Day 19: Yellowstone

Wow! We spent a full day in Yellowstone and could have spent at least six more to see everything. We plan to head back later this week, but there is no way we will be able to see all the spectacular things this park has to offer. It’s so vast.

I was nervous heading to Yellowstone because I had heard bad reviews about long traffic jams and overcrowding. It was busy, but I wouldn’t call it overcrowded and we definitely didn’t have any traffic jams. Well, maybe one, but everyone was slowing down to see moose so it was ok.

We entered the western entrance of Yellowstone. We didn’t have a plan mapped out (2020 is teaching me how to wing it a bit), but we headed north to the Norris Geyser Basin. Before we got to the basin, we stopped at Beryl Spring which was the first hot springs we saw. As we continued to the Norris Geyser Basin, we saw a bunch of cars stopped on the side of the road and we quickly realized why – bison! There were two of them, and while I feel like I have probably seen Bison before, there was something special about seeing them in the wild just a few hundred yards away.

At Norris Geyser Basin, we stopped by Steamboat Geyser hoping to see it erupt. This geyser is not predictable, although lately they say it has been erupting about every 3-4 days. Steamboat Geyser can blow up to three times as high as Old Faithful, so if you are one of the lucky ones to see it erupt you are in for quite a show. Unfortunately, Steamboat didn’t blow while we were there and we made our way to Canyon Village. This canyon is considered the Great Canyon of Yellowstone and it was beautiful. We stopped first at the lookout point and then headed to Artist’s Point. There are many hikes you can do in Yellowstone and while Jordan and I were interested in finding some we could do with the kids, we also knew there was a lot to see and felt the need to do as much as we could on a weekend day. We are hopefully going back for a hike later this week.

We hopped back in the car and followed the Yellowstone River to Mud Volcano. While Jordan and I thought mud volcano was cool, the kids lost it over Dragon’s Mouth spring. This particular spring is in a cave and the water thrashing inside makes it sound like a dragon lives in there. They loved it! The drive from Mud Volcano to West Geyser Basin follows the shoreline of Yellowstone lake, which is, like most things in Yellowstone, gorgeous. We stopped at West Thumb Geyser Basin which has an incredible boardwalk over both hot springs and by the lake. I’ll be honest that at this point, our kids were kind of like, “yeah, another hot spring.” Lucy approached every spring with a very dramatic “Oh no! Not the smell again!” while holding her nose. She was, of course, talking about the smell of the natural sulfur smell the springs emit. The hot springs are abundant in Yellowstone, and while the kids still marveled a little at how hot they were, (Hudson asked every time we saw a new set of springs – what would happen if I fell in?), I could tell if they didn’t see active bubbling they were ready to move on. This was a great time for us to head to Old Faithful.

In full transparency, this was the low point of our day. Not because of Old Faithful, but because our kids kept asking where the gift shop was. I totally understand kids wanting souvenirs, but man, if I heard “when are we going to the gift shop?” one more time I was going to be like a geyser and blow. We finally found a gift shop nearby and Lucy quickly picked out a small stuffed animal. I grabbed a package of postcards. Jordan has no interest in souvenirs. Hudson, for some reason, could not make up his mind as to what he wanted. I really wanted to tell him, you probably won’t even know where this stuff is in a year, but… we let him do his thing. After about 15 minutes of him hemming and hawing, Jordan finally said, “We are out of here.” That’s when he picked two key chains. Go figure. We checked out and headed straight to the area to watch Old Faithful. Wouldn’t you know it – we missed it erupting by 15 minutes. Jordan made a new rule that if the kids ask to go to a gift shop before we actually see one, they don’t get to go. Since we had at least an hour before Old Faithful did his (her?) thing, I grabbed Jordan and I a beer from the Old Faithful Lodge. I stood in a line to get in the lodge. Then I stood in another line to get into the cafeteria. The National Park Service is taking Covid seriously, which I appreciate. The lodge was really cool inside. I wonder how far in advance reservations book up for that place. Sitting for an hour actually turned out to be good for us. The kids played freely and Jordan and I talked about what we had seen that day. The strangest thing was that the people on the bench next to us brought a cat. Yes, a cat. In Yellowstone. At Old Faithful. On a leash. You can’t make this stuff up.

Old Faithful blew and it was pretty cool! It was getting late in the day, but we still wanted to see the Grand Prismatic Springs at the Midway Geyser Basin. The photos of this particular spring are amazing. Unfortunately, in person, it’s hard to see how colorful it really is, but I’m still glad we went.

The kids received Junior Ranger books and they loved them so much more than I thought they would. They marked off the wildlife they saw and Hudson was obsessed with memorizing the temperatures that went along with the colors in the hot springs. There was a coloring sheet in booklet and he kept reciting, blue water is 198 degrees Fahrenheit , orange water is 120 degrees Fahrenheit, and so on.

When we arrived back to our cozy trailer we were all much more tired than we previously realized. The kids had a quick dinner, a quick shower, and quickly went to bed. I wasn’t far behind them. I was trying to read my book, but kept thinking about the west coast wild fires. I pulled up the latest news and Jordan and I decided that it just doesn’t make sense to head that way right now. I can’t tell you how disappointed we are. We really wanted the kids to see the Redwood National Forest and Crater Lake National Park, but, we will just have to put those plans in the back of the binder (yes, I really have a binder) for another time. We stayed up late talking about our options, but haven’t yet decided on the best course of action.

Yellowstone is iconic and I’m so grateful we made it here! The day, like most days in life, had really bright spots and some moments I think we all wish we could do over. I find it interesting that whether your family unit is in Sugar Land, Texas or Yellowstone National Park, the dynamics are still the same. On some level, I knew this, but recognizing it actually makes the trip more enjoyable. Why would a particular family member act differently when they are hungry just because they are in a gorgeous location? Of course a kid (or a particular mom) is going to get cranky when they are exhausted. Having realistic expectations regardless of location is always a good lesson to relearn.

Until next time…

Sarah