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!