Camping at Celebration Park

Since we knew that our summer was going to be busy we decided that we needed an early start to ensure at least one camping trip. Matt normally takes his Troop to the desert to camp in the fall and spring and so of course for a spring camping trip that is where he took us too.
About and hour south of our house is this great place called Celebration Park right along the Snake River. The rocks there have petroglyphs on them and they have some cool artifacts there as well.

We were a little nervous because on the way there a huge storm hit. I was driving and it was crazy how hard the rain was coming down. But as in most Idaho storms it only lasted about 20 minutes.

Once we were there we set up camp pretty quickly (we took the troop's big canvas tent, it was so roomy!) and built a fire. Matt tried teaching my mom and I how to light a fire with flint and steel...my mom tried for about twenty minutes before she was ever able to get enough spark to light something, but she finally did it! I never did while we were there.
Mom Practicing

The kids had a blast playing in the dirt! They were digging holes and building dirt castles.

We were finally able to peel them away from the dirt and convince them to get cleaned up a bit to have smores. Mmmm!

The next day we got up and Matt cooked us pancakes and bacon before we packed up. WE found out that there was a pair of Golden eagles nested on the Cliff across the river so we spent some time looking for it. Then we went to the visitor center and had a peak through their telescope.

Matt wanted to go check out some camp spots for the troop for the next weekend at a nearby lake so we went on a hike there. Owen had a blast climbing on all of the rocks.Matt caught a lizard and the kids thought that was awesome!

Owen cried when we let it go.

Family Vacation Part III

Friday we headed up to the Upper Loop in Yellowstone. Our first stop was at the Artist Paint Pots, they are so beautiful. The colors are amazing.

The view from the Top

Steph and Bailee

After the Artist pain Pots, we went to Norris Geyser Basin. Matt and I did not go on our honeymoon, but now wish we had. It was very neat. The colors there were very different form those in the lower loop. It was amazing the vastness of space there.

Matt and Bailee taking their first look.

The beautiful Greens

Mom and Dad

Owen and Papa

After lunch we went to Mammoth Hot Springs. Once again, there was something new at every turn.

Bailee and Owen

When Matt and Steph were Bailee and Owen's ages they had a picture taken of them at this same place. Bailee and Owen were not quite as cooperative.

All of us.

We thought that this looked like a river of gold.

On our way out of the Upper Loop, we were caught in a lot of traffic. We were excited to find out that the slowdown was caused by a little black bear. We didn't get any pictures because the Rangers chased it off of the side of the road. A few miles down the road there was another big slow down. we were crawling along for quite some time. We got the message from another tourist that there was a Bear up ahead. We were excited and hoping we would get to to it before it was chased off as well. The moment I caught sight of it, I jumped out of the car and ran down the road to get a better picture. The little grizzly was up the cliff from the road and I was able to get a few decent pictures of him. It was so fun.

At the end of the day we of course had our picture taken in front of the Yellowstone sign. We had a great time in Yellowstone. I always want to go back when we leave. It is so beautiful.

Family Vacation Part II

On Thursday we headed into Yellowstone National Park. Matt took me there for my first time on our Honeymoon, it was fun to go back and take the kiddos. Matt's parents, Steph and Jack met us at the cabin on Tuesday night so they could come with us. We decided to do the lower loop for the first day.
On our way into the park we got the wonderful opportunity to see a nested Bald Eagle. The nest was fairly close to the road, we saw two or three others, but they were not nearly as close. This was the first time I knew that I need a lens for my camera with a better zoom (hopefully for our next trip).

Our first stop was at Firehole waterfall. I love waterfalls, they are so beautiful.

Steph and Jack

Our next stop was to see a herd of Bison, Bailee wasn't too sure about them, but it was amazing to be surrounded by them. It is hard to imagine that this is a small herd compared to what used to live in our country.

The wildflowers were beautiful and were everywhere. All the rain we had in June made for a lovely scene in the mountains.

Our next several stops were at some of the many beautiful and strange looking thermal features throughout the park.

Bacteria Mat

Boiling mud

Owen made us laugh several times on the trip because he would often point out the window and say "Oh Wow!"

Papa, Owen, Bailee, Jack and Maama

Our sweetie, Bailee has some sensitive senses. She does not like loud, bright and especially doesn't like stinky. The thermal features commonly smell of sulfur...she didn't like that.

The colors in some of the springs are so vibrant. You see things in nature of Yellowstone that you don't see anywhere else.

The Grand Prismatic Spring

Emerald Pool

Sunset Pool

All of our many stops led us to our main attraction for the day. Old Faithful. Unfortunately because of where we were siting we mainly saw steam.

Owen and Matt

Matt, Terry, Owen and I went for a walk on a 3 mile trail to see some other geysers while Debbie, Bailee, Steph and Jack rested. We were lucky to be on the other side of Old Faithful when it went off again. We had a better view on this side.

I had so much fun taking pictures with my new camera. I took about 600 over the four days, but this is one of my favorites.

Three Generations of Hansen Explorers

One of our favorite attractions in Yellowstone is this Sapphire Pool. I love the blue color, the water is so clear that you can see how deep the spring is.

My silly husband.

Old Faithful is as far as we got on the lower loop, the kids and adults were all getting tired so we headed back to the cabin where we had dinner then smores while we waited for Kelly to join us.