I love my husband. I especially love his crazy ideas that end up being the best ideas ever! Like that time he said, "Let's drive the whole family to Georgia!" I thought he was out of his mind, but it was the most amazing trip. So when he said, "I think we should do a weekend at the cabin so we can come home on the day of the total solar eclipse and be right in Idaho Falls when it happens!"...I didn't argue. I immediately got on board, with all the confidence in the world that we would have the best time ever.
That is, until I started to read all the hype around the solar eclipse! It seemed like Idaho Falls was preparing for near-apocalypic conditions!! I worried about the worse-case scenarios, but Danny kept assuring me it would be worth it. So we pressed forward with our plans...even when we found out that the eclipse glasses I had ordered weeks in advance were rip-offs and we had to scramble and pay out-the-ears for glasses like all the other procrastinators! Even then, we pushed on true. Even my Mom was on board with all our crazy plans and decided to join us when we invited her. I guess we're all a little crazy. :)
We left Thursday after work so that we would have all day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in Island Park. We packed the car and even borrowed Uncle Kenny's trailer for all that we would need to camp out at Larry and Karen's house in Idaho Falls. Oh, did I forget to mention that? Yeah, we decided to camp on Sunday night so we didn't end up stuck in traffic on Monday. I'm telling you, this was set up to be the most crazy, epic weekend trip we've ever done! Anyway, we hit the road around dinner time and got to the cabin late that night. Great Grandma was waiting up for us, as well as Danny's Aunt Janet, Uncle Russ, and cousin Michael. It was nice to visit for a minute, but we were anxious to get the kids to bed. We needed them rested for our day in Yellowstone the next day!
I love Yellowstone. Like, my soul NEEDS Yellowstone! But I don't need the tourist traps...I need the hikes. Ever since that trip we took the summer after Luke died and we did those two amazing hikes, we were totally converted to experiencing the backcountry of Yellowstone. For our first hike, we decided on Fairy Falls and the outlook for the Grand Prismatic Spring. My Mom has never really spent any time in Yellowstone, so she had to see the GPS. Plus, it's kind a must-do for me too...it never gets old. It's the only place I'm really willing to fight the traffic, parking, and people. It's worth it every time.
We didn't realize how many more people would be on this trail. At the beginning, we figured it was all people heading to the overlook. But compared to our hikes a couple of years ago, it was downright congested! It was still beautiful though. And it was more of a walk than a hike, so it was a nice one to get the kids warmed up with. It was such a beautiful trail! Because the kids and been up so late the night before, they were a little tired. For the first time in many hikes, Johnny got a little distracted by his tired legs. But this is where it's great to have a destination, like a waterfall, to get to!
The falls were very impressive, falling 200 feet into a pristine pond. It was well worth any effort getting there. If we had been dressed for it, we would have loved to get into that pond! Joey was so excited to get out of his pack and walk around, and busied himself throwing as many rocks as he could over the logs and into the water. The rest of us enjoyed taking our packs off, eating lunch, and enjoying the cool spray from the waterfall. It was the perfect hiking destination.
We started making our way back down the trail, and met this cute little chipmunk friend that really wanted some of our food. Even though we didn't feed him, he was kind enough to pose for a picture. :) It's always interesting to me that on hikes that aren't a loop, the trail can look so different coming back than it did going up. But honestly, our kids were tired. They needed a little more encouragement as we walked, and Grandma Candy was right there to provide it! She let Sophie wear her hat, which made Sophie feel fashionable and fun. And she'll do anything as long as she can be fashionable and fun! To keep Claire a-walkin', she asked for a detailed summary of the Land of Stories series. Well, since both girls have a slight obsession with said series they got more than just a summary! It was so fun to watch the walk and talk together.
We finished the Fairy Falls trail, and on our way back to the car hung a sharp right up to the Grand Prismatic Spring Overlook. It was a bit of a climb compared to what we had been doing, but right as we were almost to the top Danny spotted a fox!! We have seen a lot of wildlife in the park during our visits, but the only other time we've seen a fox was late at night when it ran across the road in front of our car. It was so amazing that he was just chilling out literally feet from a very congested trail! Definitely a highlight of what promised to be a trip full of highlights!
And speaking of highlights...the Grand Prismatic Spring is always a highlight for us! We've only ever seen it from the boardwalk, since there was no overlook before this year. The view was even better from above, where you can really appreciate all the colors. I've seen it so many times, and yet every time I see it I have to remind myself that it's real...and that I'm still on Earth! Definitely one of our most favorite parts of Yellowstone.
One of the "must-dos" on this trip was to get some huckleberry ice cream from our favorite little ice cream stand in West Yellowstone, as well as let the kids shop for souvenirs...which seemed perfect after a 5.4 mile hike! Grandma Candy has never had the pleasure of West Yellowstone huckleberry ice cream, and she loved it every bit as much as we all did! We enjoyed our ice cream while we kept Joseph from running into traffic, and then hit one of the shops for souvenirs. Johnny found a pocketknife with his name on it, and he was over the moon. He has searched for months for the perfect pocket knife. And Claire settled on the cutest Yellowstone hoodie, and she was instantly in love with it. Ah, the joy of a perfect hoodie! Sophie looked and looked, but nothing really spoke to her. She learned the hard but valuable lesson of waiting to buy until you find something you love. Danny and I were very proud of her!
We got back to the cabin that evening a lot later than we had expected to. We had some quick dinner and basically called it a night! We had another hike planned of the next day, so we needed to get our rest!
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