It's a long chapter, but worth it. Our last stop on this trip was Yellowstone National Park. We met up with all of the extended family and stayed in Island Park Idaho. From there we made 2 day trips to Yellowstone. Our first day we took the lower loop and boy was there a lot to see! First stop was Madison, a beautiful valley, but we soon discovered that on that particular day was very windy and cold.
Next stop was Firehole Falls. Now, imagine driving through Yellowstone with 4 cars and 24 people, trying to park together and see all the sights together. Not an easy task but we somehow managed to do it. Here's the whole group admiring the view of the falls.
These 2 lovely people are the whole reason for this trip. We all went to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. More on that later.
For those of you still wondering what this post was. Here's your answer... One of the many geysers that you see throughout the park. The one's in the earlier post were from the Grand Prismatic Spring and Mammoth Springs. This one in the photo below is from the Fountain Paint Pot area. Each area and geyser is very unique and interesting.
This is in the Fountain Paint Pot area, looks like a moonscape.
You can't go to Yellowstone without seeing Old Faithful. I knew the park would be busy with summer crowds but didn't expect what I found at Old Faithful. It was like going to Disneyland! Nevertheless, seeing Old Faithful was pretty spectacular.
Remember what it's like driving with 24 people in 4 cars, imagine feeding 24 people lunch...
These next few are from the Grand Prismatic Spring.
The color of the water was a brilliant blue, just amazing.
As you drive through the park, you sometimes happen upon stopped traffic. That usually means that there's an animal of some sort close by. On our way out after the first day we saw traffic all lined up along the road and couldn't figure out what it was. Then I spotted something moving in the field by the road and as we got closer we saw this... We thought it was a wolf, which would have been exciting, but after talking to a ranger we think it was just a coyote. We see those all the time in Arizona so it was sort of cool but not as exciting as if it had been a wolf. Oh well, still pretty cool.
Day 2 took us to the upper loop. First stop was Gibbon Falls where I took this picture of my family. We had all 4 of our kids with us today, that was the best part of the day! Aren't they just cool and beautiful?
Jess took this of me and the hubby. I was excited because we both actually look pretty good at the same time. I usually have some goofy smile or something.
When we left Gibbon Falls, I took a turn driving and soon discovered traffic had come to a stop, here's why...
He walked right down the road on my side of the car and was nice enough to look at my camera as he came by. I couldn't have had a better photo op! I do have to say though that by the end of this trip, I was tired of seeing buffalo. The first couple of times was pretty exciting but after seeing them as often as we did, it was pretty uneventful.
More moonscape, this was at Mammoth Hot Springs.
This place was full of really interesting colors and formations.
We decided to drive through the Lamar Valley hoping to see some wolves. No wolves but we did see this Grizzly bear in a beautiful meadow...
Then at the end of the day, as we were going to see the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, we spotted this guy sitting by the side of the road.
This is a beautiful view of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone shot from Artist Point.
It's the end of a long day and the crew is looking a little tired...
The reason for this trip was to celebrate my in-laws 50th wedding anniversary. It all started on a Tuesday and by Friday we had everyone there. That alone was a feet of scheduling!
We had a dinner with all 27 of the family. Grandma, Grandpa, 6 children, 4 spouses, and all 15 grandchildren. My hubby, the oldest of the children, was asked to give a toast. He spoke of their legacy and service and commitment to family. Check out this post to read our daughters thoughts, I think she sums it up quite well.
Whew...that's all from this years vacation. I wasn't sure that I would be able to get through all the pictures. It was a wonderful time, not only with extended family but with my own little family. It's been awhile since we've had all 4 of our kids with us at the same time for vacation. I am grateful for that blessing on this trip. Having hubby and all 4 kids there was the best part!
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