Day 11 – Yellowstone National Park
After a cold, wet night, we woke up to more of the same. It was about 35 degrees this morning, and windy, damp and gray. The kind of chill that seeps into your bones and won’t shake out.
I made pancakes for breakfast, but could only make one at a time on our 10-inch cast-iron skillet, so we ate in shifts, dancing and hopping around to keep warm. It took twice as long to get dressed and cook and clean up this morning, just because we were all so cold. It’s hard to cook with gloves on, or wash and dry dishes without freezing your fingers.
(As an aside – Keith and I realized yesterday that the water pump on the Teardrop is out. A quick call to the Camp-Inn guys in Wisconsin verified that it’s probably a faulty pump, and it’s not the first they’ve encountered. It can’t be fixed now, though. And so we can’t access our water tank. Here at Yellowstone, that means we’re washing dishes at the communal dish-washing station near the bathrooms, and running to the shared spigot for our other water needs. We did not bring a big jug for transporting water; we didn’t think we’d need it, since we have our own water source on the trailer.)
So after a slow start this morning, we set out to explore the park. Our first stop was the Junior Ranger Station near Madison Junction. There, Natalie and Charlie got their JR activity books, which they will have to complete to receive their Yellowstone Junior Ranger badges. They also sat in on a fun little Junior Ranger program about bison. We all learned *not* to call them buffalo; it’s a misnomer. Buffalo live in Africa and Asia; bison live in North America. And they are not related.
From there, we checked out the Lower Geyser Basin, a steamy, ethereal landscape of simmering hot springs and bubbling mud pits. Super cool.
Next up: Old Faithful. We knew it’d be a popular spot, but we really were not prepared for the circus atmosphere that surrounds the park’s most famous geyser. After finally finding a spot at the end of a vast parking lot, we got lost just trying to find Old Faithful amid the shops, restaurants, cabins, the lodge and the – ugh – construction. It was a total zoo. The actual geyser wasn’t too hard to miss, though: Hundreds of people were crowded around on the boardwalk, waiting for the next eruption. We managed to find a good spot, and it did not disappoint. It was easy to forget about the throngs of people and buildings and noise and just focus on this fascinating natural wonder. It was a must-see, and I’m glad we saw.
After that, we took in a waterfall and another geyser basin near the West Thumb of Yellowstone Lake. The original plan was to drive the central loop of the park – a total of about 80 miles. By this point we had only gone about 30 miles. It was late afternoon, and the kids were dragging. So rather than complete the loop, we turned around and went back to the campground the way we came.
By this time, the sky had cleared and the wind was dying down. Back at the campsite, we discovered that our screened-in shelter, which we had set up over the picnic table, had come uprooted from its stakes and had blown across the driveway and into the next campsite. When we got it back, we discovered that a few of the poles were bent sharply. It may not be usable. (Apologies to Mom and Dad, who kindly lent us the shelter. If it’s ruined, we’ll get you a new one.)
Keith and I made dinner while the kids made fast friends with Libby, a lovely, chatty 8-year-old from Orange County in the Airstream trailer next-door. By evening, the winds were completely calm, and the sky was clear. We had a wonderful, relaxing time roasting marshmallows and making s’mores before we all turned in to bed.
After a cold, wet night, we woke up to more of the same. It was about 35 degrees this morning, and windy, damp and gray. The kind of chill that seeps into your bones and won’t shake out.
I made pancakes for breakfast, but could only make one at a time on our 10-inch cast-iron skillet, so we ate in shifts, dancing and hopping around to keep warm. It took twice as long to get dressed and cook and clean up this morning, just because we were all so cold. It’s hard to cook with gloves on, or wash and dry dishes without freezing your fingers.
(As an aside – Keith and I realized yesterday that the water pump on the Teardrop is out. A quick call to the Camp-Inn guys in Wisconsin verified that it’s probably a faulty pump, and it’s not the first they’ve encountered. It can’t be fixed now, though. And so we can’t access our water tank. Here at Yellowstone, that means we’re washing dishes at the communal dish-washing station near the bathrooms, and running to the shared spigot for our other water needs. We did not bring a big jug for transporting water; we didn’t think we’d need it, since we have our own water source on the trailer.)
So after a slow start this morning, we set out to explore the park. Our first stop was the Junior Ranger Station near Madison Junction. There, Natalie and Charlie got their JR activity books, which they will have to complete to receive their Yellowstone Junior Ranger badges. They also sat in on a fun little Junior Ranger program about bison. We all learned *not* to call them buffalo; it’s a misnomer. Buffalo live in Africa and Asia; bison live in North America. And they are not related.
From there, we checked out the Lower Geyser Basin, a steamy, ethereal landscape of simmering hot springs and bubbling mud pits. Super cool.
Next up: Old Faithful. We knew it’d be a popular spot, but we really were not prepared for the circus atmosphere that surrounds the park’s most famous geyser. After finally finding a spot at the end of a vast parking lot, we got lost just trying to find Old Faithful amid the shops, restaurants, cabins, the lodge and the – ugh – construction. It was a total zoo. The actual geyser wasn’t too hard to miss, though: Hundreds of people were crowded around on the boardwalk, waiting for the next eruption. We managed to find a good spot, and it did not disappoint. It was easy to forget about the throngs of people and buildings and noise and just focus on this fascinating natural wonder. It was a must-see, and I’m glad we saw.
After that, we took in a waterfall and another geyser basin near the West Thumb of Yellowstone Lake. The original plan was to drive the central loop of the park – a total of about 80 miles. By this point we had only gone about 30 miles. It was late afternoon, and the kids were dragging. So rather than complete the loop, we turned around and went back to the campground the way we came.
By this time, the sky had cleared and the wind was dying down. Back at the campsite, we discovered that our screened-in shelter, which we had set up over the picnic table, had come uprooted from its stakes and had blown across the driveway and into the next campsite. When we got it back, we discovered that a few of the poles were bent sharply. It may not be usable. (Apologies to Mom and Dad, who kindly lent us the shelter. If it’s ruined, we’ll get you a new one.)
Keith and I made dinner while the kids made fast friends with Libby, a lovely, chatty 8-year-old from Orange County in the Airstream trailer next-door. By evening, the winds were completely calm, and the sky was clear. We had a wonderful, relaxing time roasting marshmallows and making s’mores before we all turned in to bed.
The main difference between a buffalo and a bison is: you can't wash your hands in a buffalo, mate.
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