Day 12: Yellowstone, swimming and a cookout

Arise and Shine!!

Today dawned bright and sunny. We quickly changed, enjoyed the fact that we didn’t have to break camp, and were on our way. We stopped at Canyon Lodge again and had breakfast (again, the best way to camp!), did some shopping and got ice, then we were on our way!

We first drove just a couple of minutes south to Lower Falls trail. This is the trail that takes you to the lower falls of the Yellowstone River as it dumps into the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. On this trail you can also see the upper falls in the distance. Bonus! It was a 600 ft. descent down, and, of course, you then had to come back up. After many photos, and many breaks on the way back up, we were on our way to the north end of the park.

We drove along stopping occasionally to take pictures and marvel at the beauty that is Yellowstone. If you’ve never been, you’re really missing something. They call it America’s Serengeti for all the different wildlife and majestic beauty the park has to offer. We passed a lot of trails to hike, but on a two day trip (one day of which was cut short), you really do need to pick and choose just a few highlights. We must come back again someday and do more.

We made our way past Roosevelt Corral where we would be back for our cowboy cookout later in the day, and headed for Mammoth Springs. On our drive, the skies got really dark and it rained so hard it hailed. I was hoping it would be over by cookout time, but that was at least four hours away, so I was sure it’d be fine. They say there are cloudbursts all the time, and then it clears, so I had hope.

We made it to Mammoth Springs and walked around a bit. Sometimes the springs are really flowing, and sometimes they aren’t. Unfortunately, this time they really weren’t. There were a few springs flowing, but the ones that give it it’s “mammoth” name were not. So we took a few pictures and were on our way.

We headed a little further north to an area called “Boiling River.” It is a hot spring that runs like a creek into the Galien River. Right at the point where the hot springs meet the cold river, people enjoy swimming. After a quick bite, we put on our bathing suits and gave it a try! It’s really wild. The hot springs are so hot, and the river water is so cold, that you feel both temperatures swirling around you as you dip yourself in. The kids loved it. The bottom of the river was very rocky, and so it was hard to stand, but it was a great experience! Steve opted out of swimming, but he took photos so we could remember this experience for a long time.

After an interesting few minutes dressing discreetly back at the car, we were on our way to the Roosevelt Corral. As we were checking in, the clouds were getting thicker again, and big drops were starting to fall. I had booked Steve, Andy and Emily in for the horseback/cookout, and Pete and I for the wagon ride/cookout. Unfortunately, she said that the horseback rides had been cancelled due to the muddy conditions, so we all ended up taking the wagon ride. I know the kids and Steve were disappointed, but I’ll just have to find another opportunity sometime to get them all on a horse! I think it was for the best because after we were all on the wagons, the skies really opened up and it POURED. Even though the wagons were covered, we still got a bit wet.

The wagon ride goes through some beautiful valleys (which is hard to appreciate when the side flaps are down and you can’t actually see out). We sat in the back and listened our cowboy ‘host’ share some fun stories and history of Yellowstone while trying to avoid the rain coming in. As we got to the site where we would be having dinner, the rain let up which enabled us to get a few photos with the horses.

The dinner consisted of steak, cornbread, cole slaw, potato salad, beans, corn and an apple cobbler. It was really quite good! I also tried the cowboy coffee. That’ll cure what ail’s you! Not sure how well I’m going to sleep tonight.

A cowboy cooking "cowboy coffee"

There was a retired rancher from Texas who played his guitar and sang, which was nice, except that he was out near the fire, and we were all under the shelter because it had begun to rain again. I sure wish the weather had let up for the evening. Oh well, I can’t control everything!


After dinner, the rain had let up for good, and we were able to put the side flaps up on the wagon for the ride back to the corral. The valley really was pretty. We got to sit near the front, and they put Peter in the front seat, and even had him “drive” the horses for a few moments! He was in heaven. What a cutie.

Back at the corral, we thanked everyone for their hospitality and headed back for the tent. Once back at the campsite, we saw that while it had rained, everything in the tent seemed to be dry. We had also put up the dining canopy over the picnic table, so the table was dry as well. Of course, the top of the tent and the dining canopy were wet, but we’ll deal with that in the morning.

Steve took a shower, and then we all sat at the table and played a round of Yahtzee before heading into the tent. Once in the tent, I got Pete settled and then we played a few rounds of hearts. Sure it’s late, and we’ll probably be starting late tomorrow with all we have to do (especially with that wet tent), but today was a lot of fun and that’s all that matters!

A perfect end to a sunny & wet day...