At the start of June, we embarked on a much anticipated 2 week road trip that promised to be full of adventure. Our final destination was Yellowstone National Park. A place I had not visited for almost 30 years, and somewhere Muffin and the kids had never seen before...
Our first stop was Moab, and of course we dropped our stuff off at the motel and headed out to Arches National Park to catch Delicate Arch during the sunset.
If you look closely, you will see Dallin, standing at the base of the arch...just to give a size perspective. Of course all the megalithic stone arches and rock formations are so massive in Moab, that pictures can't convey the true size and vertigo inducing awe as your eyes try to take in what you are seeing!
We found that putting 3 kids in a queen bed was a quick and convenient sleeping arrangement. I'm not sure they will agree to this arrangement for many more years...
When in Moab...Mountain Bike. So after moments of deliberation, it was obvious we couldn't take the trailers on slickrock, or serious single track, but we managed to find some moderate jeep trails that worked just fine.
Muffin contemplating our wisdom in taking the route we have chosen, with splendid mountain views in the background.
Muffin loves these kissing shots. I try to minimize them whenever possible.
To keep the kids interested, we headed out to some dinosaur tracks! Cool stuff!
Dallin just survived the ordeal. It started getting hot, the trail was tougher than anticipated, and a nasty headwind toward the end almost made the adventure a nightmare, but fortunately, our memories seem to glaze over the bad, and focus on the good.
This might seem bizarre to some, but in Muffin and my honest opinion, Carrabbas is the best Italian restaurant in the world. It is with much dismay that Carrabbas closed their doors in Albuquerque, but fortunately, this was one stop planned on our trip as we made our way north to Provo.
We rode bikes up the Provo river trail, stopping here at Bridal Veil Falls for a quick photo.
The day was crisp and at times downright chilly, but clear and beautiful nonetheless...
After our ride, we drove over to the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point. It was pretty cool, and the kids had a blast.
Plenty of "hands-on" exhibits too.
The following day we made our pilgrimage to Temple Square. I don't know if the kids will remember being here, but I always enjoy visiting the church sites in Salt Lake City.
We also visited the Beehive House, and took this family photo. Too bad Sam is hiding behind the banister...otherwise it might have actually been a good shot.
From Salt Lake, we headed up to the Park City area to stay with some good family friends -- the Charles family. Unfortunately, we seem to have forgotten we had a camera for the day and a half we stayed at their beautiful home. While there, Muffin and I also got away for an epic mountain bike ride while they watched the kids! Fantastic!
Alas...we finally made it to Yellowstone, about 1 week into our trip. You know, I take some pride in preparing for the elements, but I have to admit that the conditions took me somewhat by surprise. We even considered turning back...I'm glad we didn't.
The reason for concern was the prolonged winter weather, heavy snow pack, and heavy rain they were experiencing. Word to the wise: if you are thinking about a trip to Yellowstone and want to stay in the park, make your reservations at least 6 months in advance -- earlier if you can. About 3 months before the trip, the best we could do was secure camp sites. Camping in Yellowstone sounds amazing on paper. The reality of camping in cold, wet conditions with 3 kids and a wife who doesn't like sleeping in a tent -- well that's another story altogether. Fortunately for the most part, we stayed warm and dry, and managed to sleep well enough through the night. A happy ending afterall!
Kids universally love camping. We didn't own a tent large enough for all 5 of us, so we borrowed one from my team teacher in Sunbeams. For whatever reason, the twins don't call him "Brother" Rivard. In the twins mind, we were borrowing Uncle Rivard's Cave to sleep in.
We also coordinated our vacation with Steve and Laura (and family) who came out from the Seattle area to meet us. Great times. Seen above it Peter with his feeding trough.
If nothing else can be said, and maybe nothing else should be said, there is a wild, ruggedness to the Yellowstone wilderness. It's just so raw and untamed. Truly amazing!
Grand Prismatic Spring
We took a small hike off the beaten path to Misty Falls, again -- prepared for rapidly changing weather conditions.
Elena and Dallin
Old Faithful
Mammoth Hot Springs
There's something to be said for getting away from toys and electronic devices. None of us missed them, and the kids had no problem improvising games, or finding a good stick to hit each other with, or a rock to throw.
Lower Yellowstone River Falls in the "Grand Canyon of Yellowstone".
This little hot spring feature was one of our favorites -- "The Dragon's Mouth" would regularly spew out columns of steam and waves from an echoing cavern.
Well...all good things have to come to an end. Some other highlights were seeing a mother grizzly bears with cubs on 2 separate occasions, and finding our second campsite under 3 feet of snow! Needless to say we had to scramble to make other sleeping arrangements for the next 2 nights since there's no reason that campground should have been listed as "open". Shame on the national park service -- we let them know our displeasure too, and boycotted their lack of professionalism by setting up our camp stove and eating dinner right under the park services porch. Frito Pie never tasted so good!
Our return leg of our trip saw us going through Jackson, Wyoming, past the Grand Tetons (we'll have to return there for another trip), and on to Provo for another night. The next morning we hiked the "Y". I can't believe how well the twins did. Hiked the whole thing with little complaint. Funny, you can walk a block down the street and have one of them roll around on the sidewalk, complaining about being too tired to go on, then have them be super troopers the next day on a rigorous hike. Someone explain that to me...
Grand Tetons
Well...that pretty much concluded our epic trip. It will be hard to beat this one...it took some planning, but was loaded with fun memories, majestic views, good food, and moments together. What else can be said?
At the start of June, we embarked on a much anticipated 2 week road trip that promised to be full of adventure. Our final destination was Yellowstone National Park. A place I had not visited for almost 30 years, and somewhere Muffin and the kids had never seen before...
Our first stop was Moab, and of course we dropped our stuff off at the motel and headed out to Arches National Park to catch Delicate Arch during the sunset. 
If you look closely, you will see Dallin, standing at the base of the arch...just to give a size perspective. Of course all the megalithic stone arches and rock formations are so massive in Moab, that pictures can't convey the true size and vertigo inducing awe as your eyes try to take in what you are seeing!
We found that putting 3 kids in a queen bed was a quick and convenient sleeping arrangement. I'm not sure they will agree to this arrangement for many more years...
When in Moab...Mountain Bike. So after moments of deliberation, it was obvious we couldn't take the trailers on slickrock, or serious single track, but we managed to find some moderate jeep trails that worked just fine.
Muffin contemplating our wisdom in taking the route we have chosen, with splendid mountain views in the background.
Muffin loves these kissing shots. I try to minimize them whenever possible.
To keep the kids interested, we headed out to some dinosaur tracks! Cool stuff!
Dallin just survived the ordeal. It started getting hot, the trail was tougher than anticipated, and a nasty headwind toward the end almost made the adventure a nightmare, but fortunately, our memories seem to glaze over the bad, and focus on the good.
This might seem bizarre to some, but in Muffin and my honest opinion, Carrabbas is the best Italian restaurant in the world. It is with much dismay that Carrabbas closed their doors in Albuquerque, but fortunately, this was one stop planned on our trip as we made our way north to Provo.
We rode bikes up the Provo river trail, stopping here at Bridal Veil Falls for a quick photo.
The day was crisp and at times downright chilly, but clear and beautiful nonetheless...
After our ride, we drove over to the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point. It was pretty cool, and the kids had a blast.
Plenty of "hands-on" exhibits too.
The following day we made our pilgrimage to Temple Square. I don't know if the kids will remember being here, but I always enjoy visiting the church sites in Salt Lake City.
We also visited the Beehive House, and took this family photo. Too bad Sam is hiding behind the banister...otherwise it might have actually been a good shot.
From Salt Lake, we headed up to the Park City area to stay with some good family friends -- the Charles family. Unfortunately, we seem to have forgotten we had a camera for the day and a half we stayed at their beautiful home. While there, Muffin and I also got away for an epic mountain bike ride while they watched the kids! Fantastic!
Alas...we finally made it to Yellowstone, about 1 week into our trip. You know, I take some pride in preparing for the elements, but I have to admit that the conditions took me somewhat by surprise. We even considered turning back...I'm glad we didn't.
The reason for concern was the prolonged winter weather, heavy snow pack, and heavy rain they were experiencing. Word to the wise: if you are thinking about a trip to Yellowstone and want to stay in the park, make your reservations at least 6 months in advance -- earlier if you can. About 3 months before the trip, the best we could do was secure camp sites. Camping in Yellowstone sounds amazing on paper. The reality of camping in cold, wet conditions with 3 kids and a wife who doesn't like sleeping in a tent -- well that's another story altogether. Fortunately for the most part, we stayed warm and dry, and managed to sleep well enough through the night. A happy ending afterall!
Kids universally love camping. We didn't own a tent large enough for all 5 of us, so we borrowed one from my team teacher in Sunbeams. For whatever reason, the twins don't call him "Brother" Rivard. In the twins mind, we were borrowing Uncle Rivard's Cave to sleep in.
We also coordinated our vacation with Steve and Laura (and family) who came out from the Seattle area to meet us. Great times. Seen above it Peter with his feeding trough.
If nothing else can be said, and maybe nothing else should be said, there is a wild, ruggedness to the Yellowstone wilderness. It's just so raw and untamed. Truly amazing!
Grand Prismatic Spring
We took a small hike off the beaten path to Misty Falls, again -- prepared for rapidly changing weather conditions.
Elena and Dallin
Old Faithful
Mammoth Hot Springs
There's something to be said for getting away from toys and electronic devices. None of us missed them, and the kids had no problem improvising games, or finding a good stick to hit each other with, or a rock to throw.
Lower Yellowstone River Falls in the "Grand Canyon of Yellowstone".
This little hot spring feature was one of our favorites -- "The Dragon's Mouth" would regularly spew out columns of steam and waves from an echoing cavern.
Well...all good things have to come to an end. Some other highlights were seeing a mother grizzly bears with cubs on 2 separate occasions, and finding our second campsite under 3 feet of snow! Needless to say we had to scramble to make other sleeping arrangements for the next 2 nights since there's no reason that campground should have been listed as "open". Shame on the national park service -- we let them know our displeasure too, and boycotted their lack of professionalism by setting up our camp stove and eating dinner right under the park services porch. Frito Pie never tasted so good!
Our return leg of our trip saw us going through Jackson, Wyoming, past the Grand Tetons (we'll have to return there for another trip), and on to Provo for another night. The next morning we hiked the "Y". I can't believe how well the twins did. Hiked the whole thing with little complaint. Funny, you can walk a block down the street and have one of them roll around on the sidewalk, complaining about being too tired to go on, then have them be super troopers the next day on a rigorous hike. Someone explain that to me...
Grand Tetons
Well...that pretty much concluded our epic trip. It will be hard to beat this one...it took some planning, but was loaded with fun memories, majestic views, good food, and moments together. What else can be said?
1 comment:
Love all your great pictures and memories. Glad you had such an awesome time!
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