Yellowstone National Park

Yesterday saw us out of Utah, across the corner of Idaho, and into Wyoming. After an all-too-brief stop at the Grand Teton NP, we were off to Yellowstone.

For those of you who have never been here, Yellowstone is HUGE (2 million + acres). It was getting late (and dark) and the campground where we'd intended to stay was another 30 minutes down the road…so we stopped at the first available campground: Bridge Bay.

I should tell you that my idea of camping is to be in an area so remote that you seldom (if ever) see other campers. Knowing that we were coming to a park that boasts more than 3 million visitors a year, I knew this wouldn't be a possibility and I adjusted my expectations accordingly. Nevertheless, I'll have to do my best not to let my disappointment with our campground show to the rest of the family.

We made our way to the visitor center and got our fourth NP Passport stamp in four days (Mesa Verde, Arches, Grand Tetons, and Yellowstone). We picked up the requisite souvenirs and what turned out to be a fantastic guide book. Even though we're spending 3 nights in Yellowstone NP, we really only have 2 days to see the sights and we wanted to plan accordingly.

We decided to put off the 'big stuff' (geysers, Old Faithful, etc.) until tomorrow. With the idea of starting small and finishing big, we started off the day with foul-smelling, bubbling mud (Mud Volcano). Trust me, it's cooler than it sounds, but you get the picture: if you start out the day with the smell of rotten eggs, it can only get better from there…right? Well, it did. But we may have peaked too early, because both kids were completely tuckered out by 2:00 p.m. By 3:00, I heard a phrase I never expected to hear in my life: [from the boy, with dread and apprehension] "What, are we going to see another waterfall?!"

More adventures lay ahead, so we'll be sure to get plenty of rest tonight.

Until tomorrow, thanks for reading.

P.S. I don't want to say it was cold when we awoke in our tents this morning, but both tents and our car were snow-covered.