Thursday, September 18, 2008

Yellowstone! Wyoming, Montana, Idaho...






It's really late on Thursday evening and we just pulled into Twin Falls, ID not long ago.  The kiddos are fast asleep and we are not far behind them.  
We started our day leaving Sheridan and heading west towards Yellowstone.  We went through some pretty fantastic territory on the way.  We drove through mountains of granite and dolomite.  We stopped at the Buffalo Bill Dam at the Shoshone River.  The water was low as they are irrigating at this time.  The countryside was absolutely breathtaking.  

Shortly before we reached Yellowstone, we witnessed a black bear running along a hillside.  He looked right at us and was not impressed...he took off in the other direction, but we managed to get a couple of good pics.
Once we reached Yellowstone we were all quite serious about spotting whatever wildlife we could.  We saw bison, antelope, peacock, elk, large birds of prey, sulfur springs and geysers, and of course a number of homosapians.  We saw the bison the most.  In fact a couple of times they got really close to our van and Greg was standing just feet away from one that was grazing and kept edging closer to him.  We really wanted to see a moose and grizzly, but they eluded us today.  
Once we left Yellowstone, we made the trek back northwest towards Twin Falls.  We ate in Idaho Falls on the Snake River at a microbrewery called Brownstone.  Night was falling so we didn't get to explore the area too much, but it seemed like a beautiful area from what I could tell.  After dinner, we piled back into the van and headed for our hotel in Twin Falls (about another 2.5 hours in the van).  We are beat!  The good news is we only have 6-7 hours of driving ahead of us tomorrow to get to Portland.  We hope to sleep in, kids allowing.

A few of you have asked what we do while we are driving such long distances.  Well we do school, read aloud in the Oregon Trail and also Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books, look for license plates from different states (thanks for the books Mom), watch Planet Earth DVDs and the occasional movie, and do a lot of talking about all the cool stuff we are seeing.  We are having a great time and the kids have not complained ONCE about being in the car for so long.  They are real troopers!  

I was struck today by what a blessed woman I am to get to spend this precious time with my husband and children.  It's truly an experience I will forever treasure.

LYMYWY,
Kara

4 comments:

  1. You are blessed, my friend! Isn't God good? You have witnessed it through his grace getting you through this transition, and again through the beauty of His creation! Wow!
    Enjoy your last day of travel. May it be another wonderful day with your precious ones and more restful as you have plenty of time to get to your final (temporary)destination.
    Love to all--

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  2. What gorgeous pictures! Can you believe you've come this far? I can't believe you've experienced so much in so few days. Yes, our country is a diverse and bountiful plenty.

    We love you and can't wait for you to safely arrive in Portland.

    Love,

    Uncle J and Aunt K

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  3. What wonderful memories you are going to have of this adventure across the country with your family. Your children will always remember this. Yellowstone looks awesome! We want to do that next summer. We hope you have made it to portland safely and will be able to get settled. We miss you and love you. I miss so much my doorbell ringing and seeing that sweet little face peeping in the side window by the door.

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  4. Hi Greg and Kara...your leisure journey across our beautiful country brings to mind our similar trip with both you and Kayla in the early '70's. What fond memories we have of that time together...a very real treasure. Be alert and stay safe...we love you...Mom and Dad Liechty

    PS - Kara...We know the identity of the Mount Rushmore figures.

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