volcanoe area, which was very interesting but also very stinky!

We stopped a little in Hayden Valley to take in the sweeping views and a few bison.

Back at camp Mark got us a nice warm fire and we started our dinner.  I think that Tuesday night we just ate hot dogs, fruit, chips and orange cinnamon rolls for dessert. Of course the boys kept up their Starburst roasting through the whole trip.

We slept so well the entire trip thanks to the Scamp.  The temperatures always dropped to or below 30 degrees each night, but our warm little Scamp with its heater kept us very comfortable.  There was no running to Jackson Hole to a hotel room on this trip.  We got to take our hotel room with us.  This is how the boys sleep only they like me to hang a sheet across the front creating their own little cave like beds.

The next day was geyser day!  We headed out after breakfast in the Scamp to see Old Faithful!  Traffic was great that day, but we did happen to arrived right after it went off so we hiked around Geyser Hill while waiting for Old Faithful.

Timmy got a little chilled in the wind so he borrowed my shirt for a while.

Here we are with the crowds (I'm glad it wasn't any worse) of other people waiting for Old Faithful.

And there it is!  Mark is convinced all of Yellowstone is going to blow up sooner than later so we are glad we showed the boys before it is all gonzo.

We went back up to Midway Geyser Basin and stopped at the Grand Prismatic Spring area.

I love the colors!

After stopping for lunch in a beautiful picnic area where the boys caught a frog and got covered in mud, we went back up to Norris for a little break at camp. The rest of the trip will be covered in part 2!