Day 10 - Friday, ended up being a recovery day for us. We slept in until almost 10:30, well, the kids and Tony did. I was up about 8. Once we decided not to head to Yellowstone we just took our time getting up and going. We have been on the go for so long now that is was nice to just putz around. I was able to clean the camper and the girls were able to sleep as well as Tony. Let's just say that the 4 of us and 2 dogs living in 200 square feet can get quite, um, cozy. That's not true, it is cramped! When traveling for more than 3 weeks it can get rather claustrophobic! Everything must be put up when done and when you have a 10 & 11 year old, that chore NEVER happens! NEVER!
Moving on, we decided to go to a place called Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center. A sanctuary for grizzlies and wolves who cannot live in the wild. It has some interesting points, but not what we were expecting. Everyone has their opinions about things, but most of them about things to do here have differed quite a bit. I think it may have boiled down to timing of course, but for the money, it was just not worth it!
Day 11 - Saturday we went back to Yellowstone to finish the south and southeast part of the park. In other words, see Old Faithful! We arrived very early since it is Saturday and we had no idea what to expect as far as crowds go. We were able to get a front row seat. Yes, we had to wait for almost an hour to see her go, but the temps are great here today and the seating was quite comfortable. She teased us for about 10 minutes then bam! It was spectacular! It brought me to tears I must admit (can you tell I'm lacking sleep lately with all my waterworks?) But think about it. You hear about it, you learn about it in school, you see pictures of it in books and papers and magazines, then to witness it first had makes it almost like a dream come true! What I also like it we are giving our kids an advance on their education. When they go to school and learn about Mt. Rushmore, or Yellowstone and Old Faithful, they can know that they have been there to experience it. Nothing like that can be taught from a book in a class room!
As the crowd dispersed we decided we were hungry, then we also wanted to shop! A picnic lunch in the woods was had by all along with a sign on every table say bears are attracted to food so be careful! Lovely! We also had to take the pups for a walk so we did that. After some shopping, there were some other stops, but by this time both girls were done and to be honest, after Old Faithful, what else is there to see? We saw all the animals on Thursday except a wolf and elk. We stopped at a gas station and got some treats and then headed back to the camper.
On our way back we passed several heards of buffalo as well as a few single ones traveling the road. It was quite a sight. Tillie, our small 36 pound pup was all gung ho on kicking some buffalo butt until one passed us on the road. All of a sudden she started shaking and climbed into my lap into the front and tried to hide under our jackets on the floor! That big bad buffalo scared her something awful! Poor thing! It was quite funny!
The bad thing about Yellowstone is that even though it was only 28 miles until we were out of the park it took us 2 hours to get there with all the people stopping to look and the curvy roads and of course the odd buffalo deciding to go for a Saturday stroll to get away from the wife and kids enjoy the fresh air. And my neck hurts from looking out my window for 2 day, 8 hours straight, straining to see that grizzly or black bear or wolf. I'm going to have to see my chiropractor every day for the next 3 weeks just to readjust!
We are back at the campground now hanging out at the office waiting for our laundry and enjoying the access to the internet. It is a gorgeous evening with temps about 75 and low humidity! We are researching the Grand Tetons to see if that is where we want to head on Sunday. It's a 2 hour drive from our campsite. We are also finding out that it is going to fall below freezing in Glacier. That wouldn't be a problem except we can't have water in the camper when it gets below freezing. We are looking at dry camping for 5 days! If we were tent camping this wouldn't be concern except sleeping in the cold, but that is why I have a camper. So I don't have to walk to the bathroom in the middle of the night! Looks like I'm going to have to do that. Oh well! I can't complain! We will be seeing some beautiful country! I can't wait! Don't worry if we don't come back!
So for now, we will enjoy water and a toilet IN our camper as well as comfortable nights and of course the 2 pounds of fudge we bought at the KOA camp store!
Jealous?
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