Before heading out for our last full day in Yellowstone, we showered and did laundry. While waiting for the clothes to dry, the kids worked on their Jr. Ranger badges by finishing their books and attending a Ranger presentation about elk.
Ranger: [to Karl] Where did you learn so much about elk?
Karl: From my dad.
Ranger: [to Gerry] When you are ready to quit your day job, you should become a ranger here at Yellowstone.
Gerry: Will do.
At each park we’ve visited so far, the requirements for this badge has varied in both activities and strict adherence to the rules. While each book addressed the critters in the park, the Grand Canyon also concentrated on the geology, Dinosaur was more about the fossils, and Grand Tetons wanted the kids to learn about the glaciers that formed the valley. (This proved confusing for Karl who referred to all the geysers in Yellowstone as ‘glaciers’ for the first day we were here.) They all required you ask a ranger about his/her job. The Yellowstone book, though, was enormous. In retrospect I guess this is because this park encompasses all of the above. The rangers also took the requirements for earning the badge extremely seriously, whereas at Grand Canyon they were more about having some fun. When giving out the books, Ranger Julie had a serious talk with Karl and Lindsay about exactly what they were supposed to accomplish. Frankly, I’m a bit concerned that they will not earn a badge here at Yellowstone.
Confident that we wouldn’t clear any boardwalks or venues with our BO, we headed north from our campground at about noon toward the canyon area. The west side of Yellowstone is like a completely different park. It was here that we saw the majority of wildlife (elk, bison, raptors) and scenic beauty.
Billy: Excuse me, what’s your problem?
Ranger at Lower Falls: [blank stare]
Gerry: No, Billy, it’s “What’s your job?”
Billy: Oh. What's your job?
Billy: Oh. What's your job?
Ranger at Lower Falls: [visibly relieved] My job is to protect the park and its resources….
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| Lower Falls - Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone |
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| Awwww. |
From Canyon Junction, we continued north to the Tower-Roosevelt area where we signed up for an Old West Cookout. Loaded into church wagons, we were driven by draft horses a few miles into the wilderness where we were entertained with music and fed a steak dinner. Lindsay loved the horses, Karl enjoyed sitting by the campfire while chatting up the wranglers, Billy was generally non-plussed since most of the food was covered in butter, and Gerry ate his own plate of food plus all the kids’ leftover steak. I took 166 photos, most of which did not turn out due to the bumpy ride. All had a good time and we decided that wrangling in Yellowstone would be the perfect job for Gerry’s dad.
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| Church Wagons |
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| I'm getting pretty good at the self portrait, despite my short arms |
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| Bison blocking the road |
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| Pronghorn Antelope |
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| Nice View |
Arriving back at the corral at 8:30 pm, we tossed bedtime to the wind and instead of heading back to camp, we drove through the Lamar Valley with the hope of seeing wolf or grizzly at dusk. That didn’t happen, but we did have one of those classic Yellowstone moments where we had to stop the car for a bison to cross the road.
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| Bison with sage brush camouflage |
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| Honk Honk! Outta the way! |
There is entirely too much to see at Yellowstone in 2.5 days. Exhausted, we are already mentally planning a return trip.
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