We had a plan for trying to see the most important things that we wanted to see within 2 shorter days at the park. We packed a lunch each day and wanted to get back by late afternoon- so that the kids wouldn't be too sick of the car and so that we would be home in time for swimming and dinner. Day 1's itinerary was to get to Mammoth and then over to Tower Falls. Since the road down to Canyon was closed, we had to drive the same roads back to West Yellowstone.
Thursday, Oct. 14: It was a gorgeous day and we were so excited to finally be in the park.
When we came across our first small group of buffalo, we were so excited. We got out of the car and stayed for a while. (By later in the day, we didn't get out of the car and barely slowed down if we saw buffalo :)
There was also an elk napping in the trees.
Another lone buffalo...
We found the perfect picnic spot and bathroom break in Historic Mammoth. The weather was so perfect, we didn't realize we were getting sunburned! At the Ranger Station, we picked up the Junior Ranger packets for Kimee, Blake and Derek. Then we headed over to walk around the Hot Springs. They were so awesome!
We hiked quite a bit and walked up a lot of stairs. Thankfully we had lots of extra hands to help with the little ones.
Kimee took these photos at Mammoth Hot Springs...
On our way out of Mammoth, we saw a big group of elk just hanging out on the lawn.
After Mammoth, we headed up to Tower Falls.
Tower Falls ended up not being that great because we didn't have time to take the hike down to the falls.
Everyone was getting tired and we had a long trip back, with no new stops. Luckily, when we were at Tower Falls, some people told us that just a little ways back up the road there was a bear cub. That made the trip up to Tower completely worth it. After one day in the park, we were satisfied with everything we had seen. AND we still had tomorrow to see more!
A distant view of Mammoth Hot Springs from the East.
When we got back to the condo, the kids were excited to go swimming!
Then we had a yummy dinner and dessert at the Smith's condo. What a full day!
Just a couple of pictures from hanging out at the condo...
How many kids can fit on the end of the bed? Wow!
These kids had so much fun playing together.
No comments:
Post a Comment