Sunday, July 22, 2012

7-22 My Dad's Birthday

Today my dad is 77 years old. I know that life ends, but I will miss my dad when he his gone. He was my first mentor. He was my life model. I don't think that I succeeded as well as he did. He is the standard I hold myself to. Sometimes, I think I will never reach that standard. I have loved my dad as long as I remember. I am not afraid to hug him and give him a kiss. If I had to choose my family I would not change a thing, especially my dad. Happy Birthday Dad.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

7-21 9 o'clock

One of my wishes since I first saw Old Faithful, was to see her erupt at night. Well, almost 20 years after that time, I saw it. At about 9 o'clock, I dragged my family to the geyser basin after dinner. On the way, we almost hit a deer that decided to cross the road in front of us in our rented truck. Thankfully, God was watching us. I saw the deer out of the corner of my eye in the trees and was off of the accelerator and already slowing down when the animal decided to cross the road. After that we arrived and were with only about 15-20 others that wanted to see the same thing. Only about 20 minutes later, Old Faithful erupted. What a backdrop. The blue sky with the sun already set. The water and steam exploding into the sky with power. God was an artist. I can't imagine what it was like to see that great event early on in the discovery of the western United States. Those explorers will forever have my awe.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

7-19 Animal

Yellowstone National Park is known for its bison herds. We happened across a bison. He was separated from his herd. We first encountered him on a trail, we were going down and he was going up. We gave him wide berth and advised others around us and we waited. Others at the bottom of the trail must have crowded this fellow because he turned around and moved quickly towards them. We waited a few minutes and one of the crowd we were with moved down the trail to check out the situation. He waved us forward and this guy was behind the railing of the boardwalk. He posed for a little bit and then laid down. Ashton took this great picture. Never been that close to one of those animals...It is breathtaking.

Monday, July 16, 2012

7-16 Sign

Summer of 2010 we went to a Dude Ranch in Montana and one evening we visited a nearby mining town. We got to see some neat stuff, especially this truck. I love old vehicles and this one I had to take a picture of.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Kasey Kahne Wins @ New Hampshire

I am a big Kasey Kahne fan and because of church today I missed his win at New Hampshire. He is now in the lead of the Wild Card chase. I can't wait for him to be in the chase.

7-15 Finger

I usually make fun of Melissa for getting her finger into photographs, this time I cannot blame her. That is my finger in the picture of the Upper Falls of Yellowstone. I guess that I was kind of worried that I would drop the camera because I don't have a wrist strap and I was leaning over the rail to take the picture. I messed up the picture.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

7-11 Letter

This notice is all over Yellowstone. It is a shame that people need to be warned about this, but since humans cannot control themselves, pools, springs and geysers have been damaged by garbage. I love Yellowstone and all of the state and national parks that I have visited. I have respect for nature, not necessarily a tree hugger, but I respect it. I love that my boys were always looking to protect the park and would report to the rangers any problems they would see and pick up trash to throw away. RESPECT.

Monday, July 9, 2012

7-9 Big

This guy was big. On our way to Canyon Junction, we were following some motorcycle riders who signaled their intention to slow. Then we found out why. This fellow was walking down the road just minding his own business. We all moved out of his way into the other lane of traffic and we all went about our day. What a magnificent beast and thanks to our Heavenly Father for putting them here and the US Government for protecting them.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

7-8 Lunch

No...Not really lunch, but this was our first meal after getting our camp set up at Yellowstone. We went back to West Yellowstone and ate at the Gusher. We had pizza. As you can see, it didn't take long for the pies to get started and finished. We really enjoyed eating there and will probably visit again the next time we are in West Yellowstone.

7-6 Chair

This is late but I think I can justify that. The family at Madison Campground on June 30 sitting on our just placed chairs. I will probably post more pictures from our Yellowstone adventure during the month of July.

Friday, July 6, 2012

OK...So I didn't do too bad for June and I am a little late for July (I have an excuse we were in Yellowstone), but I will try to keep it up from the 7th on.