Yellowstone Park

Today was our first venture into Yellowstone Park. We left early in the morning and ate breakfast while I drove because reportedly the wildlife are more active in the morning and by golly did we want to see as many animals as possible!

And we did. Our first stop for a hike was a close encounter with several bison. As we headed down the path, we could see one large bull sitting right next to the trail several yards in front of us. He looked sedate and was busy chewing his cud, so I told the kids we might be able to quietly get past him if we walked on the grass on the opposite side of the trail from him.

As we edged our way past him near a thick stand of trees, we suddenly found ourselves next to another large bison sitting right in front of us, less than ten feet away. (We did not try to take a picture of that particular bull....we were too close for comfort and needed to get away quickly.) Sarah was ecstatic; Matthew was mortified. The bison was surprised to see us emerge from the trees and was acting agitated, so we made a quiet departure and decided to try this trail again another day.

Our next stop was Old Faithful. There is a really fun program called the Young Scientist, in addition to the Junior Ranger program. We were given a book of science-oriented worksheets and experiments, plus a backpack of investigative tools to use. Then we were off on a hike to investigate geyers and hot pools.

By far their favorite tool from the backpack was an infrared thermometer, which they used nonstop. Did you know that hot pools have several different layers of temperature zones, with different bacteria in each layer? So cool.

It was great fun to use the visual aids from the backpack during our hike. We'd stop at intervals along the path and I'd do a mini lecture about a topic we were seeing, such as rock formations around hot pools, or silica levels on grass and the effect it has on herbivore's teeth, or bacteria colony formations in the pools. It's so fun to be learning when the topic is right in front of us.

The workbook took three hours to complete and included such wonderful information about each geothermal feature we encountered. When we reported back at the Ranger Station, they were able to share their findings with a Ranger and collect a cool patch for finishing the program.

We did schoolwork on the benches next to Old Faithful while we waited for it to erupt. Such a cool classroom setting!

We loved visiting the West Thumb area and admired the Abyss Pool next to the lake. It's the most scenic hike for seeing hot pools, since it as right on the lake and gorgeous mountains are the backdrop. So gorgeous.

At this stop, a large group of Chinese tourists wanted to take pictures of Joseph while he balanced on a piece of wood. They surrounded him and took several pictures, and he loved it. Now he thinks all Chinese tourists want to photograph him, so he waves and says hello to every tourist he sees. Its pretty cute, but very much impedes our hiking speed. Ah well.

At this location an elk crossed the path less then five feet away from us, but of course my camera battery died right when I tried to snap the picture. Drat!

We learned about the Yellowstone Fire of 1988 and the important role fires play in forest health. We also learned about the stages of forest regeneration.

Sarah and Matthew also spotted a grizzly today, but he retreated into the trees before I could see it (I had to pull over the car, and there was a crowd of tourists already blocking the road while they watched the bear, so navigation was tricky).

We were in the park from 7 am until 5 pm, and have only just scratched the surface. We are so excited to have several more days here!