Yellowstone National Park

Uncles being goofballs and taking "contemplative pictures" with the scenery

We forgot our tripods

Old Faithful

As the camera is raised yet again,
Justin slaps a hand over his face and Norah slumps her shoulders in defeat

Walking through the hot geyser spray with the kids

All smiles!

Running while Justin laughs and strangles me

OMG! Papa is sitting and relaxing!

5 seconds alone

Turkey

Missing Man formation with a spot reserved (upper left) for Uncle Russell

The intrepid and patient park ranger keeping everyone in line

Taking in the majesty of Papa's favorite....the great American BISON!

More Bison

Baby bison

The forest reborn following a great wildfire

Yet another amazing creature sits in the road blocking our path

Uncle Patrick and Daddy race to entertain the kids

Burning some energy

Inside the famous lodge

Elk act like the own the place

The kind young boys caring for their feeble older sister

Black bear sighting #1!!


The great white beast in it's natural environment

The gang poses a few feet from the infamous spot where a 4 year old uncle Matthew was just barely rescued from running off the cliff by Grandpa

Just walk anywhere guys. Really, no rush.

Daddy got out of the van and ran at least a 1/2 mile to discover the cause of the delay

So what caused this delay? Yep, more blasted bison.

This morning we made the winding ride up north to Yellowstone National Park. We stopped to take photographs at the entry sign along with people from all over the country and the world. We met a pair of bicyclists that stopped to take a picture after pedaling all the way from Virginia on their way to the west coast. Amazingly they were complete strangers that happened to join up along the way.At the gate, people's behavior changes dramatically as they stop and park anywhere and everywhere to view and photograph the abundant wildlife and postcard worthy scenery. Elsewhere a stopped car is either completely ignored, or initiates a lane change to minimize the chance of collision. If one person stops in Yellowstone, everybody stops, grabs a camera, and runs with their entire family to ask what they see. (Imagine that behavior on US 75 south of Dallas, somebody would get shot)

Additionally, in most places people frantically scramble to get INTO their cars when they spot bears, but here the opposite is standard. Here ridiculous sight seers treat wild animals like baby goats at a petting zoo, completely oblivious to the danger, standing within a few yards of 500 lb nervous mammals with their young. Incredibly patient Park Rangers make futile effort to keep things in order as giant herds of bison, the bane of Grandpa's existence, slowly, casually, and unrepentantly cross the road in front of cars.

We thoroughly enjoyed a long day's travels through the park and gaped at the majestic beauty of the terrain, admired the accents of the local flora, marveled at the large game animals, and tolerated the tourists. Along the way we saw brown bear, black bear, moose, elk, deer, and bison, among others in their natural habitat. Near the end of the day Justin simply could fight the urge to sleep any more and fell into a deep sleep before we pulled into Mammoth at the far north edge of the park.

As we stopped to get ice cream, we were surprised to find elk wandering through the town, completely unconcerned by the presence of humans. We felt certain the allure of ice cream would rouse Justin from his slumber, but he was exhausted and wouldn't budge. We all gently tried to wake him and finally I just touched the ice cream to his mouth, expecting the cold to jolt him awake. The outcome was entertaining to say the least. He sleepily mouthed the ice cream without ever waking up, reminding Heather and I of the days of spooning baby food and cereal to a sleepy infant Justin.

We re-boarded the van and descended the mountains into the forest to return to Teton Village. A good portion of the 2 to 3 hour drive wound sharply through dense forest, where vegetation creeps all the way to the edge of the pavement, easily obscuring elk and other large game moving in the darkness, making it a particularly harrowing yet adventurous drive.