lodge lady: It's Official: Yellowstone National Park

Some days you just have to eat ice cream for lunch!

We all awoke to Gene Autrey singing “Oh Give Me a Home Where the Buffalo Roam”--- Jerry’s new discovery to replace an alarm clock.

We said goodbye to Skyline Guest Ranch and headed out of Cooke City and into Yellowstone National Park, officially beginning our tour of this country’s first national park.

You say Bison: we saw thousands of those big boys (and girls) and calves and stories of gorings galore (actually four by the time we got there). There is no accounting for the stupidity of people with cameras and iPhones. At first it was the wandering herds along the Lamar and Hayden valleys then a few just wandering down the road. Wherever they were, tourists like us pulled over to get a better look.

Petrified trees: Say a 5 million year-old one that is a Redwood, yes, just like the ones in California. Lots of changes over the years.

Why is it called Yellowstone you may ask: The expanse of those valleys that just humble the soul made way for the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. This is where you figure out why it’s called Yellowstone---stone canyons carved and eroded and turned into ochre-hued cliffs. The meandering Yellowstone River narrows into two of the park’s signature waterfalls. Our ¾ mile downward hike to the brink of the Lower Falls that gush and crash and make your heart stop…especially with four kids looking over the chain link and stone fence. Only Papa got queasy. Then up to the Upper Falls for more of the same but a shorter hike and fewer people.

Explain Ice Cream for Lunch: By then there was way too much to see and do to stop for a picnic, so, hence the idea of ice cream for lunch. Maya treated and we were off.

Bull Elk: Are huge. Really huge and when that baby is about 25 yards away, it looks, well, really huge. And we all saw it!

Is that a Grizzly Bear or just hundreds of people? The Rangers call this a Bear Jam. But why not, this is why to come to the park! This was our first Grizzly, and I never would have seen it if not for the kindness of someone with a spotter lens. There in the distance of Hayden Valley amidst meadows and the meandering Yellowstone River was a Grizzly. Our first.

Lake Hotel and Lake Lodge: We got our reservations at the historic Lake Hotel that had just gone through a 28.5 million dollar renovation. In addition to structural work, Xanterra in cooperation with the park service has redone the main hotel public spaces, dining room, bar, etc. and really spiffed up guestrooms to be more of a “couples” hotel. We are definitely not in the couple mode, so we got two rooms in the non-renovated Sandpiper Annex that worked out just fine. By the way, that annex will be updated next year (and there are cabins too). Let me say that the interior of the hotel has been tastefully updated, opened up and since it had been updated numerous times (including by the architect Robert Reamer, it was a challenge to decide just what era to go with. (Make sure to catch the 5:30 tour by Michelle Trapper who is writing a history of the hotel.) PS I will write more about Lake Hotel renovation when I get back to Bend.

I mention Lake Lodge because for families this is THE place to eat. The wonderful cafeteria caters to families, and they really helped with our crew. Also, I love the rustic, log main Lake Lodge that is going through some preservation work right now. The huge great hall has a couple of wood burning fireplaces and enough atmosphere to make anyone hankering for the Wild West to be happy. There are cabins available here and the lake views from both the Hotel and Lodge are spectacular.

Back to Wild Life: And I don’t necessarily mean traveling with four kids. After breakfast at the aforementioned Lake Lodge Cafeteria, we headed to our first Ranger program Mud Pot Ramble that took us through more stinky ,bubbling, mudpots than I knew were in the park. (Remember, I spent all of my time in archives and lodges when researching my books.) The 1-½ hour program was a bit too long for our crew, but Maya stuck it out because she is the official Nana & Papa Photographer and loves this stuff.

OK. Here is it the ultimate Bear Jam. Papa decided we should go back to the Hayden Valley and we hit the jackpot!!!!! The day before a wolf had killed an elk just 25 yards from the road. I don’t know, but I think it was in his contract. So, this gigantic Grizzly chased off the wolf, buried the elk and was feeding on the carcass. This made for some amazing viewing. We had two sets of binos and Maya’s lens. Once again, the kindness of another ogler with a spotter lens gave each of us a really up close and personal look at this. You think a thousand people, an NPS ambulance (just in case), traffic NPS “police” would be a zoo with hundreds of cars and motorcycles and RVs but NO! It was a blast. Everyone was having such a great experience and we were sharing it with people from all over the world. Just amazing. Yes, the national parks were indeed “America’s Best Idea”.

After all of the excitement, we chilled out along the Nez Perce Ford tributary of the Yellowstone, picnicked, waded, skipped rocks and unwound from a fabulous day.

Oh, yes dinner: As I write this blog, the kids (all dressed up and killing time with Papa) are listening to Chamber Music in the Solarium as we await our 7:45 fancy-dinner-of-the-trip reservations. I know it will be great. How can it be anything else?