Some Musings on the Trip So Far

Well, I was expecting there to be a little lull before the storm while we were in Utah prepping for our Yellowstone trip, but it turned out to be all storm. Between that and limited cell phone/internet service, I have not been posting as frequently as I would like.*

I am writing this on the evening of the 12th from our cabin at the Bill Cody Ranch, 25 miles outside the Yellowstone East Entrance, but I probably won’t have internet access to publish it until we get to our new hotel on the 13^th. The kids were warned that there would be no or very limited internet connection here at the ranch. There was/continues to be much wailing, especially from Charlie who is currently addicted to playing on public Minecraft servers with his friends.

It’s been interesting to see how the kids have reacted to the trip so far. It’s not that we haven’t traveled before, but this is the most extensive trip we have made to date, both in scope and distance. Alice, our little homebody, has surprised us with her enthusiasm about seeing new places. She has had a few meltdowns from lack of food or sleep, though. Last night we were late getting out of Yellowstone and underestimated the distance to the Ranch. It was about 10pm after a long day when we finally arrived, and Alice was overtired and freaked out at seeing the rustic cabin. The straw that broke the camel’s back was the cow skull mounted over the bed, with a painted snack encircling one eyeball. We had to take my Aunt’s offer of her jacket to cover the offending object, and, after much crying, managed to get Alice to sleep. After a good sleep she was fine this morning and was excited to see that there was a creek just outside the cabin. She is still not fond of the skull though.

I admit, it is a bit creepy

Charlie has been more complain-y, which seems to be a direct result of his overwhelming desire to be somewhere that has a Minecraft server internet connection. Also, to entertain himself during hikes/walks, he talks about something that interests him. Today during our 1.5 mile walk around the Norris Geyser Basin, he related the entire plot of an episode of Teen Titans Go. Oh well, it kept him from complaining about the walk. On the plus side, he is largely uninterested in souvenirs, while Alice has a tendency to want to buy the entire Gift Shop.

Charlie at one of the Antler Arches in Jackson, WY

It’s been wonderful traveling with my Aunt and Uncle. They are thoughtful, funny, generous, and most importantly they appreciate my Monty Python references (or at least they pretend to, which amounts to about the same thing.) When I was growing up I thought they were the most fun relatives ever and I hope Charlie and Alice can have similar memories. And an extra shout-out to my Aunt for organizing the Grand Teton – Yellowstone portion of our trip. Trip planning is not one of my strengths so I am grateful that she made it happen.

One of the Continental Divide locations in Yellowstone. Not pictured: the spitting into the Atlantic and the Pacific.

I myself am not generally a great traveler, but since Dan and I have been traveling together for many many years, we operate on the same wavelength which helps greatly. It also helps that Dan is a very good traveler, driver, and Master Packer. Thanks honey!

Two legs of our journey complete (SLO – Logan UT, Logan – Yellowstone). Next up: Yellowstone – Chelsea, MI.

*Apparently Sprint, our cell phone carrier, has no towers in Wyoming or South Dakota, which has greatly hampered our ability to communicate with the outside world. Hopefully Minnesota will be better...