Animals! Animals! Animals!
Today was the day we had been eagerly anticipating—our visit to Yellowstone! My goal was to see as many animals as possible.
We left Cody using the East entrance, surrounded by canyons, water, and snow-capped mountains. We were up early and excited for this great adventure we had been planning for months!
Before officially entering the park, we saw Long Horn Sheep and a few black bears in the trees. Once inside the park, buffalo were everywhere! I was so intrigued by these animals and wanted Andy to stop every time we saw one or at least get as close as possible. They were just so cool to see, and, goodness, how big!
We made a quick restroom stop, and as we approached, we noticed a buffalo just sitting behind some weeds, blending right in. So glad we were close to the restroom!
Old Faithful!
We continued soaking in the view with more and more buffalo as we made our way to Old Faithful. Lots of crowds gathered, and people were seated in anticipation of the eruption. As we found our seat, we had no idea when it would erupt, but we knew it would eventually happen because it was Old Faithful, right?!
Suddenly, we heard a noise, and the crowd gasped as the water began getting higher and higher. It was super cool to watch! Andy captured some great photos, and Dad took a fantastic video. This will be one post where it's impossible to include all the amazing photos we took. I’m working on a separate gallery of our favorites and frame-worthy photos.
We checked out the Old Faithful Inn and the gift shop, where we met a local photographer who had captured an incredible photo of the barn at Mormon Row. We were excited to purchase this for some family members who love local art and even had it signed. While checking out, we even met the sweetest college student who was from Franklin, NC! Crazy to think that here in this really big park across the country was a young girl from Franklin.
It was lunchtime, and one of my favorites from the trip was our picnic lunches with my parents. They are the best at packing snacks and picnics. We enjoyed our picnic, just listening to the birds and soaking in the beauty. It was like a little choir of music until one sound got extremely loud—it was just a big raven. We weren’t sure if it wanted our lunch or us. I was holding on tight to every crumb!
Hot Springs Everywhere!
Our next stop was Biscuit Basin, which was incredible. I have never seen anything like it. The colors and the heat coming out of the ground! While we were taking photos and just mesmerized by it all, one of the park rangers had a handheld temperature gauge and was checking the temperature of the water—168°F! WOW! I jokingly asked him if he was married and told him he should try that temperature gauge out on the ladies. He laughed, but the best part was the little Japanese lady who chuckled so hard, saying, "Yo so fun..nie!” That was a moment to remember. Andy just shook his head at me and kept on going.
We continued to what I knew would be incredible—the Grand Prismatic Spring. Andy’s photos are ones that need to be published in a magazine! Incredible! I’m just going to post a few but will share more later because they are just too cool. The walkway was one-way, which made it much easier to navigate the crowds.
A Hike To Remember
Next, we went from the springs to the Brink of the Lower Falls. Mom assured us that this was the overlook she had been to before, just a few steps down, and there it would be. So we jumped out of the car with no water and followed her without questions. However, we could see the trail that went way down and around, and the sign stated .38 miles to the falls, generally moderately challenging. But once again, Mom assured us this was the way. We finally reached our destination after a steep incline down (remind you, my parents are 75 & 76 and we had no water) to the most gorgeous falls. Once we gasped at the beauty and snapped a few pictures, Mom realized this was not the same overlook she had traveled before.
For a few moments, I wasn’t sure any of us but Dad were going to make it back to the car! But somehow, we did it! My lungs felt as if they were going to explode, Mom thought she was going to die, and Dad was ready to do another hike! Andy just kept quiet. Once we regained our breath and cooled off, we laughed so hard!
Mom literally thought she was going to die, but I reminded her to be proud and brag that she did it! She survived the hike to the Lower Falls! We laughed so much for the rest of the day, and Mom was a bit delirious after that! Oh, the fun and the memories!
Lessons learned: don’t listen to Mom and always carry water! We will remember this hike forever!
We continued out of Yellowstone with more and more buffalo and ended our night back in Cody with dinner at Cassie’s. We were all almost too tired to eat, so a shower and early to bed ended our incredible, memorable day at Yellowstone!
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