Yellowstone

Right off the bat I am going to give you fair warning that there will be MANY pictures on this post. These are just a few of my faves from our trip. It was so BEAUTIFUL in Yellowstone. Just. Beautiful. Bill and I had both been there over 20 years ago (gasp).  Well over 20 years. There was so much that I did not remember. I remember being less than enthusiastic about Old Faithful which I thought was cool, but should not be the main attraction. I remember seeing the famous fire as we left the park. I remember the nasty smell of sulpher. What I loved this time around was the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Amazing!!! The water is so strong and powerful with beautiful mountains surrounding it. 

Bill of course loved the wildlife. Don't get me wrong, I did too. However, I am more into the sights. We did see a mother bear (who had 2 baby cubs in a tree but we couldn't see them), 2 huge bull elk, cow elk, deer, lots of buffalo (not Tristan's favorites), antelope and an eagle. I wanted to see a moose, but no luck. 

Our first day we didn't get there until around 4. Later then planned. Our campground was off of a beautiful little lake which had paddle boats to rent for way cheap so we did that in the evening. The kids loved it! Quite possibly their favorite part of the whole trip. We spent the next two days in the park just driving, looking, and driving some more. The kids did great but were getting pretty restless and bored towards the end. The last full day in Montana was all about the kids. We went to a cool Bear & Wolf Museum, shot guns, more paddle boating, shopping and ice cream. They couldn't have been happier! Anyways, here are my pic's. Do not adjust your computers. It really was this spectacular and then some! 

Checking in at our campsite! Finally there. 

The 4-man paddle boat. Pretty exhausting I must say. 

Yummy, messy s'mores. A camping MUST! 

Excited to explore Yellowstone! 

A little waterfall

Some hot pots at Artist Paintpots. So many cool things to see in this little area. 

These little blue pools were so pretty. One of my favorite things there.  

Stella getting tired on our little hike. 

Lucky for her she has a strong dad who will let her ride on his shoulders! 

Norris Geyser Basin overlook 

Tristan was getting a little tired of posing I guess. 

This hill was gorgeous! I wish we could see more of the purple flowers in this picture. 

Doesn't do it justice. 

Mama Bear 

This was another one of my favorite things there. This was by where 

we stopped for ice cream. If we hadn't stopped for food we would have drove right

past it! Reminds me of Superman for some reason. 

Big 6 by 6 elk 

Traffic jam caused by buffalo 

Day 2 in the park! 

Old Faithful 

By Yellowstone Lake so the kids can throw rocks. 

Stella is already a good little photographer. Plus its nice they are old enough 

to take pictures so Bill and I can be seen together!

Rawr. Here at the Visitor Center. 

Goofballs

We got a little rained on here! This was my favorite. 

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Pretty awesome. 

So happy to finally be shooting his BB gun! 

The Bear & Wolf Museum. No animals were harmed in this picture. 

Another museum on our way out! Such a fun trip. Can't wait to do it again!!!