Yellowstone

When I was doing all my weeping and crying over missing Mike and being home with just the two littlest kids awhile back, I never did mention where on earth Mike and the older three had disappeared to.

Mike took them off to Yellowstone! How’s that for a fun adventure?

I feel a little party pooperish that I didn’t come along, but in my defense, I am sure I would have had this been a big family trip we’d been planning. As it was, it was all kind of sudden. Mike has a friend who takes a yearly canoeing expedition/fishing trip of sorts up through Yellowstone. He always invites Mike to join the group and Mike never has, but this year he decided it might be a fun thing he and Abe could do together. So, for months, that was the plan – a wild adventure the two of them were heading off on. And somehow, the entire time I thought they were going to the Uintahs instead of Yellowstone.

However, as the trip grew closer – in fact, it was only two days away, Mike and I started to have second thoughts about how much fun it would be for Abe. We were certain he could handle the rigors of the trip fine, but there would be no other kids going, and the majority of each day the group spends doing nothing but fishing. Still, he’d been looking forward to the adventure for some time and Mike didn’t want to back out so last minute, so he decided to accompany the group to the lower lake only (where they camp the first night before setting off on the canoeing) and then remain camping there – with the freedom to head off to various sights like Old Faithful, etc. At that point we decided to have the girls come along as they also love a good camping trip.

At that point I should have probably joined in, but it was going to be such a long trip and just helping get Mike and the older three ready to go – with out adding in diapers, pak-n-plays, etc. seemed about all I could manage.

In the end, I think it was a good choice. They came home with about 100 mosquito bites each – which I think might have been more troubling for Penny and Jesse. Also, they were able to go see the sites, stay up late, etc. with no worries about anybody needing naps or wandering off if unwatched, etc.

Mike brought me home a box of Frosted Flakes they had purchased at a store up there and said, “This was the worst part of the whole trip.” I looked closely at the box to discover a price tag reading $8.29. Apparently he’d sent them into the store with a ten dollar bill and was horrified when they came out with one small box of cereal, a dollar and some change. I suppose though that if that was “the worst part of the trip”, even considering the mosquitos, then it must have turned out pretty darn good.

My first and only trip to Yellowstone was with my dad when I was just between their ages, and I still have many clear memories from the trip, so it makes me happy that they got to go with their dad and create some similarly happy memories.