Our very good friend "Auntie" Jen P. had invited us to go along with her for the weekend. A few months back our church had a silent auction where people donated items and then would bid on them. She won a weekend at a cabin in Island Park which is located just outside of the West Entrance to Yellowstone on the Idaho border. Actually to get to the park you go through Idaho and then into Montana for a few minutes before entering Wyoming.
Douglas and I have driven through Yellowstone once on a trip back to South Dakota before we had the kids. But we really didn't spend much time there at all. We basically just drove through. In our other trips back we have usually gone north of the park or south of the park. You can't drive through the park in the winter. Well you can, actually, you just have to be driving a snowmobile.
Yellowstone is GIANT. It's bigger than quite a few states. We didn't even touch on a fraction of the things to do there. We spent one day driving one of the "loops" through the park and were able to see quite a few things in one day.
We went and saw Old Faithful, of course. Because what is a trip to Yellowstone without a visit to Old Faithful. It really was a breathtaking experience. The Lodge at Old Faithful is so neat too. It's a fantastic piece of architecture that has thankfully been preserved. It would be great to stay there sometime.
Yellowstone Lake was huge and a beautiful blue color. It's almost 500 feet deep. That's pretty deep. We saw SO many geysers and steam vents. The bubbling mud volcano and bubbling mud pits were just bizarre. Some of them made really crazy rumbling sounds. It's so crazy how all of these really odd things just happen in the Park. There was a fire in Yellowstone in 1988. There are places were the remnants of these scars are still very visible and they cast a strangely unsettling feeling in these areas. They are beautiful but almost haunting.
I think my favorite part of the park was our visit to Artist's Point in The Canyons. This area is home to Yellowstone falls and the views were just incredible. It really was incredibly picturesque and something every should see.
Our cabin was delightful as well. The kids loved the loft area and we were able cook a really simple but delicious meal of spaghetti while we enjoyed some Boise State Bronco football. I think we thoroughly exhausted the kids and probably Jen as well. It was such a spectacular weekend! Thank you SO much Jen for enduring our chaos!!!
Eating Spaghetti
Our Cabin with the very cute Lodge Dog
Watching some steam fields
At Yellowstone Lake
At the Mud Volcano
Waiting for Old Faithful
Old Faithful
Sam having a toddler tantrum
Artist's Point at Yellowstone Falls
And if you want to feel like you went on this trip with us you can click HERE to see a LOT more pictures!
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