Happy Father’s Day. What a way to spend Father’s Day! We all rolled out of bed at our own paces. Some routines to our morning are starting to take shape… make the coffee, reorganize the van, look at our plans for the day, and so on. Being Father’s Day today I got a couple of cards from the boys, and Josh managed to buy me a bag of Gummi Bears when I wasn’t looking. We said good-bye to our campground neighbors since they were heading home today. We were ready to take off to see the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. But first, it was a stop at the Mud Volcano area. This was an amazing thermal area dominated by such sites as the Dragon’s Caldron. The area smelled of sulphur, as most of the thermal areas do. What sets this area apart, though, is that the gases escaping from deep in the earth are released through mud and muddy water. The pools are bubbling and steaming. One of the thermal sites releases its steam from within a cavern so the water swashes in and out, steam rising out from the cave, accompanied by a low grumble.
From the Mud Volcano we crossed open Hayden Valley and winded our way to the southern rim of Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. This area totally surprised me. From the edge we looked down into a deep canyon with steep yellow walls. At the bottom of the canyon is Yellowstone River and at the western edge was a tremendous waterfall – it supposedly is larger than Niagra Falls. After a short hike to additional views of the falls, we got back in the Westy and headed to the Canyon Visitor Center. The Visitor Center was a brand spankin new one which told the history of the area. We watched a short movie called Yellowstone: Fire and Water. The movie was great, we were having a great time, but I think we’re all kind of tired. Instead of doing anymore hiking we decided to go see about renting some row boats on Yellowstone Lake.
When we got to the Marina it turns out that the row boats weren’t put out for the season yet. We could rent a motor boat or take a ride on a small cruiser with other tourists. After some brief discussion we opted to rent the motor boat for an hour. The kids had a blast, it really was a lot of fun. We powered out into the lake, past the magnificent Yellowstone Inn and along the coastline. The winds picked up and the water got a little choppy. Josh and Zev enjoyed taking the helm, but it’s Zev who really likes the speed. After an hour of motoring around we headed back to the marina. The kids’ faces said it all. It really was a good time.
We decided next to check out the Yellowstone Inn. It’s a massive place painted entirely yellow, not an obnoxious yellow though. The lobby is an open space with comfy wicker furniture and large picture windows looking out to the lake. Families sit around the great room playing cards, looking out the windows, or playing games. We decided to play some cards and order some drinks. Its about as relaxing as it gets. I’m sipping my daiquiri, Randi’s got her bloody mary, Zev has a hot cocoa, and Josh got a Pepsi. After a couple of card games it was time to head back to camp to cook some grub. As we head back we notice a few cars pulled over to the side. Its important to notice these things because pulled over cars means some type of animal sighting. We slow down and I announce that its probably more elk. One of the kids says they think it’s a bear. As we get closer we see a mama grizzly and her cub. Awesome! That was the one animal everyone really wanted to see. We got out of the Westy and stood and watched for quite a while. Josh took a lot of pictures. The crowd started to build as the mama and her baby paraded around. They appeared to be digging for something, maybe some kind of bug? Anyway, we all said how perfect it was to see the bears at the end of this perfect day.
Elated, we got back to camp and promptly started a little campfire. The kids had collected some sticks and Josh enjoyed whittling them down to a point. Josh and Zev cooked some hotdogs on their sticks and Randi and I had some pasta. We sat around the fire, enjoying the warmth as the sun was beginning to set. Of course we had to have some s’mores to top off the day. We ate up all the gooey chocolaty goodness before Josh and I went to a ranger talk on the cycle of the elk here at Yellowstone. What a full day. I don’t feel as exhausted as I have on other days, though. I’d have to say this has been one of the best father’s days imaginable.
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