What can I say?  There aren’t enough words to describe this day.

First up… a grizzly bear!  It was digging hard for something.. possibly breakfast.

Not a great picture but you get the point.

 

Next up Norris.  The visitors center was closed for the season although it didn’t much matter to us.  As you finish walking the path that leads from the parking lot to the visitors center it’s like you have stepped onto another planet.  This hike was most unusual which made it all the more special.

 

 

Steam Boat geyser is also found in the Norris area but on the other side from where we felt like we were on Mars.  This geyser is the tallest in the world.  The only way you get to see it shoot water 400 feet high is to be in the right place at the right time. Unlike Old Faithful this geyser is not predictable.  We waited a few minutes… cause you never know.  We were not in the right place at the right time but this was still cool to see.

 

Onward toward Old Faithful, cause how could we not.  I’m not sure what I was thinking but I didn’t expect the amount of action and buildings this area of the park had… a large hotel, a visitor center, a general store, restaurants, fast food, a large walkway to the geyser and benches in a semi circle around the geyser, etc.  Was it impressive? Sure it was but were there other areas of the park just as impressive, with much less activity and  no man made structures taking away from the natural beauty? Yes!   Don’t miss Old Faithful but I wouldn’t plan to spend much time there either.   There are too many other things to see, especially if you are not pressed for time, which fortunately we weren’t.  We still had another full day coming our way in Yellowstone when we reached Bozeman, MT, entering from the North.

 

Waiting on Old Faithful.  I’m not sure the weather could have been any more perfect.

Here she is.

 

There are so many spots to stop as you travel the road around the park.  A few more beautiful places.

 

This trip hasn’t always been easy and, in fact there have been extremely difficult days woven throughout this journey.  Isn’t that what life sometimes hands us.  But today was different, it wasn't one of “those” days.  Today was beautiful and dare I say enjoyable.  It’s days like these that I find myself full of gratitude that not only have I experienced this remarkable place but that I have also had the opportunity to do this with my children.  That I have had the opportunity to question, discover, engage, inquire, and learn right along with them.  What a treat it has been!

I knew Yellowstone was big but I didn’t realized it was quite this big.  I’m thinking Yellowstone might be bigger than most of the states in the Northeast.  Who knew that from the east entrance of Yellowstone it would then take an additional 2 1/2 hours to get to Old Faithful.  Old Faithful would have to wait for another day.  Roads are starting to close this time of year and there were only 3 of the 9 visitor centers open but I’ll take that over a crowded park.  I know for sure that this is not a place I would want to come to during the summer.  I talked to someone who told me that they waited over an hour just to enter the park in July.

We spent most of our day in the Canyon area.  We did an awesome hike to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

 

 

We saw lots of buffalo, mule deer, and elk.  We are hoping to get a sighting of a bear.

 

I also didn’t know that there is a large lake in the center of the park.  Appropriately named Yellowstone Lake.

Sunset over the lake.

 

There are 4 hydrothermal features found in Yellowstone,  mud pots, geysers, fumaroles (steam vents), and hot springs.  The worst part for the kids was the stinky smell of rotten eggs.  These 4 features are can be found in many areas of the park, some popping up out of nowhere.  I never knew that so much of this park is over a hot spot and will eventually explode… millions of years from now.  More pictures of these features tomorrow…

The 3 remaining museums that I haven’t touched on yet.

Buffalo Bill Museum

I have to be honest, I didn’t know much about Buffalo Bill Cody.  This museum offers you everything you could possibly ever want to know about him.  If one thing was clear it was that he sure did kill a lot of buffalo… hence the name Buffalo Bill.  His life was eventful ranging from a meat supplier to a Pony Express rider to a show man to a hotel owner (the very thing that lead to his bankruptcy).  As a side note, there was a time in history where 600 buffalo remained in this country.  They almost became extinct because they were either being killed for meat (like Buffalo Bill did) or killed to force Native American tribes move. 

My kids seemed to like the game the best here.

 

Draper Museum of Natural History

The design of this museum was amazing. It is basically a spiral that works its way through time around this map on the floor.

It gives an interactive account of the changes in western land and of the animals who call this place their home.   The design along with the surrounding exhibits transported us through a journey of the west.   The information was clear and simplified so that as you walked through it just all came together and made sense.

The question that was asked here, What does the wilderness mean to you?  This is Makenzie’s response.  These responses get posted on a board for others to read.

 

Plains Indians Museum

When you enter this museum it feels as though you have entered a different world.  I’ve always been interested in Native American history and I’ve learned so much more on this journey across the country.   There were many areas here where you could sit and reflect on our country’s Native American history .  I marveled at the beautiful bead work and sat here for a bit to listen to a day in the life of a Plains Indian (while the kids pretended to be buffalo).

 

We also learned a lot about this brave woman throughout our travels.

This museum is 5 museums under one roof.  It consists of the Whitney Western Art Museum, Cody Firearms Museum, Draper Natural History Museum, Buffalo Bill Museum, and the Plains Indian Museum.  In addition there is also a raptor program with live birds of prey such as hawks and falcons that can no longer survive in the wild by themselves. Good thing the admission price included entrance for 2 consecutive days because you really need 2 (or more) days to see everything this museum has to offer.  It's impossible to pick a favorite spot, as each area offers it's own unique experience.

 

Whitney Western Art Museum

Although difficult, if I had to pick a favorite museum it would have to be the Whitney Art Museum.  This museum offered a beautiful variety of art.  What struck me most here was the paintings that I originally thought were photographs.  This painting of a rattlesnake was one of my favorites.

The art museum also offered an audio tour on about 20 of the paintings/sculptures.  The kids (I had the 3 younger ones with me today) were anxious to do this… I saw disaster in my head… broken audio equipment or worse yet cracked sculptures, fallen paintings.  I finally conceded hoping, praying that the novelty of wearing headphones and playing with the controller would wear off quickly… boy did they prove me wrong.  Each of them went from painting to painting listening from start to finish the details about the artist and their work.  Quite frankly I couldn’t believe it;  so I quickly grabbed a head set for myself and found that I was also mesmerized by the information and details given.  We wound up spending most of our second day here.

 

They were even listening while doing their own artwork here, with this view as inspiration.

Hard work for a 4 year old.

“Elk in the Shadows” by Makenzie

 

Cody Firearms Museum

I’m not a fan of guns…period…  which sounded funny to a couple we met in a campground.  “You mean you can’t buy a gun in Walmart in New Jersey?”  Umm…no!  This was the second time I was asked this question.

And although many of the guns all looked the same to me, I was impressed by the wood carvings and metal carvings in some of them.  The detail and intricate designs must have taken these artists many long hours to complete.  The art piece of the guns were really quite beautiful to observe.

But there was something even better at this museum and hands down the kids favorite part of the firearm museum.

The shooting range… the PRETEND shooting range.  Rifles and shot guns!

After a few tips from Dad they didn’t do too badly.

Watch out!!

 

Raptors

The raptors we learned about and watched; a great horned owl named Teasdale, a red tailed hawk, a turkey vulture, and the American kestrel falcon.  These birds have been rescued from the wild and can no longer survive on their own in the wild mostly due to a prior injury.  This  is a great way to inform the public about these birds while also getting to see the real thing.  We really enjoyed this program.