Feeding Frenzy

I can't believe I missed this when I wrote my post about our trip to Utah/Yellowstone, but I didn't want to forget this classic Caleb moment, so here goes.

When we were in Salt Lake we went to visit that time-honored establishment of our pioneer ancestors - the Chuck-a-Rama.  Now, I know that as a good parent I should have assisted my 4 year old in his food selections, guiding him to nutritious, well-balanced choices, but I was a little preoccupied with getting my timing just right so I could get the sticky buns as they came out of the oven.  Happily, Caleb was left to fend for himself.  

So as I was merrily chomping away, trying to decide which dish was most deserving of a second helping to fill that tiniest of remaining empty space in my gullet, Caleb came trotting back from the dessert bar with a huge bowl of chocolate ice cream.  I looked at his place - he already had half-eaten chocolate pudding, jello, banana  pudding, and vanilla ice cream with rainbow sprinkles.  That was it.  

"Caleb,"  I said, the good mom was kicking in - finally, "you can't have more ice cream.  You've had enough dessert."

"MOM", Caleb said looking up at me.  It was one word, but the tone translated roughly to "How dumb can you be?" the way that only Caleb can say it.  "Mom," again, for emphasis, "this is my DIN-NER," pointing to the chocolate pudding, jello, banana pudding, and vanilla ice cream with sprinkles, "and THIS," holding up the chocolate ice cream, "is my 'SERT."  He rolled his eyes, wondering why such clarification was necessary. 

I couldn't argue with that - just as long as he ate his dinner first.  I got up to get more sticky buns.

Day 7 - Home Again

 

A beautiful Sunday morning, and time to say good-bye to beautiful Wyoming.  We packed up our camping gear and kids and headed south, back through Grand Tetons on our way home.  

We stopped again at stunning Jenny Lake, took our scriptures and some water bottles, and went on a little hike part way around the lake.  It was an absolutely perfect hike.  Wildflowers everywhere, tall pines provided shade, and a cool breeze was blowing through the shimmering aspens.  The view up ahead was the majestic Tetons, and to our right was tranquil Lake Jenny.  Perfect.

After  short hike we found  a perfect spot where we could be alone, a little bit of shore that we had to climb down to.  There we sang a few hymns, read scriptures and had a family testimony meeting.

One of the scriptures we read was Alma 30:44.  "...all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth and all things that are upon the face of it, yea and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator."

We discussed all the beautiful and interesting things that we had seen on this trip, and acknowledged the Lord's hand in all of them.  How grateful we are that the Lord created this beautiful world for us.  It was fun to think about what it had been like when the Lord decided to design Yellowstone, and laughed about how he might have come up with the idea of bison. It was the perfect setting for such a discussion.

After a family prayer, we hiked back to the car...

 

  but first we stopped at the ranger station so the boys could receive their Junior Ranger patches that they had worked so hard on.  Because of a technicality, (lack of communication from one ranger station to another) the rangers almost wouldn't give them to the boys.  But finally it was all settled and in this picture the boys are solemnly giving the junior ranger pledge, promising to be good to animals and preserve the national parks, etc.  

 

One last picture of the Grand Tetons.

On the road again.  We were even more packed in the car than we were on our way up, even minus all the food we ate - or maybe because of all the food we ate.  We drove home following the Idaho/Wyoming/Utah border, crossing back and forth into Idaho several times, back into Wyoming, and then Idaho then Utah and Wyoming again before finally crossing into Utah for the last time.  The kids thought we were going in circles and couldn't figure out why they kept seeing "Welcome to Wyoming" signs when we were supposed to be leaving Wyoming.  Alex kept telling us we were lost.

We stopped for a picnic lunch in a tiny little Cokeville, Wyoming which had a handful of tiny homes and a big Mormon church - that's about it.  I couldn't live in a place like that - but was impressed by the fact that the whole town was shut down for the sabbath.  We were happy to find the city park with a picnic table , a bathroom, and enough grass to stretch our legs on.

We drove non-stop through Salt Lake and all the way to St. George to stay at Marlynn's place again.

In the morning we all slept in because we were exhausted and not anxious to get back into that car again.

Alysa told me about a store I HAD to check out in St. George, Tai Pan Trading, so I snuck out of the house to find it.  Luckily it was literally right around the corner.  Good thing since I don't know my way around St. George at all.  I was expecting a fun little boutique - and that what I found, except for the "little" part.  This place was HUGE - the size of Home Depot - a Home Depot for girls.  It was so much fun - home decor, amazingly lifelike silk flowers, just so much stuff, and all displayed so beautifully!  I got so many ideas.  I was so bummed because I knew I couldn't buy much because our packed car wouldn't allow it.  I was so excited to find out that they are opening a Tai Pan Trading in Rancho Cucamunga next month.  That's only like an hour away from my house.  Yeah!  It was so fun, and I spent almost 2 hours there browsing.  But its the type of place where you really have to bring a friend.  Anyone out there up for a girl trip to Rancho next month?  

When I returned to Marlynn's place, I saw that the front window of her house was broken, and I was pretty sure it wasn't broken when we arrived the night before.  Sure enough, Caleb had broken it when his brothers locked him out of the room, so he went outside and banged on the window with his fist.  Nice.  Sorry Marlynn!  So we spent the drive home on the phone, calling around to find someone to come and replace the window.  At the beginning of our trip, we had promised the boys that we'd stop at Buffalo Bill's on the way home and ride the roller coaster, but the new window will cost over $200, so when we got to Buffalo Bill's we just drove right by.  Too bad.  A roller coaster ride sounds like a lot more fun than replacing a window.

In Yucca Valley we stopped to visit Dennis' dad at the convalescent home he has been in since he had a stroke a few months ago.  His mom was there and we had a nice visit. The boys had so much to tell them about our trip and Nathan nearly gave Grandma a heart attack when he told her about being attacked by a mountain lion.

 Caleb made me crazy, though.  At the Yellowstone gift shop, he had begged Dennis to buy him a green fishing type vest that had Yellowstone Junior Ranger embroidered on it.  He HAD to have it.  It was pricey, you know how it is at gift shops, but he knows how to flash his big brown eyes, and get what he wants from dad. Well, we told him to put it on for grandpa to see, but he refused.  He said he didn't like it, and that people would laugh at him, and he refused to wear it - even on threat.  Flat out refused.  AARGH!  We said we'd give it to Lukie.  He said "fine".  He really was glad to be rid of it!  Don't you just love it when kids do that?  Now Luke has a new ranger vest, that swims on him.  Kids are great.

So now we are home.  I had insisted that the house be spotless before we left.  I don't know why.  Its just the thought that my house was clean for two straight weeks makes me so happy.  (Maybe it is the clean underwear thing - you never know when your going to get into an accident.)  I just thought it would be nice to come home to a clean house, and it would have been if I had insisted my kids and all the stuff just stayed in the car.  But the sublime joy of a clean home lasted for exactly three seconds.  Rowdy, car-crazy kids running around, dirty camping gear dumped into the entryway, and LOADS of smokey laundry piled in the laundry room have replaced it.  The vacation may be over, but the fun is just beginning!

Day 6 - Huge Rocks and a Pretty Hole

It is our last full day of our Yellowstone, and we decided to leave Yellowstone and spend the day in Grand Teton National Park and Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  To get to Jackson Hole from Yellowstone you have to drive south right through Grand Teton NP.  What a pretty drive it is too.

We stop at a visitors center so the kids could sign up for the junior ranger program here.  Caleb is working hard on his worksheet about Indians.
Caleb and Dylan pose in front of the beautiful mountain range.
Those jagged rocky mountains are amazing - so different from the other mountains in the area.  They just jut into the sky and remind me of the Alps.

 
Jenny Lake, at the base of Grand Teton is simply gorgeous!!  The beautiful mountains are reflected in the glassy lake which is pristine.  That guy I'm with is gorgeous too!

Just near Jenny Lake, we saw a bunch of cars pulled over and people taking pictures.  We thought it was probably another deer or elk, but were so excited to see it was a bear!  The boys had been hoping to see a bear all week, but they are more rare than the other large animals.  It was a black bear, but more grey than black.  He was about 30 yards off the roadway and busy eating in the bushes.  This was the best picture I could get of him.  He never rearred up on his haunches or anything scary - sorry.  I thought he was just cute, trying to eat a quiet lunch despite the snapping of the paparazzi's cameras. 
Dennis gives Luke the best seat in the house for bear watching.  He is thrilled!

On to Jackson Hole.  This place is anything but a hole... it is a lovely town.  We counted five of these elk antler arches in Jackson.  

Caleb found the best hang out in town.

Nathan on a buffalo couch.  Thats just the kind of conversation piece I need for my living room.

We loved walking around the fun shops downtown.  We each found what we were looking for for our different collections - pressed pennies, patches, pins, rocks, coins, and a tiny silver charm of an antler arch for me.

See what I mean - stage coach, antler arch, tall trees - pretty Western town.

Look, another bear and its got Caleb!  OK so its not real, but at least he takes a better picture than the black bear we saw earlier.
We had a great time in Jackson Hole, and the fact that it started raining near dusk made it even better as far as i'm concerned.

 

Our drive back to Yellowstone the sun was setting and the mountains were lit up in beautiful pinks and purples.

Once again, the picture doesn't come close to capturing the majesty, the colors, and the light of the scene.  I love my camera, but would love to learn how to really use it to get great pictures.

Yellowstone Day 5 - Close Encounters of the WILD Kind!

Now here's a FREAKY tale.  In the morning when Dennis and I were laying in our tent, putting off getting out of out warm sleeping bags, we head Nathan outside our tent.  He had fallen asleep in the  lounge chair in his sleeping bag by the fire last night, so had spent the night outside.  From our tent we heard Nathan telling one of his brothers that he had been attacked by a mountain lion.  Dennis and I just rolled our eyes at Nathan's story, figuring he had just had a wild dream.  It wasn't until we got up and out of the tent did Nathan show us these three puncture holes in the bottom of his new sleeping bag.  They hadn't been there before.

He told us that he woke up when he felt something tugging at his bag.  He opened his eyes to see a mountain lion was doing it with his teeth.  I guess the mountain lion was trying to figure out what Nathan was because when he saw Nathan wake up, he let go and went into the trees nearby where he stayed and watched Nathan for a long time.  Poor Nathan was just too scared to move or even yell, for the rest of the night.

I couldn't believe it until I saw the holes and a few large feline footprints near-by.  Can you imagine how scared he was?  Poor Nathan.   I was freaked out just thinking about it.  I'm sure Nathan will be sleeping in the tent for the rest of the trip.  Had it been me, I'd be sleeping in a hotel for the rest of the trip, no doubt!

After breakfast, we broke up camp and loaded up the car to drive south to camp at Grant Village on Lake Yellowstone.  We were glad to be leaving that blood thirsty lion behind.

Hey, What's that guy doing in the carpool lane?

Of course, it wasn't long before we came across a large herd of bison, and we stopped to watch them do what they do.  It is fascinating to watch them.

Lukie with his new buffalo toy and Alex watch the herd from the hood of our car.

Nate gets a closer look with the binoculars.

This guy was kind of close to our car, but he was looking away and doing nothing more than slobbering and grunting.

Suddenly he turned around and started heading straight toward us - Not charging or anything - but coming right at s nonetheless.  We all freaked out and jumped into the car.  Whew - until we realized we had left Luke sitting on the hood of our car!!! Lightning fast Dennis jumped out and scooped little Lukie off the hood and safely into the car.  It turns out that the buffalo changed direction and wandered off looking for a tasty wildflower, but we decided to stay in the car and continue our drive.  To many close encounters with wild animals for one day.
This hot spring in called the dragon's mouth, and it is aptly named because steam pours out like smoke, water laps out as a great tongue regularly like a wave pool, and it makes a loud growling roar, just like a dragon.  It was my favorite hot spring, I think.
We made it to Grant Village, and got our camp all set up before some of the boys took off to explore our little corner of the great Yellowstone Lake.
Luke watches the boys play from a small bridge.
Dylan and Nate do some surfing on a log in the lagoon. 

We take the long way back to camp, hiking up to the old bridge and across.

Later we drove to another part of the Lake where the boys tried their hand at fishing again.  It was simple beautiful out there on the lake.  So quiet except for the frequent splash of fish jumping out of the water - which was the only time we saw any fish.  We never caught any.  It seems the only wild animal we didn't encounter today was a fish.  
Nathan took the time to perfect his stone skipping technique across the glassy surface.

I don't have a picture, but for me the funnest part of the day was tonight.  Driving back to camp, Dennis dropped the 4 older boys and I off at the ranger station for a ranger presentation.  The presentation was o.k., but when it was over it was pitch black dark, and we realized we had to hike a trail back to our campground and we had  no flashlight.  We started down the trail in the dark, and soon caught up to another group that were in the same situation - it wasn't dark when the ranger talk started - so we are all in it together.  I think the other group were LDS too.  They informed us that their soon-to-be-Eagle Scout was leading the way, so we confidently followed.  We had fun laughing and joking as we hiked along in the dark, though I would have been freaked out if Caleb or Luke had been with us.  It was fine.  The boys thought scary made it great.  I was just hoping not to have another close encounter with a wild animal. There were a few times when I realized that the ground dropped off both sides of the trail.  Stay on the trail!  Then we came to a swinging bridge, of all things, and the excitement rose a notch.  Swinging on a rope ridge in the dark.  Does it get any better?  Finally, our traveling companions had to take a different direction, because the were camped in a different loop, so we were on our own.  I made an educated guess as to where to turn off the main path, and after following it a short distance we saw a light.  Guess what? It wasn't any old light.  It was actually Dennis' lantern!  We not only guess right on our loop, but hiked right into our very own campsite.  Not bad for hiking in the dark.  Did I mention I was a Summiteer?  Who needs a compass or a flashlight when you've got me?  Of course that trail would have been no big deal in the daytime, but at night it became a real adventure.  It was just so fun and scary and I thought it was cool that our own light was the first one we saw coming through the woods.

Back at camp, we had run out of propane for the stove, so Dennis cooked dinner pioneer style, over the open fire.  He thought it was great.  Did I mention Dennis is an Eagle Scout?  And even though we had no fish again, and we were even out of spam, dinner was great.  I think food tastes better cooked over the fire, anyway.

Luke pretending to be a bison, butting heads with Dennis in an attempt to show male dominance.  Not convincing.

Smore's anyone?

Yelowstone Day 4 - Water standing still

After our long busy day in Cody, we decided to take a day off an stop to smell the flowers.

We all slept in late, and after a delicious breakfast of pancakes and spam we decided to take a drive and see where we ended up.

We discovered a perfectly beautiful spot (you really can't go wrong here in Yellowstone) at a place called Sheepeater Cliff.  There was a river running through a field of wildflowers, and a really interesting cliff  of pillar rock formations.  

Luke loved picking the wildflowers and  wanted me to wear all of them in my hair.  I don't think it is legal to pick flowers so I was sure hoping a park ranger didn't see me - but how can a mom refuse flowers from her favorite 2 year old?

The river water was cold - there was still snow melting on the mountain tops - but Derek braved it.  Sort of.
  

 Dylan and Nathan take a quiet moment to commune with nature.  Can you see the chi flowing through them?

 Luke had high hopes of climbing the cliff.  He started at it and he got a lot further then I thought he'd get.  I sent Dennis to go rescue him...

but Dennis just helped him climb up higher.

The kids (Dennis included) kept scaling up and down this cliff like they were Spider-Man and I did my best to try to not have a heart attack.

The kids did discover some baby bats hiding in a crevice on the cliff.  I managed to climb up, even in my flip flops, high enough to see them.  So cute - but I didn't get a decent picture.  I did, however, manage to not break my neck.

In the end we were 8 for 8 alive and well.  Its a good day in Yellowstone when no one falls off a cliff. 

After some more exploring we discovered Joffee Lake.  It wasn't far, or remote, but tucked away and hard to find.  We are so glad we found t because it was absolutely beautiful little lake surrounded by cattail and wild flowers, with forests and soaring mountains all around.  Everywhere you looked was a picture postcard perfect view  We were there for hours and were the only people there the whole time.  In fact we couldn't see any signs of humanity anywhere, except for us and our car.  It was like we were all alone in the world.

The guys spent hours fishing.

I took pictures of flowers, butterflies, and the illusive blue dragonflies, and read Twilight (reading is a rare pleasure for me) while they did their thing.  I did see a snake slither away just under my feet, and the boys were bummed that they didn't see it too.

In the end, nobody caught any fish, but we didn't seem to mind.  It was such a magical place - our own private lake.

More deer spotted on the drive home from the lake.

Back at camp we feasted on spam (fresh fish was originally on the menu, but as luck would have it, we had some spam left - same difference) and more of Dennis' famous peach cobbler.  Even though it was a relatively relaxing day, it was enough to wear Caleb and Lukie right out.  They never made it to the peach cobbler and hot cocoa.