Hubert got going early and had the RV on the road by 7:30 while the girls slept. I woke up as he was getting ready to take off so I rode shotgun. As soon as we got on the road we hit some traffic – Yellowstone style! The first jam was due to two bull elk crossing the road. They were gorgeous and were moving slowly. They looked at us like we were crazy. One thing about Yellowstone is that you always know that as a human, you are an outsider. You are just a visitor in the animals’ world and you have to respect their home. We debated waking the girls, but knew they needed their rest, so we let them sleep.

About 10 minutes later, we hit a huge traffic jam around the Hayden Valley. This time we had to wake the girls. There was a huge herd of bison who used the street as their path. At one point, there were about 100 bison surrounding us and a few other cars. Bulls would walk right next to our window and the cows and calves would be trotting in front of us. The bulls would often just stop and stare at us. We were stuck in this traffic jam for about 40 minutes. I have to say, it was fabulous. If every morning commute was like this, it would be easy going to work! The girls loved it and we all were taking pictures, laughing and marveling in these grand, huge creatures!

Once the bison moved along, we finally began to make some progress towards Cody, WY. We stopped for a snack at the Pahaska Teepee, which was where Buffalo Bill’s hunting lodge once was. It is now a tourist trap, but cool. The terrain had quickly changed (imagine our surprise – new terrain) and it was drier, desert like yet hilly. It looked like the scenery from every Western movie! We drove through the Shoshone National Forest. It was very different and pretty. We passed lots of cool, small campgrounds along the river that we would love try someday!

We finally made it to Cody around 10:30 and checked into the Ponderosa campground. Like the Virginian Campground in Jackson, the Ponderosa was a city campground which was within walking distance to the center of town. Not our idea of camping, but clean, nice and convenient. We walked to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West for the afternoon. The center is actually a huge museum with five wings devoted to natural history, plains indians, Buffalo Bill and Western history, Western art and a huge firearms collection. We ate lunch there and explored the whole museum. It was fabulous and we learned tons. The girls loved it and never got bored. We monitored Josie’s reaction and were ready to go at her first nod towards boredom.

We began to walk downtown but tried a Geocache adventure first (search for a hidden object, a virtual scavenger hunt!). It looked like it was going to rain, so we made it to the Main Street and stopped in the famous Irma Hotel. We looked around and then found an ice cream store. The rain came quick and hard and we sat in the ice cream shop a little bored. Hubert and I were a little disappointed in Cody. Everyone had raved about it, yet we felt like the town was a little lacking. After the rain finally quit, we shopped around some and the town began to feel better. We each bought a cowboy hat in preparation for the rodeo! At 6:00, we headed back to the Irma for the nightly staged Buffalo Bill shoot out. It started to rain and was very crowded but it was cute and we enjoyed it.

During the shoot out, we began to worry about the timing for the rodeo. It started at 8 and it was about 6:30. It was cool and raining and we were about 7 blocks from the campground. Hubert offered to walk back and drive the RV to get us before the rodeo. The girls and I were to find a restaurant and grab some dinner. We walked down the street to an Italian restaurant. It was a wait but we felt like that was fine and would be perfect timing for Hubert to join us for a quick bite.

By the time we were seated, he was still not back. We called and he was stressed. We had left the skylights open in the RV and the storm had caused a mess. Our sheets were wet and he was cleaning up the RV and trying to dry out sheets. He finally arrived and it was 7:30. Our food was not ready yet. By 7:45, we had paid and told them to box up our food instead of serving on a plate. We took our food to go and decided we could snack on junk food at the rodeo and eat dinner late. Hubert drove to the rodeo while the girls and I got in warmer clothes (how great is an RV – get ready on your way to the event!).

The rodeo was awesome!! It was our first rodeo and we were ready! We had our cowboy hats on (yet, Josie’s had a city element to it!) and we were hooting and hollering! I was a little worried at first when Caroline was sad about the calves as they were being roped, but she quickly got past her concerns and loved every minute!

We had been told that the girls should go to the middle during the kid’s time so they were ready. However, the center ring was a huge mud pit. The rodeo clown called all kids 12 and under to come to the ring and chase 2 calves and try to grab their tags. At first our girls said they didn’t want to go since it was so muddy. We pushed them a little telling them they would never be in Cody again. They hurried out to the ring and they had a blast! It was so fun and muddy that some kids lost their shoes in the mud! The girls were great and when they got out of the ring, they were covered with mud! The best part was when Caroline turned to me and said, “thanks for making me do that, it was so much fun!!”

We watched the rest of the rodeo and loved it. But, the best part was after the rodeo. The girls and I rode the mechanical bull!!! It was a blast! The girls did great, of course, and they each even swung their hat a time or two! Caroline looked like a natural! Then I got on! They were ready to make fun of me and I did not disappoint! I got on it and it was difficult! But I immediately started giggling and could not stop! I laughed so hard (but I did get a hat swing in!) and loved every minute of it. The operator enjoyed watching me look like a fool and Hubert egged him on to go faster. So, after a minute of going faster, I quickly fell! It was so fun and I am still laughing!

We got back to the RV, ate our Italian late night dinner, made the beds (one was still wet so we bunked together!) and quickly fell asleep dreaming of the rodeo and the Wild West!

Traveling with a 7 year old in a National Park has been interesting. I never realized at home that almost all conversations with Josie can get reduced to bodily functions. It is an unbelievable skill that she has mastered. You can pick any topic and within minutes you are talking about poop! I have to constantly keep her from reducing our dinner conversation to potty talk and being in nature has made this talent even stronger. Looking for “scat” and observing animal scat is an important part of a naturalist’s life, so this trip has been full of scat talk! The Junior Ranger program has only validated the need to talk about scat and get a few more jokes in for Josie!

On Monday, we woke up at Canyon Campground and immediately decided to hike around the area. Right behind our campsite was a marked trail through the pine forest. So, after breakfast, we began exploring. The girls took their Jr. Ranger books as well as other animal identification books and we began walking. Immediately we found some scat. After some measuring and poking around in it (I know, but remember, we are being naturalists!), we felt like we had some sort of bear on our hands! We couldn’t tell if it was grizzly or black bear, so we actually took pictures of the scat and kept walking. We found all sorts of things, like prints and other animal evidence. The area was a huge forest of pines high up on the canyon so it was perfect for a black bear. I had my bear bells with me and I was thankful but I did keep thinking about the joke, “you can tell a grizzly bear’s scat because it has bells in it!” I figured we were loud enough to scare anything away though as we walked through the woods. We walked about a mile and had a great time. Hubert and I loved exploring with the girls and we both learned a lot from the books as well. As I was walking, I realized that the girls had not watched TV in 2 weeks, had barely been on electronics (only on long highway stretches) and most importantly, they didn’t miss it. They were getting along so well and really have learned tons about this wonderful world!

After our hike, we went back to the campground and made some lunch. Then we got ready to go. We stopped at the “dump station” and took care of that business. Josie loves to help her dad with this. Perfect since it is her favorite subject matter! Then we took showers at the campground bathroom. It was wonderful to have such a nice long shower. We have not had hook ups in Yellowstone, so a shower was nice. Even when we have had water connections, the hot water doesn’t last long so we enjoy the campground showers better than bathing in the RV. 

After our showers, we went to the Ranger station and the girls got their Junior Ranger badges. The Canyon Ranger Station is one of the largest in Yellowstone and it was very busy. There was a line to see the ranger, and I thought she would merely glance at their pages and hand them a badge. Boy, was I wrong. She was very serious about it. She went through each page and discussed it with the girls. She asked each of them questions. She talked to them for about 15 minutes. It was so kind and thorough. The badges they received were really nice and it was a great program. They both were glad they participated and they learned a lot. 

After a little shopping in the Yellowstone store, we hopped in the RV ready for the next adventure. We were not gone 5 minutes when there was a car jam. A ranger was in the street telling people to keep moving. As we passed, I looked on the right and there was a black bear and her 2 cubs. I got a great picture and she looked right at me. She was right in the ditch on the side of the road and she did not look happy. The ranger was not about to let people stop. Seeing these 3 bears made our official bear count to 15! It was crazy!

We had reservations for the Chuck wagon dinner in Yellowstone. We had to be there by 4:30 and everything in Yellowstone takes a long time to get to because you never know when you will get stuck by animal traffic. So, we left extra early but actually still got there early, so we drove up the Lamar Valley to look for more animals. We saw tons of bison and several bison even crossed the road right in front of us. We also saw the funny ground squirrels (like ground hogs) and some prong horn deer. Caroline and I enjoyed taking close up pictures and being artsy!

We arrived at the dinner ready for a great night. It was in the Pleasant Valley area and it was gorgeous. We were worried about rain, but it passed right over us. We got in a covered wagon and rode out to the camp for the cookout. Along the ride, we passed deer, bison and marmots. It was a gorgeous valley with a pretty creek. The cookout was delicious: steak, corn, watermelon, cole slaw, cornbread, baked beans, and apple crisp. A cowboy sang some country songs and we all enjoyed a nice dinner. We sat next to a fun family from Colorado. They were also one there first RV trip so we compared notes! The mother home schools her children, so they are thinking of purchasing a RV and travel more while schooling. That sounds fabulous and if I was the home school type (which I am not), then I would be all about doing the same!

On the drive back over the pass to Canyon, we saw another black bear (16!!) and deer. Plus, we watched the start of the setting sun. It was just glorious. After 2 games of Uno, we hit the bed. In case you are wondering, I am still winning Uno! And we tried something new in the RV; we lowered the kitchen table and transformed it into a bed which is where Caroline slept! It was comfortable and finally warm enough that we could share some blankets with her!

It was 2 nights ago. My buddy marshmellow was cooked over the fire. Then he was smushed into crackers and chocolate. Then it made me, the s’more. Then the wind came and my owner and her family thought it was going to rain. Then my owner grabbed me and brought me inside. But rain didn’t come. My owner took one bite of me then threw me away.

And that was the lonely s’more story.

The end.

After a fitful night of sleep and Josie kicking me all night, it was hard waking up. Caroline felt like a new person though which convinced us she had just been dehydrated. We were going to be more deliberate about drinking water. We forget the elevation and dry atmosphere.  Since we were slow getting going, we decided to explore the area. Grant Village is on Yellowstone Lake. Truthfully, the lakes in Yellowstone look like SC lakes, which is the only thing in the park similar to SC. 

Since it was Sunday, Caroline felt like we should have our own church service. We went and sat by the lake and Caroline led us in a service. Sitting on a log looking at the mountains and beautiful lake was immensely spiritual. Caroline read a devotion from her daily book and led us in a few songs and a prayer. It was so sweet. Caroline has a deep spiritual side and I love to see how she develops it. Being in this beautiful location for two weeks has certainly brought us all closer to God. 

After the service, we walked around the lake looking at all the animal prints and trying to figure out what animals had been around the lake recently. We found tons of tracks – it was cool. After cleaning up camp, we went to the Grant Village ranger station. The girls wanted to sign up for the Yellowstone Junior Ranger Program which is a program for ages 4-15 to learn about the park. It has different activities and is age appropriate for each age group. They have to complete a ranger led program, a hike and a certain number of pages in the book according to the patch they are trying to earn. They signed up and then went to a ranger program that had just begun on the teeth/mouth structure of different animals in the park. They had to inspect different skulls and classify according to carnivore/omnivore/herbivore and then name the animals. The girls really enjoyed it. 

After that, they were off with trying to complete their respective patches. Caroline loves things like this and is very serious about it. Of course, Josie loved it too and was especially interested since Caroline was so into it! The Junior Ranger program was a major part of our day. They were both working diligently on the book and learning lots. It reminded me and Hubert of the time we took Caroline to Disney when she was 4. In the Animal Kingdom, there was an activity “passport” which children could complete. We walked all over that park so she could go to each activity booth and complete the activity to get the stamp. There were rides all over but she was more focused on completing her activity passport! It is so fun to watch your children develop and see their interests grow. 

We drove to the Midway Geyser Basin to tour those geysers. It was the one place that we did not see last week that I really wanted to see. It contains the Grand Prismatic Hot Spring which is the most photographed hot spring in the park. It was gorgeous and huge. The colors from the heat and the bacteria was unbelievable; so vivid and other worldly. We all enjoyed walking the boardwalks and looking at the hot springs. We then walked a ways up the Firehole River and enjoyed the short walk. 

We drove a short ways to Fountain Flat Drive and went to the picnic area. We lit the oven and made pizza, while the girls picked out a picnic table overlooking the river and worked diligently on their range books. We normally had sandwiches for our picnics but there was something cool about pulling into a parking lot and cooking a pizza. It was awesome and shows how much we have come to love the RV life. We ate a great lunch and the girls explored. Hubert got his fishing gear together and spent some time fly fishing in the Firehole River. It was gorgeous and I enjoyed being relaxed. That has been the benefit of such a long trip. I don’t feel guilty if we just stop and relax and play. It has been such a great family vacation and the moments like this relaxed lunch have been some of the best – just being in nature and being together. I may not remember all the sights and highlights, but I will remember the feeling of being a family in God’s beautiful country. 

A storm began to approach, so we gathered up our stuff and headed up the west side towards Mammoth. We had been on all the roads of Yellowstone except the Northern road along the Blacktail Deer Plateau, so that was our goal today. Driving in Yellowstone is fun, you just look out and find animals and soak it all in. We drove through a huge, but quick storm, with hail and lightening. Then the sun shone back through. As we were approaching the cliffs near Mammoth, Caroline was sitting on the ground between the driver and passenger seat searching for big horn sheep and Josie was resting in the back. As Hubert drove around a bend, he encountered an 18 wheeler part way in our lane. His choices were to hit the guard rail going over a cliff, hit the truck, or slam on the brakes and swerve. So, he yelled “hold on” and slammed on the brakes. When he did this, the kitchen doors all opened and food and pots and pans came tumbling down. Caroline was kneeling and had bare feet; she screamed that she had been hit. I looked back and there was glass covering her and the whole floor around her. A pot top had flown out of the cabinet and shattered. There were millions of pieces everywhere. It covered her feet and was between her toes; it went in her hoodie; glass went down her pant cuffs; and it covered the floor of the entire RV. I held her and told her not to move until we could pull over at a turnout. Hubert was very calm and drove forward. Caroline was extremely brave, but crying as well in fear and some pain. As soon as we pulled over, we assessed the damage. She was not cut, just tiny slivers got her. Thank goodness it was the pot top as it was tempered glass so the shards were not too sharp. We began sweeping and I had to actually get my makeup brush to dust off the glass from Caroline’s feet. It was unbelievable, it was everywhere! Josie was so sweet and was helping Caroline get new clothes and socks. We were all shaken and trying to make the best of it. I feel lucky that it was not worse. Why there was an 18 wheeler on that stretch of road, I don’t know. But, I do know that Hubert did great driving and Caroline was very brave in the midst of it all. 

After that episode, we drove to Mammoth and actually out to Gardiner, the North Entrance to the park, so we could see the Roosevelt Arch. It was cool but once again, such different terrain. It was desert like and rocky. So odd compared to other parts of the park. We then drove along the Blacktail Deer Plateau. It was gorgeous and well named as it looked like a deer haven and had gorgeous views of the surrounding mountains. As we were driving, we saw a few cars pulled over. That usually means animals! So, we pulled up and right on the side of the road was a huge black bear. We stayed in the car and it walked next to us – he was huge! It was so fun to see a bear so close up. 

We drove on to the Canyon Campground and had 30 minutes before the “no generator” rule went into effect. We had tortellini for dinner, then we made a fire for s’mores. It doesn’t get dark until about 9:30 so the girls had time to explore the whole area. We were on the edge of the campground and behind our site, the woods went on forever. We played a few games of Uno (I am still winning) and called it a day!

We woke up early Friday morning so we could go rafting. We walked down the street to the location of Barker Ewing Rafting Trips. We had to be there by 7:15 so it was early for all of us. We rented wet suits as it was so cold and boarded the bus. The first 8 miles was scenic and calm and we did not get wet. We were rafting the Snake River. Our guide was Alex from San Diego and his assistant, Katelyn, from WY. There was also a 12 year old boy, Jason, from Kentucky on our boat. He is visiting his uncle who works for the rafting company. The float section was nice, but cold. I wish we had put on our wetsuits early, at least the booties. Along the way, we saw lots of Bald Eagles, deer, marmots, a beaver, osprey, and white pelicans. It was gorgeous and relaxing. 

After the 8 miles, we stopped for breakfast. The rafting company had a “camp” set up and had made a full breakfast of eggs, sausage, wild rice pancakes and fruit. Plus, hot drinks and a fire warmed us up! The pancakes were super delicious. We ate up to prepare for the next part of the trip. We changed into our wetsuits (not a cute sight!) I think Josie looks like an Avatar about to go fight a battle on a planet far away!

The next 8 miles was whitewater and it was a blast! Alex was so funny and so competent that we felt like we were in great hands. Of course, Hubert and I worried about Josie since she was so little. We really need to learn not to worry about her as she is very tough and loves a wild adventure. She did not get scared but welcomed on more waves. Sweet Caroline was a great big sister, as always, and kept reminding Josie to hold on and would wrap her arms around her. The whitewater was so fun! At one time, there was a calm section and Alex asked if anyone wanted to hop it. He suggested to do it Karate Kid style and stand on the end of the boat and we would make you fall into the water. Jason quickly said he was up for the challenge and jumped right in. Not to be outdone by a boy, Caroline said she was next! She stood on the end of the boat until we rocked her in. When she hit the water, she was shocked by the cold (water temp in the 40s). Then Josie said she was going in (she was not to be outdone by her sister and a 12 year old boy!). She just jumped in and I reached down and grabbed her out as quickly as possible! Hubert and I were both proud and stunned by our crazy girls! There was no way we would get in that water! The rest of the river ride was great as we went over Class 3 and Class 4 rapids. The girls did not want it to end. The 3 kids sat in the front section so they go the full force of the waves and the ride. Hubert and I had to help paddle and it was fun!

After the trip back to town and getting into warm, dry clothes, we went to a nearby restaurant for a big lunch. We were starving. It was now in the 70s and we ate outside. It felt glorious to be warm for the first time in a week! We went back to the campground for a relaxing afternoon. We napped, took showers and did some laundry. At 5:00, Brit and his family came over. We grilled out some chicken and had a nice picnic dinner. It was our first time “entertaining” in the RV and it was lots of fun. I really enjoy Brit and Jenny and the kids did great. Seeing them play around the campsite and play together was wonderful! They left around 9 and we had 2 games of Uno before calling it a night! (After last night, I went into the lead for the Uno game. We are playing a trip long game – who has the most points at the end of our trip wins!)