Re-purposing in Yellowstone National Park

Well, we are back from a whirl-wind trip to Yellowstone National Park. It was a beautiful experience! And, I have to say, that except for the falsified video of a bear surprising you by trying to get your lunch out of your car, it was everything I expected it would be.

We drove on mountains, saw tons of wildlife, stayed in a cabin, and watched Old Faithful gush. I am exhausted today, and my goal to do laundry and grocery shop have fallen by the wayside, but at least our family has a new set of memories to behold.

waterfalls from melting snow

Snow in June

 The mountains still had snow! We drove right up the side of many mountains. I was so thankful that I didn't get motion sick. The mountains were a little unnerving to travel through but gloriously beautiful and breathtaking.

Frozen tushies in the snow

 The temperature on the top of the mountain was a cool 47 degrees. The valleys temperatures were in the 60's, though.

 We saw an awesome waterfall, and decided to make a quick stop to see it. It was gushing and gorgeous and sounded wonderful.

The First Waterfall

Blowing Dandelions by the Waterfall

This Big 'Ole Turkey Loved our Van--He Snuggled Right Up to It

 The turkey was outside the park. Once we entered the park, we saw tons of buffalo and then after a little while, we saw a mama bear and her cubs.

Mama Bear and Her Three Black Bear Cubs

 Dave told me before we go back to Yellowstone, that he will get me a zoom lens. Yay!!--Sorry you can't see the bears better.

Can You See the Grizzly? He's in the Middle of the Shot

 Like I said, I need a zoom...

The Lower Falls of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Me and the Girls

Hiking to the bottom of the Falls to Get a Better Look

Family Pic

 Even though we hiked down quite a ways, we were still really high, and there is not a good fence around the edge of the "cliff". I only freaked out twice when I thought the girls were going to topple off the side. (Confession: I'm a little afraid of heights and quite spastic when my children are near them.)

Julia's Freakishly Long Arm

 The girls were exhausted from traveling and going crazy because of sleepy sillies. It was about 9:00 p.m. when I took this picture. (Even though it looks like it was the middle of the day.) We were sitting on these benches while waiting for Old Faithful to erupt. In order to kill some time and keep from driving everyone around us mad, I had the girls take some pics.

Same Picture, Arms Slightly Moved

Old Faithful

 Amazing!

 We got to bed every night at about 11, including the girls. So we are pretty tired, but when you are at Yellowstone, you want to fit in as many animals as possible. So, we got up early to head back home and fit in as many animals and sights as possible. (But we still didn't get back until around midnight.) Besides seeing a turkey up close and personally, we got to see an up-close bull elk, and this huge herd of buffalo. There were tons of calves in the herd, and they were all over the road, weaving in and out of cars. The Rangers were there (they were everywhere the animals were) trying to keep the herd moving so cars could pass and buffaloes wouldn't be injured.

Lots of Calves.

My Baby LOVES "Buff-a-yo"

I Love this Pic

 Saige is looking through the "minoculas" at the hot springs, Lydia is excited about a spotted bird, and I am taking pictures.... Julia was behind me.

Grazing Pronghorn on Our Way Out of the Park

We also saw a woodchuck, a bull snake, antelope, deer, a distant herd of elk being chased by a grizzly, a young beaver, a crane, a cow elk and her baby, a black wolf through our binoculars, a coyote, a red squirrel, a chipmunk and tons birds and loads of beautiful scenery!

The whole reason we went to Yellowstone (besides the fact that it was on our bucket list) was because we were tagging along on a work trip for Dave in Billings, MT. And, while traveling, I re-purpose a lot. One thing I love to re-purpose are the little cups that they give you in the hotel.  I like to hang on to them for distributing snacks or crayons while we are on the open road. I usually bring along chex mix or pretzels, and I dislike passing around a huge bag of food for the girls to help themselves. Putting the snacks in cups helps keep a few crumbs off the floor boards, and a few less disgusting surprises in car seat cubbies. But, just a few.

I'd love to share some more of my traveling re-purposing tips with you over this next week. Please stay tuned! And, please let me know what tips you have for traveling! I love trying new things!

Thanks for reading! Happy Monday! See you soon, Amber