Yellowstone National Park

Yes again!! This is time number three this summer and we have plans to go back again in October. We just can’t get enough!! This trip was with a good friend of ours Charlie. He and Larren were mission companions and roommates while we were dating. Charlie came up for a long weekend and had never been to YNP, you can’t be this close and not go, so off we all went. We had a great trip, it happened to be the same weekend that President Obama was there for two minutes with his family. We saw some evidence of the presidential visit, five marine helicopters, soldiers in full dress uniforms, soldiers in camouflage, serious weaponry, the motorcade, a major traffic jam, (which we avoided - yeah) and we saw the helicopters take off straight up and go in five different directions. It was awesome to see. The girls were way impressed with the all the helicopters and security! It was a neat experience. Probably as close as we will ever be to the President! Kind of cool!

We picnicked as snowflakes fell on our sandwiches, saw lots of animals, got a little too close to some Bison, saw 4 Wolves and 10 Big Horn Sheep (a rarity), Charlie fly fished in the Yellowstone River, we saw cool geysers and beautiful waterfalls, I will never tire of the scenic beauty that is Yellowstone!

One of the five Marine helicopters in a field just before you get to Old Faithful. It was a security checkpoint and there was a soldiers waving us through, I happened to be driving at this part of the trip, so I slowed way down so Larren and Charlie could get some good pictures. Seriously the soldier was freaking out. He at first was just waving me with his hand, but when I wouldn't pick up the speed he was getting frustrated and was putting his whole arm into it! It was kind of funny and scary, glad we didn't get arrested!

Another helicopter, look at the size of it compared to the soldier standing beneath it! They were HUGE!
Another one!

Two more!!


Some sort of meeting of the minds? Not sure what they were huddling up to do but it looked very serious!


One of the helicopters in flight! It was hard to get any pictures of them because they all started at once and took on one right after another in five different direction, so it was hard tell where the sound was coming from and snap a picture before they got too far away.


The traffic jam we avoided! It went on for miles. We made it through the checkpoint plus like two other cars before they shut the road in both directions! We stayed at watched and the went on our merry little way with no traffic jam! It was pretty much perfect! Lucky us!

We saw 10 Big Horn Sheep just outside of Mammoth! It was awesome, they are really rare and I have never seen so many at once!

Here is a close up! This one must still be a little young because the horn are not completely curled yet, but they're getting there! They were so cool!

Larren and Charlie!

Larren and the kids waiting for Old Faithful to erupt!

Charlie likes to fly fish so he really wanted to experience fly fishing in the Yellowstone River, only one little problem he didn't have waders but decided to wade out anyway which wouldn't have been any big deal except for the fact that 20 minutes into the little adventure he realized his iphone was in his pocket! Dang it - poor guy! There were several people picnicking along the shore watching him and when he yelled up to us what he had done there was a collective gasp from everyone! We all felt his pain!

We got involved in a little bison situation! Lots of them all over the road!

This was was a little too close for comfort! That is my side view mirror! I was afraid it was not going to remain intact! YIKES!

Audrey on the trail to Tower Falls! Such a cutie little hiker!

Tower Falls! One of my favorite waterfalls in the Park! You used to be able to hike to the very bottom, which we did many times but now the trail is closed.

Little flowers growing along one of the geyser walks we went on! How they grow in such a barren landscape is beyond me!