Trip to Yellowstone, July 7 through 17, 2021

Two years ago Angela announced that she would be planning a family trip to Yellowstone in summer 2021.  Initially, Susie said that this would take out too much time of our summer and that our family would not be able to go.  However, after we went on a few hikes in summer 2020 she changed her mind in part because of the positive experiences we had on the hikes.  So, Angela set the date and from the beginning, I was super excited about the trip.  Leading up to the trip I made a few plans but as a whole family didn't seem to want to make too many firm plans so it's been more of a last-minute planning type of vacation.  The two main plans for the trip were to get a boat to go water skiing and to go camping with Angela's friends at the Tetons.  

We decided to rent a 15-passenger van and drive, of course, we could never afford to fly, and take the whole family with us.  We invited Ruth and Allen to ride with us and, eventually, they decided to join us for the drive.  Having them along was really great.  The van was a bit tighter, but it was really great.  We enjoyed their company and they are so good about giving our kids and us their space.  I rode in front with Allen.  We had good conversation during the first quarter of the trip, then afterward we just enjoyed the ride and made a good team getting to our destination.  There were times when the drive felt long but overall it was fairly painless.  When we finally arrived we were greeted by Sonia and Javier.  We loved the house and the space each of us had was awesome.  I probably won't stay in this nice of a place for a long, long time.  Maybe never.  But, if I ever get the feeling that I don't have a life of privilege I need to remember this trip.  

We woke up the next morning and decided that we would be leaving for the Teton camping trip at 10:00 am.  So we had a few short hours to enjoy the morning.  Hanging out together, enjoying the view from the balcony, during a good cup of caffeinated coffee, watching the waterfowl, and just soak up the feeling of being in the moment that I had been looking forward to for many, many months.  Those moments quickly passed and we were on to the next adventure.  Which started with packing and planning for our one-night camping trip in the Tetons.  One that was not the greatest of trips but gave us months-worth of memories.  Like only these types of adventures can.  

The Grand Tetons at Teton National Park

On the way to the Tetons, we drove through Yellowstone National Park which was neat because it made the trip feel like we were heading to exciting places.  The drive was pretty but the best part was driving by the lakes next to the Teton range.  The moment that sticks out in my mind took place as we began heading down a big hill shortly after we entered National Teton Park where you would see the mountains between the tall trees that lined the road but had to look toward the sky to see the top of the mountain.  They were majestic to say the least.  

We finally arrived at our campgrounds at Colter Bay after a long drive, nearly 3 hours long.  It was a nice campground but we were without many camping supplies and only stayed a short time before going over to the other campsite, so it felt rushed from the beginning.  Before dinner we took a short walk to the lake under the Tetons.  I jumped in the 50+ degree water and soaked in a nice moment of swimming in a place of such beauty and I forced myself to enjoy the moment, which really was a neat moment.  After dinner and hanging out we made bear claws (toasted pilsbury biscuits roasted over the fire) and went to bed.  Sleeping was difficult and I got cold during the night.  Using Allen's air matress helped a lot but I still woke up in the middle of the night and tossed and turned for the rest of the night.  During my tossing and turning i had to pee so I braved the cold, and the risk of be attacked by bears (hardly a real threat but certainly a concern during the middle of the night).  I stepped out just a couple of feet away from the tent and relieved myself.  I happened to look up mid-stream and saw the brightest night sky I have ever seen.  A sky so bring that I could hardly believe my eyes.  There were specks upon specks of whiteness in the sky.  My thoughts went from amazement to being thankful for being in that moment that will stay with me for a lifetime and will experience only a few dozen times in my life.  (The fact that I didn't consider the handiwork of God in that special moment it telling to my spiritual life.  It was an amazing moment, but not sharing it with someone else left a small feeling of loneliness.  I was tempted to wake the others to share in the experience with them but they would have been more annoyed than appreciative.)  

In the morning I was searching for my phone that Elijah had used the night before.  We wouldn't find it until later in the morning when the Obercroms saw the phone soar off the top of our van on the drive to our hike.  We turned around to pick it up off the highway, relieved that it was found but upset that the screen was not working.  

We arrived at Jenny Lake for a boat ride to our hiking destination in the Tetons.  The kids complained for much of the trip and it was a challenging hike but the scenery was very nice.  The absolute highlight was seeing a moose and her calf just 20 yards off of the trail.  I could have stood there and watch her for an hour but the group kept moving and hurried us along.  We had lunch and turned around to finish up the hike.  I was able to walk at a distance from the group and enjoy the serenity of being alone and soaking in the moment.  Again having a mere fleeting passing of the handiwork of God in this special place.  

We finally arrived back to the boat dock and had to suffer through a 45-minute wait.  It wasn't too bad because all of us were relieved to be standing rather that hiking over the rugged terrain.  The rest of the trip was fairly unremarkable and we made the long drive back to the cabin to wrap up a memorable day of hiking and camping.  Elijah was a trooper on the trip not speak a single complaint that I heard, though I'm sure he would have enjoy hanging out at the cabin instead.  Simon on the otherhad did complain far too often and his main motivation for going was the $40 that Allen and I promised him for going on the trip.

We arrived back to the Hibernation Station on Friday evening.  Susie and Anna said it was quiet with us gone and I was glad to be back to the rest of the vacation going.  Javier cooked beef stroganoff. Yummy!

On that morning Susie and I purchased tickets at the Lakeside Lodge.  We had a nice time sitting together and talking that early morning before the store opened.  We all played on the water trampolines that morning with was a lot of fun.  

On Sunday we rented a pontoon boat.  We had most of the group there including Mihika, Ruth, and Allen, along with the little ones.  We pulled the kids on the tube all morning and after figuring out the physics of pulling a tube, fighting the waves, and getting the right speed, the full 4 hours were constant tubing.  That evening grilled some burgers and we all enjoyed a good meal together.  

On Monday afternoon we all drove to Old Faithful Geyser.  It was ok but then a few of us went to Grand Geyser.  That was really cool.  Allen, Ang, Javier, and I got to see this really great geyser erupt.  When we got back Diego and Mateo were fighting and it was very stressful for everyone.  Our family and Ruth and Allen rode back to Island Park and had a really good talk about families.  We saw a couple of elk on the way, took a picture by the Yellowstone sign, and also had a good meal at the Otter restaurant in West Yellowstone.  Instead we went home and had pizza for dinner.  

On Tuesday morning we rented a ski boat had a great time again on the tube.  For the last hour we tried the wake board and the only person to actually get up was, to our surprise, Anna.  I tried it a few times but it was very challenging and demanding on my body.  However, I wouldn't mind trying it again to see if I can figure it out.  

On Wednesday we rented Kayaks which was fun.

On Thursday I drove Ruth to the Bozeman airport in Montana with Allen.  Afterward, Allen and I drove to Yellowstone via the north entrance.