Saturday, August 29, 2009

Norris Geyser Basin














































Day 4 consisted of an early morning trip to Norris Geyser Basin to view thermal features, geysers, and hot mineral springs. We took about a two mile hike around the area... which is somewhat a lot to do with a two year old!! I took the wrong camera lens, so my pictures aren't great. And Uncle Kevin refuses to let me post his pictures without extensive processing (sorry Sarah and Margie!!) so these will have to do.








Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Day at the Chalet











Today Grammy, Evan and I spent the day hanging out at the chalet. Uncle Kevin and Daddy went on a hike up Mt. Washburn, a five mile hike not fit for preggos and toddlers. I am writing this now to keep myself busy, as they have been gone now for 12 hours, when it should have taken about 8 with the drive. They are probably having a beer at a bar in downtown Gardiner. But nonetheless, I am out on the porch watching for their car, trying to think positive thoughts!!!






We did keep ourselves busy most of the day. We went to some gift shops in Gardiner, took some pictures of Evan around the ranch, watched the horses from the porch, and managed to fit in a little Disney channel. Sounds kinda boring, but it was a much needed relaxing day after the crazy week I had last week. Now if only I can get Paul to come back in one piece, and Kevin too!!!

Wraith Falls, Minus the Waterfalls













Typical for me... I took pictures of Evan on our hike to Wraith Falls yesterday and didn't take a single picture of the waterfall. Don't get me wrong, the waterfall was pretty. But taking pictures of my cute little boy enjoying the sights was higher on my priority list at the time I suppose. But I am sure there will be more nature pictures to come. My brother and I rented an awesome camera lens to share that I have yet to try out. It's a little intimidating as it weighs like 20 lbs, and if we break it, we have to pay $1300!! I am gonna stick with my little 50mm as long as I can and leave the telephoto pictures to Kevin. I am SUPER clumsy and I can just see myself falling an injuring me and the lens. $1300 dollars later, a broken camera lens, and an irritated Paul... I would be wishing I never laid a hand on that thing!!!

Never Thought Seeing Elk Would be Old News

A grizzly bear.
A baby elk.

Another elk snoozing in the sun.


An elk who looks somewhat annoyed that we disturbed his sleep with our picture-taking.


A buffalo who is not in the best mood. If you could only hear the noise he was making and see the spit flying from his mouth and nose.


The veiw from our car. We had to roll the window up when they got closer and the picture-taking ceased as they were inches from our car, some of them running full speed ahead.


We have seen tons of elk and buffalo since arriving in Yellowstone. So many elk that we don't even slow down the car at times when the are on the road side. Initially we were so thrilled to see them we stopped every time to take pictures. Now we are on a hunt for more rare animals, like bears, moose, and long horned sheep. Day two of Yellowstone consisted of an early morning trip to the park to watch the animals when they were most active, right after sunrise. We spotted a grizzly bear, a few wolves, and a herd of pronghorn antelopes. I learned how to tell if it's a grizzly or a black bear, by the hump on the back of the grizzly bears back. This one was fairly far away as you can see, which was fine by me. When you are bear watching while pregnant, with a two year old on your hip, far is good. The wolves were even farther, so I didn't load the pictures on the blog for fear you would mistake them for specs of dust on your computer screen. They were fun to watch though. They were playing tug-a-war with piece of skin from an animal they had killed. Luckily another onlooker had a great telescope that he let me look through, which put my binoculars that look like I got them out of a cereal box to shame. Meanwhile, Evan and Daddy walked around in the field, dodging large piles of buffalo poop, followed by a play session in the car. Evan likes to pretend he is driving and loves to push any buttons within his reach. One button however was the lock to the rental car which also sets the alarm. Much to our surprise when we opened the car door after our wildlife viewing, the alarm went off. Onlookers consisted of avid wildlife watchers with expensive telescopes and camera equipment who just seconds earlier were making sure to whisper as to not scare away the animals. Evan took care of that in about 2 seconds. A few seconds later the park police came up to inform us we had parked illegally. Luckily we will never see those people again. It was just slightly embarasing, this is coming from a person who prefers to blend in at all times!!! We finished the day with a long nap at the cabin, followed by a short hike up to wraith falls, pizza at a local pizza joint claiming they were the "best pizza in the west", and smores over our grill. Then we enjoyed the cool weather and stars out on the porch before retiring to bed. A perfect day in my eyes!!!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Exploring the Park























Here are some more pictures from Day One at Yellowstone. It was a little nerve wracking letting Evan walk around near the hot mineral springs and near the edge of huge cliffs overlooking waterfalls. But we had to balance letting him stretch his legs a bit after the long drive to get there and staying safe... it was a fine line. Some of the pictures are a little foggy, but that is from the steam coming off the water. It was beyond beautiful.

Monday, August 24, 2009

It's Been a While









It's been a while since I have blogged, and since I have enjoyed nature this much. Here are some nature pictures from our trip to Yellowstone, Day One. We went on trails around hot mineral springs, looked at a gorgeous waterfall, saw herds of buffalo, and watched some elk sunning themselves. This was followed by milkshakes and elk burgers at a local hamburger joint. After watching the beautiful creatures, it really made me sad to try elk. But not enough to not try it. The buffalo were probably my favorite part of the day. They were literally inches from our car, walking down the middle of the road in large herds. They were making growling noises and some of them were running, almost acting as if they were going to charge at the cars. Something was making them mad. I was just grateful I wasn't the guy on the motorcycle behind us.
Our chalet is beautiful. It sits right on the snake river and the Yellowstone mountain range. I think the weather is one of the best parts about Montana and Wyoming, at least in late summer. 40's at night and 70's during the day. Beats Florida's weather right now, any day of the week!!! More pictures to come. And I apologize to those who actually do read my blog for the lack of pictures lately. Just been busy I suppose. You know, moving once again (don't ask) and getting ready for this baby No. 2. Blogging was last on my list for a while, but we're back...again.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

PJ portraits














It's been a while since I have taken a picture of Evan that I truly LOVE. I used to take pictures of him so much, that I was bound to fall in love with one of them every once in a while. But lately, our picture taking has been scarce. Just lack of motivation I suppose!!! But I took out the camera last night when I put these adorable PJ's on him (hand-me-downs from his buddy Wilson) and we were waiting outside for Daddy to come home. And I must say, I definitely got a few keepers. He is getting to the point where he can almost pose for me. I use that term very loosely. But check out the pictures of him on the steps, him with a wide legged stance, and him sitting on the ground looking back, I asked him to do all of that, and he actually did!!!