Geysers, Hot Springs and Mudpots

After enjoying the tasty ice cream at Arrowleaf ice cream Thursday night (they do soft serve and have about 30 “blend ins” so you can customize it), we headed back to camp. We drove through snow for most of the way back and I was worried we'd wake up to a field of white stuff. It passed in the night and instead I woke up to a herd of bison passing within five feet of the girls' tent. A few stopped to spar right next to their tent and I winced worrying they'd get a bit too playful and end up on top of the tent. The girls slept through all the excitement. Once I could peel everyone out of their warm beds, we were ready for a day of exploration.

When I went to make breakfast that morning, I found that my lighter wouldn't work. It was full of butane and I could hear the gas hissing but it wouldn't spark. We improved by using the self lighting propane lamp to get the lighter to start up. I bought a much needed book of matches when we went to Old Faithful.

Friday the 17th was our day for exploring Yellowstone's thermal features. We started our day at the ranger station at Madison campground so the kids could get their junior ranger books. The ranger station there has a gorgeous view of the valley and we could see the bison up close. We stayed for a junior ranger program that taught us about the bison in the park. (Don't call them buffalo because there are no buffalo in North America. They are another thing the white settlers of our continent gave the wrong name to.)

view from the ranger station

We ended up staying in the Old Faithful area for four hours. They've added on to the visitor's center since we were here five years ago and it was a welcome respite from the cold. The little ones enjoyed the “Young Scientist” room where they had a model geyser that went off periodically. I'd remembered the long hot walk to tour the geysers in the area last time and had planned to bring the stroller to help the little ones along. Unfortunately, my packing got a bit side tracked with the excitement of our last day home so we got to listen to a lot of complaining about tired feet and legs. Thankfully, kids wear out a different way than grown ups. One minute they're absolutely spent, the next they're bunny hopping down the trail.

model geyser

One thing I had remembered was how long it takes to make the loop. I'd packed a day pack with water and snacks and we consumed everything before making it back to the lodge. I'm sure glad they have a pit toilet down by Morning Glory Hot Springs because even though we used the bathroom at the visitor's center before setting out, a few of the children were in sore need of another bathroom by the time we got there! While we were at Old Faithful, we indulged in some tasty ice cream (on a 44 degree day!).

We wandered our way back towards camp. Since it was so cold out, I hit every geyser area there was on the way back, stopping at Biscuit Basin, Midway Basin, Fountain Paint Pots, and driving the Firehole Lake  Road. I figured, if we were going to be uncomfortably cold, we might as well have something interesting to look at. Standing down wind from the steaming hot springs gave us a welcome boost of warmth (although we couldn't stay too long or risk getting our clothes wet).

standing in front of Sapphire Pool

While at Midway basin, I had a reminder about the importance of adequate space to get perspective. I've had a photo of the Grand Prismatic Hot Spring on the fridge for years. We walked up to it and it was so hard to see how beautiful it was, we could just get a glimpse of the majesty. A lot of things in life are like that. When we're in the thick of them, it's hard to see the beauty.

Elizabeth on the edge of the Grand Prismatic

aerial view of same Hot Spring

I got a few chapters read in the book 168 Hours while the little ones were playing in the visitor's center. It's a book about managing your life to not waste time on things that aren't worth it. As I was reading, I reflected on how much I enjoy taking the kids places. Yes, it is a lot of exhausting work with headaches physical and spiritual. But, it's also so fun to be experiencing something together. I spent more time parenting the teenagers than the little ones. (Apparently you're never too old to be taught to keep your hands to yourself and the parenting skill of separating two people still works when you're 14 and 15.)

Touring geysers is perfectly suited to Elizabeth's temperament. She loves beautiful things and is content to sit and gaze into a hot spring or pool while the rest of the kids are complaining, pushing each other back and forth on the boardwalk or talking obnoxiously. I think this would be a great trip to make with just her. I bet we'd sit and wait for a lot more geysers! I'd be happy to wait if I had a book to entertain me. Maybe someday!

Although the day was cold and cloudy, we're all walking around with pink cheeks. I'm hoping the cloud cover will help keep things a bit warmer tonight. Some of us were pretty cold Thursday night. Once we got back to the campground, we collected the children of a few more families. It always seems to be that way. One nice thing about being here when it's still cold is the mosquitoes aren't out yet. The kids engaged in the timeless games of tag, hide-and-seek, and stick gathering. It was nice to relax at the end of a full day.

Also in the evening, Elizabeth got sick and the kids were so worried it would attract bears that I used a shovel to scoop it all off the ground so I could throw it away. Anastaya stood there and watched me, telling me, “Mom, you're amazing!” Isaac was whittling with his knife and managed to slice his finger. One minute he's quietly carving a piece of wood, the next the knife is flying to the ground and he's running around grasping his finger. After putting pressure on it for a while we were able to bandage it. He's gained a bit more respect for his knife.