WLM | adventure
The goal of the day was to make Old Faithful in the
late afternoon, and that became a bit of a worry as the
paint pots provided fantastic photo opps with the rain
and clouds. Levi indulged his photography bug while
we marveled at the colorful water and journeyed the
labyrinth of walkways. I found a delightful pocket of
steam that obscured the view but warmed up my
legs nicely.
The turbulent and noisy water of Dragon’s Mouth
Spring was a delight to our kids, and the rain only
hampered our fun slightly as it made getting into and
out of the car a little more challenging when juggling
dripping umbrellas. We brought tennis shoes and flip
flops, and we all debated whether wet feet in shoes
or cold feet that dried out faster in flip flops were
preferable. My family was smart and packed pants; I
forgot my own advice, so I shivered in shorts. The kids
were quick to point out how they had listened to me –
but I didn’t listen to me. Ha ha. Yes, I’m happy you were
smart. We made it to the Upper Falls of the Yellowstone
River as the sun came out again. Levi had a ball taking
pictures and rubbing elbows with the other giant
cameras around him.
Lunchtime proved a challenge. We packed snacks
for the day and planned to grab lunch at one of the
restaurants I saw on the map. One after another, they
were packed. We understood waiting was not a bad
option, but with one day to explore, we didn’t want to
spend one hour waiting for a table. We found a fantastic
improvisation: we hit the Canyon Village General
Store and spent $17 for lunch for a family of four! We
grabbed a unique package of sliced salami, cheeses and
crackers, bananas, chips and drinks and were back
on our way. We picnicked in the car through the rain
to our next location, Tower Junction. Levi and our
daughter explored the area as I stayed behind with our
son who had fallen asleep.
We made it to Old Faithful by early evening, grabbed
a snack at the general store and checked out the visitor
center. We had thirty minutes until the next viewing.
Easy enough. Levi staked out a good spot for pictures
while the kids and I explored. Ten minutes to go, the
rain settled in again and Levi’s chosen spot had now
only room for one more – so our son, himself a budding
photographer, joined his dad. The rain picked up and
Old Faithful’s time came and went … nothing. Five
minutes past turned to ten minutes past, and Levi
turned to give me a look that said this had better happen
soon. Fifteen minutes, tick tick tick … I was beginning
to think perhaps Old Faithful was calling it on account
of rain when you could hear a low rumble … Cameras
snapped up. WHOOSH!!! Just as amazing as we had
hoped for. I enjoyed it, but I was glad when it was done
because that meant two things: food and warmth.
We grabbed burgers at the visitor center and headed
towards Jackson. We decided to stay the night in
Alpine at Flying Saddle Resort, a quaint, clean and
picturesque hotel a short drive from Jackson in the
beautiful Star Valley. The kids were out like a light
shortly before we left Yellowstone, and we nudged them
into the hotel when we arrived around 10 pm. I thawed
in the shower and found Levi sound asleep too by the
time I emerged. We had a hearty breakfast the next
morning at Yankee Doodle’s Café before journeying
home through the beautiful Star Valley and southern
Wyoming on our way back to Laramie.
What an adventure! I wondered if two teenagers
would really enjoy Yellowstone, but boy did they
ever. Pair it with some good time as a family and my
husband’s photography itch thoroughly scratched (for
a short while, anyway). It was short, but worth it.
While you can’t see everything in that short of time,
I argue that any busy family can make even a short
vacation worth it. I’d love to share your summer family
adventure! Email me at [email protected] with
your story. W L M
www.wyolifestyle.com
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