Day 5

Today we went back to Yellowstone and tried to see some animals. We have seen many bison and elk. Today we saw a moose and bear butt. A ground squirrel was trying to be friends with Drake. There is a post office inside the park and we mailed ourselves a post card! Drake and Ian were able to play in the snow while wearing shorts. We went to 10,000 feet and there was still a lot of snow! We saw a big waterfall and a petrified tree. The remains of the fire of 1988 are quite impressive (picture). For dinner we went to Livingston and had pizza. Then we went back to where the train museum is and Drake got to see a real train go by so close you could almost touch it. There is a great model train group that shows their trains and talks to the kids about them. On the way back to the car a real train was starting to go and the engineer waved at the boys.

Day 4

Didn't do much today, just enjoyed the scenery and relaxed. We did go into the nearest town and go to a train museum and out to lunch. I seriously think Drake is in train withdrawls. We have a different rental van for now but if the other one gets fixed then we have to go get it which is a two hour round trip.

Day 3

We went to see Old Faithful today. The trip there was amazing. There is water everywhere and the hot springs are beautiful. The van is a pain though and we had to stop every thirty minutes to restart it. There were so many people at the park and so many languages. My camera started to act up but I think I set it straight. Most of us got sunburned due to the high altitude but it feels good.The picture on the left is the view from the back of the house at ten at night. I couldn't wait to get here to see the stars but I am not sure how late you have to stay up to see them then the sun comes up 4:30ish. I suppose this is good for the farmers and ranchers around here but geezo I want to sleep in. The picture on the right is my favorite thing from today. You could actually see the water boiling deep down in it.

Day 2

Today got off to a rough start. It took three hours to get the van fixed but that was better than the alternative which was a Jeep Grand Cherokee, they said it seats five but that seems a bit cramped for such a long drive. Drake was very excited/impatient to get going. We finally got on the road and guess what??? The van wasn't fixed. We had to repeatedly pull over and turn it off to reset it. Not to mention the five hundred stops for Drake to pee. When we got into Montana the highway (a real highway) turned into a two lane dirt road under construction. That kind of thing can only happen in Montana, I hope.The drive today seemed to take forever but was very scenic. Drake kept looking forward to seeing mountains with snow which finally came into view as soon as he fell asleep. I do think the mountains are beautiful but I don't miss them as much as my mom. We finally got to the destination city and Papa bonked his head getting in the van and started bleeding. We are here now and just relaxing by the beautiful Yellowstone River and mountains. Pictures tomorrow...

Day 1

We drove through the night and Drake was awesome. My portable DVD broke which kind of bites especially since we have only used it a handful of times. We got here really early so we went through the Bad Lands, I don't know what I was expecting but it was amazing. I finally decided that I had to contribute to the driving (which I hate) and the van decided to have issues. First, the cruise control went out and now the check engine light is on. At least we are in a city where we can exchange it for something tomorrow (hopefully something comparable in size). We went to the waterpark at the hotel and it is a lot of fun!! Drake is crazy and is ready to go back in a few minutes.

Transportation Museum

We went to the Transportation Museum today. Drake is strong enough to ring the bell all by himself now! We also found out that teachers are free with school ID!!!! I love free activities!

First Week of Summer

We have had our first week of summer and it has been fun! Drake got to go a Cardinal's game (great seats), this is him waiting for the Metrolink train. He has also learned how to blow a bubble after lots of practice. Dad and Drake went on their first camping trip together. Now it is time to getting ready for our trip!!