Yellowstone 2012

We (Papa, Grammy, Christian, Aniston, and I) piled into the Suburban,

and set out for Yellowstone!

We came upon the wildlife before we even made it to camp(Yes, camp. Like in a tent, in the park, with the wildlife).

We made a quick stop before camp at one of the geyser basins.

Aniston noticed a few hats out by the geysers, and to make sure she was aware of the rules, I used those poor souls as an example. Those hats were all that was left of the people who did not stay on the paths. My point was made, and that's all we heard about the rest of the evening. We did a lot of hiking/"trail walking", and Christian, Papa, and I did some stair climbing(300+ straight down and then 300+ straight back up; SCARY!!)

We experienced only a few minor interruptions from the wildlife.

This big beast was right off one of the paths, and there were a bunch more along the roads. We only had to stop a few times to let them cross. We were able to see Old Faithful go off a few times.

Aniston wasn't a big fan of waiting for it to go off, but she entertained herself by taking a few photos.

We had to hide from the sun for awhile, but not before we went shopping per Aniston's request. Grammy and Papa bought Aniston her very first ball cap, and she looks pretty dang cute sportin' it!

Aniston was excited to explore around our camp site, so Papa took her out with her newly purchased bear "Poly Ester"(Papa is known for his names, and they usually have something to do with what's written on the tag or stamped on the belly)

My favorites were the pools and Yellowstone Lake. Aniston was not interested after the first pool and view of the lake, but she hung in there and smiled towards the end.

Yellowstone was beautiful!

I was so thankful that we made it out of there with no wildlife run-ins. I did however think we were not so lucky, when one night Aniston woke up and needed to use the toilet. As I unzipped the tent I was sure I heard a bear, but it ended up being one of our neighbors. We had a few storms, but that's typical for camping trips this year. The last night we ate at one of the lodges thanks to a lighting/hail storm. I'm just glad no bears decided to have us for a snack!