Day 12: “Green Eggs and Ham”

We’re still in internet/ cell phone black hole, so this will be posted late. We have omelettes for breakfast and ready our great ship for travel. We’re touring up to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone today. We look out the window and the snow is falling thick and silent. We wonder if we should hang out and read a good book, but our time here is limited. We set sail, but first, we stop by the gift shop in search of warmer clothing. The girls have lightweight jackets and Jack can’t stand to have cold hands, we’ve discovered. After some looking around, we come up with some warmer gear. At the first stop, I realize that half the clothing my children are wearing says Yellowstone on it. We are such tourists!

That first stop is at Mud Volcano. Just before we get there, Dave groans, “ugh, who tooted?!” (12 days in a motorhome does bring out the best in us, doesn’t it?) The cabin fills with cries of denial. “It could be the sulpher pits steaming up around us”, I say. Oh, yes- as we open the door to the motorhome, we get our first whiff of this natural wonder. Who’s hungry for eggs? I think I know where Dr. Seuss got the idea for Green Eggs and Ham now.

Tate covers her nose with her hand. It does stink, but how cool is this?! We see Dragon’s Mouth, which is a small cave with vapors shooting out, making a sound like the roar of a dragon. The ground boils up around us. Apparently the vapors are so acidic, that they decompose the rocks and earth around it into slimy mud. Cool!

There is a sign at the entrance that tells you to stay on the path. There is also a huge line drawing of a little boy who has veered off the path and is jumping up in pain as his foot slips through the thin layer of mud into molten earth. His mother screams out from the path. Jack connects with this, as he can’t read any of the words. Good, I think…it will keep him on the trail. My other favorite is the yellow road sign we saw that has the silhouette of a car with a dented front and a dead buck (horns and all). Yellowstone seems to be about spelling out things graphically.

We continue on and see a herd of deer in a clearing, just past the “watch out for wildlife” sign. It almost seems scripted. We pass by sulpher springs and thermal activity on both sides. It is snowing lightly again as we enter a grassland area. We see buffalo, but these have a thick coat of lighter fur than those we saw in South Dakota. They hunker down in the snow as the tourists snap their picture. Everyone is pulled over for some type of bird, but we’re more into large game “photo” hunting and continue on.

We stop at the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone Grand Canyon, which is apparently the most photographed area. We hike past a tall rock wall and then look down across this huge canyon with an amazing waterfall. It is impressive, but we don’t stay too long because it is starting to snow large flakes. Carter, still in his footed jammies that Alanna loaned us back in Michigan, a coat and Hannah’s hat, is tucked inside Dave’s coat like a little frozen papoose.

From there we go to the Canyon Village and have the most bizarre Mexican buffet you have ever seen. Afterward, we walk to the gift shop and discover an adorable 50’s style diner with burgers that would have been much more appetizing. The snow is really dumping by now. Dave takes Carter into the motorhome while the rest of us stay out and have a snowball fight. It’s T and I against Hannah and Jack. They all play rough, like their father. I did nail Hannah in the side of the head a couple of times, so I can’t claim pure innocence. Tate has a good arm and Jack will sack you up close while his sister distracts you.

We head on to the next stop with soaked jeans and shoes. Tatum and Jack plug into a movie and Carter falls asleep, so we take turns seeing the upper falls with Hannah. We ask Tate to come and her response is, “Are you taking a camera? I’ll just look at the picture.” It’s time to head back- we’re all pretty much done.