Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Yellowstone

It was such an amazing vacation! I went to Yellowstone with my husband, kids, my husband's parents & sister. I experienced so much that I have never done before. We went river rafting, horseback riding in the mountains, and chasing wild animals in Yellowstone. I have a deep affection for buffalo. I will NEVER eat a buffalo burger. :) I really got to see God's beauty and was amazed at the sights everywhere we turned. The mountains are breathtaking. The waterfalls are gorgeous. I realized that I have a fear of being in a vehicle that is driving around a mountain that has no shoulder. I was sure we were going to roll down the mountain & plunge to our death. How is that for positive thinking? There was a wildfire when we were there & we had the opportunity to see them dumping water on the fire in an attempt to contain it. I learned that fires are not as devastating as it would seem. Anytime there is a forest fire, the pine cones burst & the seeds fall to the ground. The seeds then replant & the circle of life is started again. The animals thrive on the new growth. I would have never thought a forest fire could be a positive thing. I'm slowly getting my pictures ready to print & will add some to my blog. Ronnie really enjoyed the horseback riding. I kept thinking my horse was going to fall backward. We were riding up the mountain & not using the horsepath. Quite scary for this old woman! We saw a rodeo, and Gracie swam for the first time ever! She absolutely loved the water (as long as the water was warm.) She did not like getting out of the pool. Wyoming has some pretty strong winds. I saw buffalo, moose, bears, coyotes, elk, deer, & it goes on & on. We would spot an animal & jump out of the van to see it. A local told Ron & I that he was "stupid close" to a buffalo. He was "40 feet away." We coined the new term, "tourist close" to describe Ron who could practically reach out & touch the buffalo. Well, we made it back alive & with good pictures to share. Enjoy the picturesHello Mr. Bear!

Absolutely Gorgeous!




I loved Yellowstone!!! (I hated the long car ride...)


My dear friend, Mr Buffalo




Old Faithful erupts every 80 minutes (approximately)




God's Beauty


Devastation from the forest fire

2 comments:

C said...

My family just got back from Yellowstone. We had the BEST TIME.

Didn't see a bear, though. I was terribly bummed. Seems that everyone else on the net that went saw a bear but US!

IzzyBeth said...

Absolutely beautiful!!!

Hey - I miss you, we need to get together.