Day 5 I made a lot of plans for Cody, but didn't really have much planned for our stay in West Yellowstone. I wanted to leave it open for the kids to have options. Any plans they hoped, such as ATV trip or rafting were already booked. Without a plan, we had a slow day. I made pancakes and the kids were slow moving. They sleep in late and Jayden takes a nap every day and in the car. It was 11:00 by the time we got back into town. The Grizzly Bear and Wolves Discovery Center was one of the top attractions, so we decided to check it out. They gave us a two day pass and I had read that you could easily spend more than one day there. 30 minutes later, everyone had seen all there was and were ready to leave. I was disappointed, that was supposed to take most of our day. There were around 5 wolves wandering around their pen that we could watch. They were shaggy with clumps of hair shedding and not too pretty to look at. They walked very little and laid around. A couple of them fought over food, that was about as exciting as it got. Every half an hour they brought out one bear in his sanctuary to eat the hidden food in his pen. The big ol grizzly bear staggered out to a big crowd watching as he sniffed around and ate his food. Not too exciting. This was a bear sanctuary and we only got to see one bear! There was an aquarium with otters that were fun to watch swim in and out of the water. There were displays and signs to read. I tried to see and do everything and take my time, I pretty much had done it all in the half hour. Next we ate lunch and walked around the shops. There was a large IMAX theatre showing a movie about the history of Yellowstone. I thought that seemed like a good idea, it was rather short and just ok. Luke wanted so badly to go fishing. He was determined to buy a fly fishing pole of which were very expensive and we could not pack to fly home. It was very expensive to go on a fly fish guided trip and nobody else had any interest. Luke begged from day one until we left. I wished he could just fish in the lake by our cabin. We didn't have any equipment and the mosquitoes were so thick. We bought groceries and decided to grill supper at the cabin. Noah helped grill the meat and we ate on our little deck. All the food we have had on this trip has really added up in cost and most of the meals haven't been very good. It was nice to eat with the view. The mosquitoes would come out after dusk so we would head back in. Luke brought a bouncy football and the kids played out in the yard. It was fun to watch them laughing and playing. In the evening I let the kids go back into town to watch a Fast & Furious movie playing at the IMAX. I thought they might have fun without mom along and I was happy sitting reading my book watching the sun go down.
Day 6 We didn't have much planned, so I thought it would be nice to go back into Yellowstone and see Old Faithful. It looked to be an hour and a half away on a normal drive. I tried to convince the kids that we needed to get up and leave the cabin at 7 to get a good start and beat the crowd. It was a known fact that between the hours of 9-11 were the busiest. Jayden had agreed to make breakfast and she fixed French toast for everyone. I like to sit out on the deck in the mornings and just take in all of God's beauty. The sun shines and warms you up, the view, the quiet, and the peacefulness is so refreshing! It was 8:30 when we left the cabin putting us into the town of West Yellowstone right at 9:00. We only had a few miles to the park entrance. It took us a whole hour to go just 3 miles. It was stop, wait, and go for an hour. It was 4 lanes going into the park and yes it was very busy. Once in the park the traffic seemed to flow unless there was wildlife. We spotted a herd of Elk far in the distance and traffic crept along. I drove straight to Old Faithful arriving just minutes before the Old Faithful geyser erupted, so we had to wait another hour and a half to see it. Parking lots were full and people were everywhere. Of course we hit it at the busy time. I was a little irritated that the kids wouldnt follow my time plan so we were hitting everything at the worst timing. We walked around seeing the different geysers and hot springs. It is really quite interesting and fascinating. The sounds, sights, and smells are so unique. Old Faithful was neat, but I was anticipating a loud roar and gushing water shooting so high. It was quiet, a gust of water spouted up and out and it only last maybe a minute or two. It was a bit overrated and not as exciting, but a check on the bucket list. On the way back I wanted to stop at the Grand Prismatic spring. I had seen pictures and it looked awesome. The kids were along for the ride and for the most part cooperative and willing, Jayden was usually dragging and went along begrudgingly. The Grand Prismatic was a long trail that took us a couple miles to get to the overlook. The kids were tired of the walking and we made it almost to the top. We managed a partial lookout enough to see it and get a photo. It was a long walk back and the kids weren't too happy. As we drove back, it was hot and there was a beautiful Yellowstone river snaking along the road. I had the desire to get my feet wet. I just wanted to get in the water enough to get my feet wet. I found a scenic area to pull off and walk down to the water. The water felt cool and the rocks were so slippery. The water was moving right along. I took some photos of Jake practicing for Senior Pictures and Jayden was posing on her tree balance beam. Back in the car, traffic came to a hault and we all spotted it. A black bear made it's way down the hill and across the road two cars in front of us!! I was so excited yelling a bear a bear. It was slow to cross taking its time as cars and people gawked out their windows in amazment. After that, all 4 were sleeping the rest of the drive back to the cabin. Jayden took many naps on this trip.
Day 7 Thursday was our last day of vacation. I wanted to hit the Lewis and Clark caverns on the way to the airport, but I was outvoted 4 to 1. These kids would rather sleep in, than do anything, so it made for a dull day of traveling. Everyone was slow to rise, take showers, pack, and leave the hotel at check out time. I was happy to leave our dumpy hotel room. We drove into Bozeman and got some lunch, yet another bad meal. Pre-COVID, the restaurants and food were so much better! We made our way to the airport to sit and wait. I had our departure flights booked ahead of time so as to leave around the same time as Jayden & Noah. Our flight to Iowa was 3:10 and Jayden's flight was 2:57 to Dallas. You can't get much better than that. Well, it was a nice plan. Our Iowa flight was already delayed 40 minutes. Cousin's Kellie and Karla were on my flight too so we found each other at the airport. It was supposed to be a nice time to sit and visit, however we were trying to figure out flights. Jayden and Noah's flight got delayed an hour and eventually really delayed to the point of potentially arriving in Denver and not having a connecting flight to Dallas. The flight was going to depart at 9PM. They were able to cancel their initial flight and book another one through Utah arriving in Dallas close to midnight and then a 3 hour drive to Noah's. They had a long day of travels. Our flight took us into Minneapolis where we tried to grab a quick bite. The shortage of help in restaurants is taking its toll everywhere. After a long wait the staff threw our food together, it was a mess. Kellie and Karla were there trying to help me eat the sampler I ordered too. It made for a more chaotic time again and we had little time to chat.
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