Yellowstone, Here we come!

And, we're off!  After months of planning and days of packing, it's time to get brave, hitch up the trailer, and start the trip.  When I was planning this trip six months ago, I wasn't able to consult with Mother Nature so she couldn't share with me her unusual plans for this summer.  Yellowstone is still getting down to freezing each night and the days are in the 50's.  We've visited twice before in the fall when the waterfalls are tiny and the mud pots are dried out (and turned into steam vents instead).  This time, we're going to get some major waterfall action and some great mud pot bubbling.  Once we leave Yellowstone, the towns we are visiting have been experiencing more typical summer temperatures in the 70's and 80's.  But I hear Lovell is the new Washington with rain, rain, rain.  We'll feel so at home!  Snow pack in the Bighorn Mountains is 200% of normal for this time of year.  Wild flowers?  Streams for scooping fish out with our bare hands like Dode did when he was there as a teenager?  We may have to find a "Plan B" for our week of relaxing in the Bighorns!  (We're considering staying at Buffalo Bill State Park near Cody, WY and exploring the mountains near there.  If we do, I know we'll sit on the shore and wish for the ski boat!)

Yellowstone Weather

Dubois weather

Thermopolis weather

It looks like we're getting a repeat of our rainy trip last year! It's a good thing we're from Washington and know how to have fun in the rain!  (Although that 44 degree and rainy day in Yellowstone doesn't look so fun!)

Our goal for day one?  An endurance drive across Washington, Idaho, and 1/3 of Montana.  We'll stop for a movie change out at Redbox and gas tank fill up in in Ellensburg, WA and Couer d'Alene, Idaho.  We'll be sleeping in the car at a rest stop in Butte, Montana that night and driving off bright and early on Thursday (Elizabeth's birthday) to finish off the drive to Madison Campground in Yellowstone.  Since it's a birthday, we'll splurge and go out to eat instead of our usual gourmet camp meals that have the word "helper" somewhere in the title.  I've looked up reviews of places to eat in West Yellowstone and think we'll stop at Tubby's bakery on our way through in the morning for pastries and Kiwi's Takeaway for burgers and shakes that night.  We might have to detour back one more time to hit Arrowleaf Ice Cream which also has great reviews (and I can't pass up ice cream on a trip!).

Last Minute (Day) Chaos
Since there needs be opposition in all things (and apparently bad weather isn't enough opposition), our last day home was crazy.  Isaac and Isaac Colson were banging around in the house late Monday night and woke me up.  I was unable to get to sleep for hours afterwards because Dode was having a very restless night.  When I elbowed none too gently one time to try to wake him up enough to stop shaking the bed, he told me that he kept dreaming  I was driving down the road trying to blog at the same time.  Apparently he finds that thought more than a bit agitating.  After my restless night, it was time for an equally exciting day.  One I don't want to endure the likes of any time soon.

I've allowed our home to be a delivery spot for Zaycon Foods periodically.  We were supposed to have a bulk chicken delivery here from 8-9 am.  I knew when I signed up that it was the day before our trip, but I figured it was early enough in the day that it wouldn't effect me.  I got a call at 7:40 am that the chicken was 12 hours behind schedule.  They'd sold the truck out, which meant 100 people were soon to be arriving for their chicken.  The company managed to get a hold of all but four of them to tell them not to come. 

Once that was taken care of, I had about an hour to work on cleaning up and packing before I had to go visiting teaching.  After my 1 1/2 hour visit, which I enjoyed although I could feel the minutes ticking away on my last day to get things done, I had to head off to do some banking.  I needed to transfer some money from the bank our vacation savings are at to the bank our checking account is at.  When I got home, I heard from the chicken company that they'd like to come and have pick up between 7:30 pm and 9 pm Tuesday night.  We had to get our papers delivered and that was exactly the time we'd be delivering.  Thankfully, I was able to get help from Joel and Lynn to do traffic and  Sharon and Aunt Viv to do checkout so Dode and I could split up and get the papers delivered. 

I just finished putting out that fire when Jacob came home long enough to tell me he was: 1. getting dreadlocks, 2. not going on vacation, 3. moving out.  His friends were waiting in the car with the engine running to whisk him off after the big announcement.  He basically told me the above three points and left.  It hit me like a ton of bricks.  I want so intensely for Jacob to be able to take advantage of all the wonderful things in life.  The pre-requisite for a lot of those things is a high school graduation.  I hope that although he's moving out he will still be able to finish school.  I am leaving for our trip with a heavy heart.