Cody Rodeo!

Last Thursday We headed out of Yellowstone to Cody, WY.  It was a very relaxing day of playing at the park, drinking Starbucks and hitting the supermarket.  That evening we headed over to the Cody Nite Rodeo.  This is an actual rodeo, with actual cowboys and cowgirls, complete with bull riding, roping cows and horses galore!  This was something that I found in a Kids Road Atlas that mentioned cool places to stop in each state, and this was one of them.  While a little kitchy, we had a great time and had a good time cheering on the riders!

Frankie deciding whether to get on or not

Still Thinking!

Yes!

Our Rodeo Clown

Our final day in Yellowstone

Greetings Blog Readers!

Last week (on Wednesday) we had our final day of touring in Yellowstone.  This morning was a very special day as Frankie became an official Junior Ranger of Yellowstone!  She had to attend one ranger led program, complete a hike and then do 8 pages in her Ranger Manual!  We are so proud of her!  On our drive today, we headed North, out and out of the park to see the North entrance, The Roosevelt Arch and Mammoth Hot Springs.  Here are just a few pics of our day and a few tidbits to go along with it!  Enjoy the pics!

Our Junior Ranger!

Frankie receiving her official patch!

The Family at Mammoth Hot Springs

Baby Elk

A Baby Bear playing, with Mom close by, I am sure!

Coyote just hanging on the road!

Roosevelt Arch

The New Junior Ranger ready to take charge!

Old Faithful and West Yellowstone

Hello there!

Today was our second day, hitting the road, with a full day planned in the amazing Yellowstone!  Todays theme was Geysers and Basins.  Of course this means our first stop was of course, Old Faithful.  This Geyser got its name when the first group of scientists came to the park to collect samples and information in their respective fields to take back to Washington.  Old Faithful erupted with such regularity and predictability, that it was named Old Faithful.  So the scientists took their samples and successfully and convinced congress to set aside the land as the first national park in the US!  Old Faithful now erupts every 90 minutes or so, give or take 10 min.  It was a pretty incredible site to see in person!  Here are a few pics from the eruption!

After leaving Old Faithful, we headed West.  We took two drives off the path and had an awesome chance to see another geyser eruption, Biscuit Basin Geyser, and some very cool basins!

We then headed out of the park to West Yellowstone and took a quick trip to Idaho, so check off another state in our quest to 50 States.  On the way back, we visited West Yellowstone, then headed back into the park to see Upper Geyser Basin and the Grand Prismatic Spring.  We also stopped to see Fountain Paint Pot. 

While we saw just a few things, they were some of the coolest things we have seen!  Tonight we headed over to the visitor center for a ranger led talk on the Ghosts of Yellowstone:  The hotels and building that have come and gone in the park!  It was a great talk, and one that Frankie enjoyed too! The ranger signed off on her Junior ranger requirement and tomorrow she can be sworn in as a junior ranger!


Tomorrow we will be heading North, to the original gateway into Yellowstone!

Our first day touring Yellowstone

A very good day to you our awesome blog reader!

Today was our first day our and about in Yellowstone National Park.  Todays theme was Canyons and the Yellowstone Lake.  Yellowstone is a literal supervolcano, the largest in north America.  There is an incredible amount of geothermal activity in the way of geysers, hot basins filled with single cell organisms, mud volcanos, and geothermal vents sending hot, stinky steam into the air!  It is a nearly perfect, intact ecosystem and was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site (Thank you Wikipedia!).

So with that being said, there is a lot to see along the way, in between the vast miles between major attractions of the park.  Today we left Fishing Bridge and headed to the visitors center to get Frankie a Junior Ranger Book  For those who do not know, the junior ranger program is available at all national parks and sites, usually for free.  The child completes the requirements and is sworn in as a junior ranger of that park, and given a badge or patch.  Frankie was excited about the challenge!

After that we headed up the Grand Loop toward Canyon Village to see the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  The pictures here cannot give you the full picture, but it was an amazing site!  It was one of the first areas photographed within the park in the late 1800s and still captures the minds of all who visit!!

After a quick stop at Canyon Village, we headed back south to see the Mud Volcano.  This is a big geothermal area with air coming up and heating the dirt to mud, and making it literally boil!

Along this drive was also a chance to see more wildlife and amazing natural beauty!


Finally we ended down at LeHardy Rapids where Frankie went to complete her hike for her Ranger Program.  We walked a mile, round trip, to see some amazing rapids!  We were on the lookout for trout, but were unable to find any.  The rivers out here are running very fast and high due to the rain and snowmelt!  (And yes there was still snow in the park in some areas!  It can literally snow year round at the higher altitudes of the park!)

After the hike we returned back our "Home base"  looking forward to our next day's adventure!


PS: Yesterday we drive down to the Fishing Bridge and walked along the back of the lake, looking for fish, but we were not successful:-(  We did enjoy the views though!