Big Vaca with a Big Family

[caveat lector 181]

On 11/7/2016 at 2:24 PM, fowlandfishmommy said:

 This is the attitude.  "Hey this is nature, you're own your own" (safety wise) Ha!!

This is my favorite comment!!!  it's the way everything should be. :)

[fladogfan aka Gretchen 259]

Thanks for all the good info, enjoying the trip.  That baby carrier is a good idea.

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

Maybe I missed it, but did you guys just camp in a central location and then drive to your destination of choice and back each day?

[fowlandfishmommy 10]

On 11/7/2016 at 3:04 PM, DaveInTN said:

Great pics of Mammoth!  I loved that area.  Did you get to the Boiling River?  Probably not an easy place to visit with kids...but I enjoyed soaking in the river.  

Here I am in the Boiling River....in 1994.  Wow, I feel old.  

 

No we didn't make it there.  We wanted to see it, but we heard it was too dry maybe I can't remember.  But it wouldn't have been fun with the wild children.  Next time for sure!  

On 11/8/2016 at 7:23 AM, djsamuel said:

Wow. These pictures are great.  We've been planning on returning to the area.  the last time we stayed at the Old Faithful Inn.  We are intending on taking the camper into the Grand Tetons and concentrating more on hiking there; but your pictures have me wanting to get back into Yellowstone more.  Thanks for posting these.

The Tetons were great and I think we'll camp there at least one night next time.  We loved Yellowstone so much.  If it was closer I'm sure we'd go every year.  

[fowlandfishmommy 10]

On 11/8/2016 at 4:16 PM, caveat lector said:

This is my favorite comment!!!  it's the way everything should be. :)

Yep!

On 11/11/2016 at 6:42 AM, fladogfan aka Gretchen said:

Thanks for all the good info, enjoying the trip.  That baby carrier is a good idea.

We couldn't have done it without it! 

On 11/11/2016 at 1:01 PM, Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie said:

Maybe I missed it, but did you guys just camp in a central location and then drive to your destination of choice and back each day?

Yes we stayed at Fishing Bridge the whole time.  It is the only one that is full hookup and with three little kids we just didn't think we could do without that on such a tiring trip.  I'm so glad that's what we did.  

[fowlandfishmommy 10]

So for our tour... We were told to do a tour if at all possible.  We went with the twilight tour.  It was maybe the hit of the trip.  Oh my gosh we had a wonderful time.  My husband loved it because he hadn't been able to look as much as we had because he was always driving.  It lasts 4 hours, you can take snacks, and there are plenty of potty breaks.  We were with 2 other families.  We left from the Mammoth Hotel.  Our guide was amazing.  He has come every year for I don't know maybe 30 years.  He retired and his gift to himself was to live in a camper and work at Yellowstone for the summer.  He told us he applied on line and got the job.  Honestly, I hope and pray the hubby and I can do that one summer.  I don't care if I work in a store, I'd just love to get to be there.  It would be so much fun!  Our guide is also a part time wild life photographer.  He knew tons and tons of information about the park in general and true to what we were told we were so glad we did that on the first day.  We did not see as much wildlife as we had hoped but we were okay with that.  

This is one of our last pictures from the tour but I thought I'd start with it since it shows the awesome vehicle we rode in.  When we first got there he asked if we wanted to take the top off and it was a unanimous yes.  We saw a group with theirs on and I have no idea why.  It would have been much less fun with the top off.  These buses were built in the 30s I believe.  They have kept them up since then.  They are in great shape.  

 

 

 

 

 

See the elk?  

 

 

That's our tour guide.  We were looking at mountain goats.  

 

 

See them?? Little white dots??

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can see one of the wild fires in this picture.  There were 3 going on while we were there.  This is pretty common.  They used to actively fight all wild fires in Yellowstone but they have found that wild fires are necessary to the health of the forest.  They do so much good.  Now they let the fires burn as long as they pose no threat to human life or property.  There were some places that we saw later that had been completely burned recently and it is sad to see.  But the benefits out way the negatives.  

 

This picture cracks me up!!

 

This is what F2 did for about an hour.  

All three kids had their own set of cheap binoculars.  It prevented lots of fights.  

 

 

I know this picture is blurry.  But this is an interesting story.  So see the tree growing right beside the rock.  These are Douglas Fir trees and the rocks beside them are called Nursery rocks.  This particular area is pretty tough for a baby tree.  It is very windy and dry.  And the winters are very harsh.  The only way a tree can live here is beside a rock.  The rock protects it and gives it time to grow.  They are everywhere in this area.   Every single tree has a nursery rock beside it.  If you google nursery rock Yellowstone there is a neat video on the subject.  

 

 

 

 

 

[fowlandfishmommy 10]

A few more of that evening.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We got back to the hotel and this was right outside!  

 

 

Phew, that was a busy busy Monday.  Up next is Tuesday and we stay fairly close to our campsite.  

 

 

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Those are great updates.  I had no idea about those old buses.  Or the nursery rocks.    

 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Fantastic update!

What a great gig for your tour guide- those buses look awesome.  I love the genuine retro look.

You are a smart mom to get each boy his own binoculars. 

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Great update!  Yes, you were smart to give each boy his own binoculars.

[Seals 111]

I think it would be fun to just ride around in that old bus even if you didn't see much. What a great tour! I agree it's so hard to look at scenery when driving so that was a great idea. 

[fladogfan aka Gretchen 259]

Love the sunset photos, learning about the nursery rocks and the bus, very cool looking.

WOW!!!!  What a stash   until you scroll down far enough

 

[dblr....Rennie 224]

Disney has one of those buses or at least they did, it was used for a shuttle for DVC but I think theirs came from Yosemite. When we were there in the winter they also had buses set up with front skis and rear snowmobile tracks, called snow coaches, but that was also over 30 years ago. Great pictures, thanks for posting them

[fowlandfishmommy 10]

So sorry for the extreme delay.  I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and are enjoying the new year.  We went camping for a whole week with my family (parents, siblings, etc) during Thanksgiving and then everything got crazy for us.  

We left off with a very busy Tuesday, our first full day in Yellowstone.  We did a fishing excursion and drove up to the Mammoth area where we did a wildlife tour.  We got back to our camper late that night and went straight to bed.  

Wednesday was a much more relaxed day.  On the agenda was to check things out around our campground, Fishing Bridge, and check out the mud volcano area.  Also we planned to go up a little ways like we did the day before and check out Artist's Point.  

So here we go!  

We started out by going by the Visitor Center there at Fishing Bridge and getting the big boys Jr. Ranger packets.  Once again we were blown away with how kind and informative they were with me and the boys.  The Visitors Centers are all amazing by the way with so much to see.  We then got held up by some traffic so we decided to scratch the go back to the camper and eat lunch plan and go grab the cooler and go ahead and put supper in the crockpot.  That was a very wise decision as traffic was a little crazy.  But there is so much to see and we are patient people.  

All over the place are steaming bubbling ponds.  It is very cool.  

Here we are at the Mud Volcano area.  It is more marshy and wet and well muddy than the Mammoth Hot Springs area.  It is much much easier of a walk with their being a few gradual big hills and a lot of flat areas.  This was very fun for all of us.  

This whole area smelled so BAD!!  But of course the boys loved it and thought it was hilarious.  Insert constant flatulence jokes and blaming.  

 

It started pouring rain briefly right when we were done.  So we hopped in the car and headed to our next stop.  We stopped here to look at all the bison and check out the awesome view! 

Notice wet hair! 

This is their manly pose.  

More in a bit.  

 

[fowlandfishmommy 10]

More bison blocking the road.  

Next we made it to Artist Point.  There is a super awesome old Disney cartoon that my kids love about Paul Bunyan that shows this part of Yellowstone.  When you get to the parking lot you can choose to go look more at the canyon, the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, which is to the left or the Artist Point viewing area.  Well we of course wanted to see both so we just went to the left.  WELL let me just tell you if you have kids with you or you are scared of heights or you generally aren't insane, DON'T GO LEFT.  There are a few very skimpy hand rails but most of it is just a straight down cliff right on the edge of a very small path.  I am very scared of heights, well I mean it's kind of weird if I know that I'm not going to fall then I'm fine. But if it doesn't seem safe I loose it.  And I couldn't hold on to all my people.  So my legs were shaking and felt like jello.  I was FREAKING out.  Hubby knew I was loosing it and took a few quick pictures and so did I and we got the heck out of there.  AHHH!  It is probably way less dramatic than I remember it, but never again. Here are the pictures from my near death experience.  

Then I gained my composure and we walked over to the Artist Point viewing area.  It has nice sensible rails.  And the view is AMAZING!  

 

 

 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I am glad to see that you're back at work on this report!

The Artist's Point photos are amazing.  I know exactly what you mean about being freaked out about a dangerous situation where you can't control the kids.  That would freak me out too.

I guess you know that the fancy restaurant at Disney's Wilderness Lodge is called Artist's Point.  I didn't know it was named after an actual place.

TCD

[rm0530 5]

That's a cool headband for his BAHA. One of my students has one but hers clips onto her shirt. 

[fowlandfishmommy 10]

12 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

I am glad to see that you're back at work on this report!

The Artist's Point photos are amazing.  I know exactly what you mean about being freaked out about a dangerous situation where you can't control the kids.  That would freak me out too.

I guess you know that the fancy restaurant at Disney's Wilderness Lodge is called Artist's Point.  I didn't know it was named after an actual place.

TCD

Thanks. I know pretty cool. You know Disney's love for details.

1 hour ago, rm0530 said:

That's a cool headband for his BAHA. One of my students has one but hers clips onto her shirt. 

Yes F3 has bilateral microtia which  makes him hard of hearing. He wears a bone conduction hearing aid. Most people have never even seen them. F3 has to wear his on a band, he now finally has two aids thank the Lord, because he isn't old enough to have the implant. When he is about 5 he will have snaps surgically implanted in his head and the same hearing aids will snap to his head instead of his band. Then it will clip to his shirt like your student. Just the line to help keep up with it in case it pops off the snap. Cool that you noticed! I couldn't let him wear it the entire trip because he's still in the age of throwing it when he's tired of it. I really didn't want to loose it. 

[Seals 111]

On 1/10/2017 at 8:41 PM, fowlandfishmommy said:

Great idea for a picture. You're going to always remember how bad it smelled!

Thanks for returning to the Trip Report. I'd been hoping for more. Really enjoying it.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Happy to see that you're continuing with this report!  More great pictures.

[fowlandfishmommy 10]

On 1/12/2017 at 0:07 PM, Seals said:

Great idea for a picture. You're going to always remember how bad it smelled!

Thanks for returning to the Trip Report. I'd been hoping for more. Really enjoying it.

Thanks!! 

On 1/13/2017 at 8:52 AM, CCIntrigue...aka Gwen said:

Happy to see that you're continuing with this report!  More great pictures.

Thank you!  I'm sorry I'm so slow.  

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

3 hours ago, fowlandfishmommy said:

Thanks!! 

Thank you!  I'm sorry I'm so slow.  

You are just giving us something to look forward to!

[fowlandfishmommy 10]

So we left off with us finishing up Artists Point and we headed back to our camper for supper.  This was Wednesday.  As we were eating I saw a few kids run past our camper.  So I knew something was up.  We looked out the window and there was a bison walking down the road through our campsite.  Of course the kids went nuts.  I got one picture.  

We ate our meal that was in the crockpot and ready to go and then we walked to the Visitor Center for a "ranger talk".  This was something the boys had to do to complete their Jr. Ranger program.  This one was close to our campsite and just worked out time wise.  The walk from Fishing Bridge to the Visitor Center is pretty easy.  It is a walk through the woods somewhat but there is a path and there are lights along the way.  I would suggest taking a flashlight.  

The talk was wonderful.  There were great pictures and it was really neat.  We met a fellow Alabamian.  And the big boys loved it.  Baby brother didn't love it and I had to walk around with him the whole time.  But it was nice and peaceful.  We headed back to our camper and hit the sack!  

The next morning we headed out to Old Faithful!  We were pumped.  We knew there was a lot to see in this area we had some must dos, much like we do in Disney World, but we wanted to enjoy it and be laid back so we knew we couldn't see it all with three kids.  

We headed out and sort of took it easy.  The plan was to get there in time to eat an early lunch at the Old Faithful Inn and then to set out around Old Faithful.  There are geysers EVERYWHERE in this area so it is a pretty long walk on wooden paths.  They are all flat though so it's an easy walk.  Also this Visitor Center is AMAZING!!!  So much to see and do.  

Here we are!  

The food was delicious at the restaurant.  It was a very fun experience.  There was a buffet and we got to try some strange things we would have never ordered.  The bathrooms were amazing.  

As I mentioned before there was no air conditioning in any of the hotels.  But this hotel felt much cooler.  It is so beautiful!  

Next up, is Old Faithful!  

 

 

[DaveInTN 3,247]

I thought this was a Yellowstone trip report....I missed the part where you checked into the Wilderness Lodge. :D

Sent from my handheld doohickie

[fowlandfishmommy 10]

We went to the Old Faithful visitor center and got a map and found out the next time for it to go off.  Found us a good spot and got all settled.  There are benches all around it and the hubby and I stood and the big boys sat down on the ground in between two benches.  I will say we travel with kids a whole lot and other people getting annoyed with them does happen.  We try to avoid them causing an annoying situation but they are kids and technically they have just as much right to be there as anyone else.  And frankly an annoying kid is way better than annoying adult any day of the week.  But anyway...  My boys were siting there being calm and good and an old man says excuse me excuse me like there was an emergency.  Well the emergency was that he needed to stand directly in front of where the boys were standing.  So after a few seconds of disbelief, I made them go sit in front of where he was standing.  What annoyed me so much was that he could have stood behind them no problem.  They were sitting so they didn't block his view at all.  I still don't understand why he had to go stand in front of him.  They sat in front of him and all was fine.  They could see great.  F3 did begin to fuss some, and the wife of the man fussed about her video being ruined because of him but at that point I didn't care a lick.  Plus all of the other people around us were so aggravated with them we felt like F3 wasn't bothering anyone else.  But I did realize as the day went on that apparently there are many tours that older people do that just takes them to this area.  There were groups everywhere.  And they tended to think they owned the place.  So we just went on our merry way and did our thing.   It was amazing!  One of the best experiences of my life.  Here's the pictures!  

This was our view.

This was to the left of us.  There is a semi circle around Old Faithful with a big wood walkway and benches.  It was pretty crowded so we got there fairly early.  It clears out when it's done, so if you want to sit in the front on a bench you can just wait until the next one and get a better seat.  

Boys waiting on it to start!  

Boys watching the show! 

We enjoyed this so much!  I can't even explain how amazing it is.  We just kept talking about the people who walked up there and saw it for the first time over 100 years ago.  Can you imagine?!?!  Yellowstone is seriously like being in another world.  More Old Faithful area soon!