Yellowstone

"Mom, what time it is?"
"6:14."
"When will we get there?"
"In about 4 hours."

"Mom, what time it is?"
"6:17"
"When will we get there?"

And so began our road trip to Yellowstone! A trip full of ups and (melt)downs.

Saturday

Just 45 minutes into the park, our first day started off with a geyser! Unfortunately, it was in the form of projectile vomit from Makenzie's mouth. We didn't quite have enough time to pull off the road and her beloved stuffed elephant, Ellie, took the brunt of it. It was also all over her pants, car seat and a few other toys. I took her out to clean her up and she started to cry, "I still want to go hiking!" I told her we would see how she was feeling in a little while. Of course I packed extra clothes for an emergency just as this. . .if only I hadn't left them in the hotel room. Brilliant! After we were back on the road again she said she was hungry and wanted some fruit snacks. Ummmmm, NO!

We got to the south side of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and she said she was feeling fine. So we started with a small walk along the rim to see the Upper Falls kept going to the Lower Falls and then had lunch.

Makenzie devoured hers and said she was feeling great. So we decided to descend 348 stairs on Uncle Tom's trail to get a view of the Lower Falls from the bottom. The twins got a lot of comments on their Camelbaks and what troopers they were. Little Lexi was a trooper too: she walked down about 250 of the stairs.

The mist from the waterfall created a beautiful rainbow.

Of course, what goes down 348 stairs must come back up!

After that we drove to Yellowstone Lake where we enjoyed a quiet, relaxing afternoon.

No trip to a lake would be complete without throwing rocks in. The kids decided the rocks were too small, however, and started going after the driftwood.

Not to be outdone by Big Brother Brayden, Kenzie and Lexi worked together to get the biggest log of all.

That evening we headed to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone where the twins got to hide food for the bears and then watch them forage for it.

SUNDAY

The bears at the Grizzly & Wolf Center weren't the only bears we saw! On Sunday morning as we drove through town we were surprised to see this. Brayden declared that it was "crazy!"

Note to Grandma Rhodes: We stopped in the middle of the street to take this picture just for you!

Our first stop that morning was Gibbons Falls.

Makenzie posed for a photo. . .

. . .and then Brayden decided he needed his picture taken too.

Next stop: Gardiner, Montana (just outside the north entrance to the park) where we went on a scenic float trip on the Yellowstone River.

This was one of the things that the twins were most looking forward to. But after about 20 minutes they were board and wanted more rapids.

We didn't see much wildlife on the river, but we did see some rednecks! You know you're in Montana when. . .you see hairy, shirtless men floating on the river with a separate inner tube to keep their cooler of beer afloat. Awesome!

At the end of the trip an old school bus picked us up and took us back to our car. As we were walking through the parking lot, Makenzie said, "Mom, that was sooo much fun!" To which I replied, "I'm glad you enjoyed it!" thinking she was talking about the raft trip until she said, "I loved riding on the school bus!" (Sigh.)

On our way back into the park, we saw a herd of about 60 elk. You can't see many of them in the picture because they are actually laying down in the grass; their ears were barely visible.

After that we strolled around Mammoth Hot Springs for a while and then headed to Artists Paint Pot for a short hike. On the way there, Brayden fell asleep mid-snack.

We hit a bump which startled Brayden a little bit and he used his Scooby-Snack-wrapper-clad-hand to wipe away the drool and fell back asleep. When he woke up, he realized he had something in his hand, inspected it and resumed snacking.

MONDAY

Monday's agenda started with a hike to Fairy Falls. The trail was flat and easy, but the kids were worn out and it was slow going. Below is a scenic view of some hot springs at the beginning of the trail.

The trail went on the backside of Grand Prismatic Spring, which was hidden by the steam.

But a quick jaunt up the neighboring hill provided an impressive view.

When we finally reached the waterfall, we were greeted by a woman who offered to take our picture and directed us where to sit.

We were also greeted by a rather aggressive chipmunk who had the nerve to grab Brayden's Ziploc bag in his mouth and try to steal his PBJ.

There were also a few ravens that were close at hand waiting for some dropped food.

The grand finale was Old Faithful. As luck would have it, however, we got there just as the geyser was finishing, which meant we had to wait a LONG 92 minutes for the next eruption. We were all tired and ready to go home. It wasn't the ideal situation, but we were able to listen to a Ranger talk and finish the final requirement to get their Junior Ranger badges, which the twins thought was very cool. After teasing us a few times, Old Faithful finally put on a show. Was it worth the wait? Watch Brayden's reaction below for the answer!