Photo Safari in Yellowstone

There are many groups you can join while visiting Yellowstone. We chose a Photo Safari in an Old Yellow Bus which started from the Lake Yellowstone Hotel at 5:45 in the morning. We scheduled it on our last full day in the park, and thankfully we were used to waking before the sunrise all week. We arrived comfortably early, and enjoyed some alone time in the Hotel lobby until the driver and other passengers strolled in.

Currently there are only eight of the original hundreds of Old Yellow Buses which were built from 1936-1938 era and used throughout the park until the 1950's, when the need for transportation through the park was replaced by visitor's own vehicles.  In 2007, the park bought back eight of the original buses with the original wooden frame and customized window sizings. You will feel a bit nostalgic at its finest as you travel five hours through the park on a photo safari. And a bit famous too as visitors turn their cameras away from animals and beautiful scenery shots to photograph you in the Old Yellow Bus.

Our driver and photographer extraordinar, Betty, was a wealth of historical information about the park, about photography, and had knowledge about the landscape and animals in which we saw. It was fantastic as the sun was rising over the crisp greens, blues, yellows, and browns of Yellowstone. Stopping at the tippy top of a lookout of the massive Lake Yellowstone with the Grand Tetons in the distance, we sipped on hot chocolate, coffee, and enjoyed delicious blueberry muffins.

(three photos featured - Canadian Geese in Flight, Chipmunk, Osprey - photographed by my husband)

(three photos featured - Purple Flowers, Canyon Falls, River Runs Through It- photographed by my daughter)

(three photos featured - Hidden Dragonflies in Dew, Sunrise, Lake Yellowstone - photographed by my son)

The kids did a magnificent job of keeping up with Betty's photography tips and trying new things with their cameras. She shared her different sized diffuser lenses with each person and encouraged creativity as she wandered between her group of eight at each stop.

If I ever were to sit down with someone to interview in an Oprah-like-style it would be Betty.  She introduced herself enough for me to be intrigued by her lifestyle and choices; but kept enough secrecy to spark me wanting more.

Her opener ... she has been living as a true Nomad for the last 17 years starting in a Recreational Vehicle that was only 37 feet long, and downsized to 26 feet after the death of her husband to cancer. She travels America, working where and when she wants, photographing her life to submit to different paying publications, forwarding her mail to small cities along the way where the Post Master obviously knows that a "new one" is in town because he already knows every one else. She is a highly educated, well spoken woman.  Extremely friendly and personable, solid yet peaceful, sweet yet strong.

If you travel to Yellowstone, plan ahead and book a trip on the Photo Safari on the Old Yellow Bus Tour and request time with Betty.  You will not be disappointed.  A trip well worth the time to enjoy the beauty of Yellowstone; digging deeper in the history of the explorers of the 1800's to current day, while finding time to learn about your camera in order to get the most out of your journal of the wilderness of this amazing National Park. Wonderful.

Don't miss the end of your morning journey with a fantastic lunch at the Lake Yellowstone Soda Fountain. YUM!

(To my parents ~ Happy 49th Wedding Anniversary! You have given me a wonderful example of what a loving and teamwork marriage looks like, and I am forever grateful. I love you!!).

Yellowstone River

As the shivers went bone deep and the cold chilled my skin we set off onto the Yellowstone River on a White Water Raft Trip.  Dressed in swim gear, swim shoes, and a borrowed blue water jacket I was ready for my first Class II and III rapids; never mind the fact that it was raining heavily outside with dark clouds announcing thunder and white streaks confirming lightning.

John The Guide made us feel brave and mighty as he complimented the eight-paying customers on board his vessel for not wimpy-out and canceling the show due to weather.  Between the two families aboard there were four children age 6 to 11 who were equal in their enthusiasm with laughter and joyous screams for the thrill of every bump and wave action over the raft.

Imagine yourself in your undies in an Alaskan snowstorm. Now you know the chilling cold to the bone feeling we experienced as we traveled eight miles down the glacier-fed Yellowstone River.

But the beauty of God's great earth surrounding the white waters somehow calmed and warmed the body enough to endure the ferocity of the chill.  Osprey's flying overhead seemed to almost have a sense of gratitude towards the crazy boat of eight rookies sailing down his stream.  Two dear were along the path who hid mysteriously between the tree line, in awe that humans were so crazy to be on a river in a thunder and lightening storm, when they was just trying to nourish their bodies and stay dry.

John The Guide was all about having fun. His belly, raspy laugh was enough to put a smile on your face as you emerged from the water that just swept over your body. His care for the kid's having fun was top notch as he made sure their feet were locked in and their hoods were up as he maneuvered our boat spectacularly through the Class III rapids. Like a fireman's hose turned on full-blast on our four children, the waves swept over the boat, crashing down on the kids, ending with screams of laughter and shrieks of happiness.

The Yellowstone River. The place where our family braved Nature's Storm and succeeded in victory in a powerful bonding moment to kick off our Yellowstone Adventure.

Warming up back at the cabin over Pizza and a game of Apples to Apples before pipping hot showers and bed time ended our perfect adventure.  Yellowstone Rafting Company + K Bar Pizza + God's Beautiful Design in the millions of acres of the Northwest corner of Wyoming for us to enjoy ... SIMPLY THE BEST!!!

Grizzly Country

I will admit ~ I tend to be a wimp when it comes to putting myself or my children in the line of danger, regardless of the level of known risk. I tend to not want to do something for the fear of the known, yet unknown, because you can't predict in life with 100% certainty that the danger will happen to you. My faith is strong, but I tend to be weak when it comes to common sense rationalizing. If there is a known risk, I tend to not follow through with out putting up some sort of fight to convince others that I am right in not proceeding with the risk. A challenge I am working on changing.

Example: Grizzly Country is Yellowstone Country and that is exactly where we chose to vacation this summer. My husband dreamed of walking through marked trails and enjoying nature.  He purchased a camel back for water, a bear bell and bear pepper spray for safety, kids got new quality hiking-like shoes, and admittedly those around would say we were set.

We went on one hike and we cut it short due to my panic, followed by my daughter's panic.  My son and husband were just fine.

But here is the real deal that my husband would say was correct.  We went at the wrong time of day; late afternoon into early evening when the temps were cooling off and the sun was heading to sunset.  That is prime time for animals to come out from their mid-day slumber.  Also, we were hiking in a known bear area.

Okay, the trail we had picked did not state bear activity, but we found that our trail was right next to a trail that did state known bear sightings. Between me and you ... a bear will not stay on the trail marked bear activity, and off the one not marked as such.

Yes, I had the bear bell and I made sure it rang on my backpack the. whole. way.  My husband said nothing but gave me a look as if, "Really? You must keep that going the whole time?"  Yes ... yes, I do.

And what do you know but we found a bear print on the beach at the end of the trail.  I would not make this up and my husband came over to check out my findings.  He confirmed that in fact it was a bear print.  We made a quick family photo on the Lake Yellowstone Beachway and headed back to the car. We agreed that any future trail hikes would be with a Ranger (which you can schedule). However, we didn't find the time to do that, so my sweet husband was left with out a significant hike this time in Yellowstone.

We will be back and prepared for a good hike with a Ranger next time. I promise, my sweet hubby!

The next morning, during our car trek through the National Park, we were witnesses to a Grizzly walk.  Yes, my heart was pounding, but the kids and I followed my husband out of the car.  We were surrounded with other viewers and a Park Ranger. The Grizz was walking through a meadow, crossed the road where we were all standing just 30 yards away, and continued through the meadow on the other side.

He/she was big, graceful, slow, massive, amazing. I was not too scared and was very thankful that we did get to witness a Grizzly first hand in the wild, but in a safe environment (in my book it was safe, compared to walking alone and meeting this fellow on a trail!).

The next photo is our survival photo with the Grizzly in the distance diagonal from my shoulder. You may have to click on the photo to make it bigger, but the bear is really there.

On our way out of Yellowstone we ventured down to the Grand Tetons National Park.  We were in search of Moose and more bears.  The Moose did not show (bummed out as they are my absolute favorite wild U.S. animal), but we came around a highway corner and came upon another Grizzly crossing the road. It was just the beast and us at first; and then more cars came. We stayed in the car for this one as it stopped by the road and was checking us out before moving into the bushes and trees, and there was no Park Ranger. Again, so beautiful and so very close.  Gorgeous.

Grizzly Country is amazing and so full of energy when you think you might come upon one on a trail, and when you actually do find one in the wild just 30 yards away!

11.5 days, 2077 miles, 4 states

Our family vacation to Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons National Park was simply perfect. However, it will take a few hours to sort through our photos and get appropriate posts written that truly captures the essence of our adventure.

When we book a vacation that involves a plane ride we like to book our flight as early as possible in order to get our travel time over with and have an afternoon or evening to unwind at our new destination.  Our kids are accustomed to that and begged to leave as early possible for our road trip. We agreed. We left on August 6th during the wee-hours of the morning and made it to our first destination by Noon.  It felt great to relax and enjoy the 90+ degree weather in the outdoor pool at our first stop.

Little did we know that we would continue the trend of waking up before the sunrise every. single. day. of. our. vacation.  It was purely by choice in some regards, and in other ways it was a must in order to get to our next rest area in a timely manner.  It was also a must in order to see the Wild of Yellowstone and Grand Tetons because the animals go back to bed by 11am.  Animal viewing at it's finest is from sunup until 11am and then about 5pm until sundown.

Last night we rolled back into our driveway about half past six in the evening. No matter how exciting or perfect a vacation has been it is always so great to get home to your own routine; shower, bed, closet, food, the list continues. Surprisingly the kids perked up from their long drive home to jump at the chance to wash the car. It was an amazing scene of teamwork.  While I loaded the laundry machines and put away the food from our cooler and boxed pantry, my husband and two children washed and vacuumed every spec of our car. They did an incredible job as all the bugs and grime are completely gone.

Today is all about getting our sweet dog home, laundry, and sorting through our thousands of pictures.  With a family of four and three cameras rolling at all times, I am not exaggerating when I state that we have thousands of photographs, and a good chunk of video snippets to enjoy. I was the designated driver through the National Parks, which allowed my husband to jump out and shoot incredible scenery and wildlife.  My two children each had a camera to snap too, and they have some pretty amazing artistic talent in their photos as kids tend to go up, over, and through things that adults don't think about when shooting photography.

11.5 days, 2077 miles, 4 states = Priceless time as a family that all of us would do over and over again.

Something to do while I'm powered off

I am taking a break from blogging to enjoy some family time for the next two weeks.  While I am away I thought you might like to read one of my favorite places online. While this blog goes through streaks in posting (afterall, this kid started blogging two years ago while in third grade!), I always check in to see what the newest write up might be.

Banana's Book Blog 
This girl knows how to read some books! I suspect that the author reads more than she can keep up with writing on her blog. I sense that she can read a substantial book in a week's time, that she always has one book going at all times, and that she can retell the story and insert her opinion. I could probably tell you with some certainty that this blogger is a top student that receives above rankings on reading and writing test scores because it is her favorite subject-ever. I have a feeling that this blog author has a future in the business of books; whether it is going to be as a book critique, an author, owning a book store, working at a library, or becoming a teacher.  I sense that this girl has her act together.

I am proud of my Banana!!  xoxo!!

National Night Out

Our neighborhood participated in our second annual National Night Out event last night. Being on the Public Safety Committee for our street, I was pleased to see a good turnout of kids and parents. Our HOA President put his fabulous communication skills to work and got our city's First Responders to visit our street.

Complete with lights flashing, the first one up the street was a Policeman with a small entourage of folks with him. The task force had been touring other neighborhoods on a set schedule and so he shared with us that the Fire Truck and Firemen were right behind him. 

Then he divulged a little secret to the kids ...the Firemen had a choice to either go to EastW*neighborhood, or come to our one cul-de-sac neighborhood.  The Firemen chose our neighborhood because they remembered that last year they got to play Four Square with the kids on the block and they wanted a re-match (very, very cool).  

Sure enough, the fire truck came down the street with lights flashing and firemen jumping out of the truck. The first one out said, "Where's the ball? Let's Play!"  Our HOA President's daughter had the game already drawn on the street and did a quick recap of the rules.  And then they were playing for the next 30 minutes rotating kids in and out of the square with firemen, policeman, and the Mayor of our small town.  It was awesome!

My two playing against the Police and Fire:

The Policeman trying to make his case that his gear got in the way of him making the shot (while others laughed):

And again, the Policeman trying to hold his own against the Firemen and kids:

She played in Heels!!!

The Policeman left National Night Out goody bags behind (donated by Target) filled with glow sticks, coupons to ice cream at local stops, stickers, hand sanitizers, personal ID kits, noise makers, and other fun things. The kids and adults had a fantastic night together to celebrate our unison in Crime Prevention and being One with our neighbors in helping each other keep our neighborhood and city safe. 

Yay to National Night Out and our amazing personal First Responders ... and to our awesome HOA President that put all the right people together for our street!

Summer Dinning

The tooth came out fabulously from the dentist last night. My daughter's first experience with nova cane was a good one. Her immediate thoughts upon getting back into the car was, "I am so glad we went in."  You could see that it really was something that had been bothering her, but she wasn't really willing to admit it to me or herself out of the fear of the unknown dental procedure. I am glad it went so well.

Dinner out was nice on the patio of our local golf course restaurant. Shortly after sitting down we spotted this Elk eating by the pond not too far from us. While some see this animal from a hunter's perspective, all we see is the beauty of God's greatness in His creation of this majestic animal. It was so peaceful and looked gorgeous with the setting sun and greenery around it.

We celebrated my mother-in-law's early birthday. My in-laws have five grandchildren between the ages of 9 to 13 and three of them were at dinner last night.  Our two and my oldest niece.  She had spent the weekend boating with Grandma and Grandpa and came to join the fun at dinner. It was a perfect surprise as we all enjoyed her entertainment of cute stories.

My son has been eating Calamari since Kindergarten and likes to order the appetizer plate for his main meal.  My daughter make healthy eating choices, but I would not consider her very adventurous.  She commented last night, however, that she might as well try Calamari since this is the year that she is trying so many new things. Great attitude! She tried and she liked!!  Yay!

Enjoying summer dinning out on the patio at a nice local place with family is always entertaining.