Yellowstone

This photo was taken at the BEGINNING of the long car ride, NOT the end. That would be a picture too scary for this blog!

Mesa Falls

Oh, small towns!

I thought of the movie "2012" while at this place.

This is what desolation looks like! Not a good place for a picnic.

Old Faithful

Jenna loved crossing the logs and boards over and over again! She made me very nervous!

A partial view of Henry Lake.

Virginia City, Montana

Circa 1967

The old American west!

How clean can clothes get in one minute?

My favorite store! Look at that wallpaper on the ceiling!

Couldn't resist the old gas station!

This was mine and the kid's first trip to Yellowstone. Kelly had been before when he was young. We stayed in Island park at a bed and breakfast on Henry's Lake. What a perfect place to view nature, have peace and quiet and enjoy only a 30 minute drive to the attractions of West Yellowstone! We loved paddle boating out on the lake, fishing, and hot tubbing with the sun setting over the lake! Judy made us a hardy breakfast every morning which was really a brunch! We saw many animals and birds: bison (babies too!), antelope, elk, a BEAR, bald eagle (babies too in a nest!), muskrat, hawks. We watched Old Faithful go off, walked the hot, smelly, geyser pots, and saw a few waterfalls. It was supposed to rain all weekend and I was very discouraged. We packed warm clothes, rain gear, winter coats and sweaters. Luckily it didn't rain and we enjoyed very cold but dry weather! On Saturday we went to the fishing derby at a pond in Island Park. It was windy and cold but sunny. We didn't catch a thing but the kids really loved the pond and had a great time! We went to a play at a little playhouse that served dinner too. The play got us all laughing and the food wasn't bad either! We visited the grizzly bear/wolf observatory in West Yellowstone and saw a male and female grizzly in the middle of a playful yet aggressive fight! They got up on their hind legs, a sight to behold! The wolves were cool too. There were some soft little pups with their moms! Our last jaunt was to Virginia City in Montana. It is a little "ghost town" built for gold mining in 1860's and then left when the gold ran out! It was left with many "treasures" from that time. (My dad would LOVE this place!) If you look in the windows you can see the stores and businesses as they were! It is so well preserved and untouched! I loved the grocery store, the tailor, and the cobbler's shop. There was a telegraph building, a blacksmith, a hotel , a Masonic Temple, a toy store! I had so much fun in my little "Somewhere in Time world". They had one shop that wasn't part of the historic buildings that made homemade ice cream that was made in an old ice cream maker! It was incredible! We had huckleberry ice cream 3 times! (Not all at this one store but that one was our favorite!) Good bye rural America! Time to take off the boots and put up my feet! Hello bed!!!!!