Dustin had a birthday. He turned 43! On a whim, we decided to leave on his birthday and head to Yellowstone for Fall Break. It was a last minute decision because we were supposed to be leaving to spend the long weekend with my parents when I got a call that Maren had been exposed to Corona and had to quarantine. The irony of it all is that after 7 days, she could be tested and then able to return to school/life and we found out on day 8 after her exposure. We were confident she didn't have it, but by the time we would have gotten a test back, the weekend would have been over. So, we decided to head north to seclusion in Wyoming rather than take that 10% risk of exposing my parents. And, in the end, I have been wanting to go to Yellowstone for a long time, and it was such a fun weekend with our family!
Happy Birthday Dustin! His mummy cake had gummy worms inside of it, in case you were worried that he didn't get anything gummy on his cake (like he was).
We made a few stops along the way. We didn't actually go in the museum, just took a picture in front of the big potato.
And a picture in front of this gem.
We stopped in Idaho Falls to see the temple and the falls. And to pose in front of more statues.
We stopped to take a picture of the Rexburg temple. Beautiful!
And we finally made it to our motel that night! It was very...cozy. I thought it would be a little bigger than it was, but we squeezed us all in and we were warm!
We hit a traffic jam right after entering Yellowstone the next morning, and soon discovered what the hold up was.
It was so incredibly cold! Our first taste of winter! But, it was still beautiful. The cold made it even steamier than it would have been normally, but the steam was warm, so we didn't mind. And when the arctic breeze blew, it would clear away the steam and we could take a picture.
Old Faithful. Our kids were the least impressed with this out of everything. And, it was the most crowded. I eavesdropped on someone's conversation while we waited for Old Faithful to blow, and she said she had been there in September and it was much more busy then! So, I guess we picked the right time to be at Yellowstone.
After Old Faithful and waiting in serious lines to use the bathroom, we warmed up in the car and then took a walk to see more geysers and hot pots. We had to trek for a couple of miles, but it was worth it to find Dustin's favorite hot pot, Morning Glory. And, it was beautiful.
Morning Glory in all her glory.
The next day was warmer and less crowded (there was supposed to be a snowstorm, but it never happened, and that may have scared away some of the tourists. But not us!) We started off by taking a detour to Mesa Falls. There was an upper and a lower viewpoint. Both views looked beautiful.
I think I have failed to mention that we brought Pepper with us. She was banished to the car in most places in Yellowstone, but she could get out at Mesa Falls. Even though it was freezing outside, the sun is still in the right spot to warm our car and make it nice and toasty, so she was always very comfortable while she waited for us.
Paint Pots. I loved these. The colors of the pots and the colors of the sky attempting to storm were beautiful!
Mammoth Hot Springs. I loved this spot! It was probably one of my favorites. I felt like it was a different planet! So beautiful! Isn't Heavenly Father amazing! The Perfect Artist.
Here is a docile elk. The night before we were on a short hike by Yellowstone lake and there were all sorts of elk around us as we walked on the board walk. At one point, we must have gotten too close to a mama and her baby, (they were in a grove of trees and we didn't see her until it was too late) because the mama elk started making weird sounds and faces (elk have weird faces anyway) and coming towards us in a "I might head butt you" sort of way. That was a little creepy. We got out of there fast. But this bull elk we observed from our car.
And then we came home and returned to beautiful Fall weather for a little longer.
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