Yellowstone

Seattle and Yellowstone with the Delebeque family

Mathis enjoying the swing downstairsTouring downtown Seattle - Peter, Kenny, Timothy, and Mathis
Near Pike Place MarketAt Pike Place Market. Mathis got all the way up this pole.
At the International Fountain
Space Needle
...and dinner at the top!
Around the lighthouse in West Seattle - Timothy finds a dead crab
Flying to Yellowstone
First day in Yellowstone, first bison!
Our first hot springAt Gibbon Falls, they set up these great boulders for kids to climb on
We hiked up to Monument Geyser Basin - the first part along the river was the most beautiful.
The kids were pretty hot by the time we got to the top
Back at the riverside
At Artists Paintpot
The bubbling mud pits were some of our favorites
The next day, at Fountain Paint Pot
You could easily feel the heat
Midway Geyser Basin, with the Grand Prismatic Spring
Excelsior Geyser
Fountain Paint PotSapphire Pool - this would be SO much fun to go swimming in, if it were about 100 degrees cooler!
We waited a while until this one erupted
Hiking up to Mystic Falls
Waiting around for a geyser to erupt
Michele
Enjoying a hot foot bath where a hot spring empties into the riverAt Firehole Canyon, we were able to go swimming in the river, and a few of us went down the rapids
I went down the rapids once, wiht lots of encouragement, I think Jeannette went down 4 times.Made it!
Next day - we were old hands and didn't stop for just one bison anymore, there had to be a whole group
We took a short hike around these rocks on our way to Mammoth Hot Springs
Mammoth Hot Springs. There were a lot of "extinct" geothermal features here.
This whole area was previously active, but is now a white chalky wasteland
There's a resident elk herd at Mammoth Hot Springs. We ran into them on our way to get some ice cream.The last stop of the day was a swim at the Boiling River - where a boiling hot river empties into the Gardner River
You need to choose your spot with care, so you don't freeze or get boiled!
We wanted to check out the Obsidian Cliff area, but it was closedThe next day, we got a VERY early start - in the car by 5:05. Saw some wolves way off in the distance (with Jeannette's telephoto lense)
The light was beautiful so early in the morningA bison jogged along the highway next to us
In the Grand Canyon area of YellowstoneAnd then we had our bear encounter, right in the overlook parking lot!
Yikes - here he comes!
Apparently the park rangers were concerned about the bear being so closeEveryone looks like they've been up for a long time
A treat for the kids - we cooked hot dogs for lunch on a fire at a picnic area
At Yellowstone Lake. We were too tired to do much besides stumble out of the car at a pull-off, but it was beautiful.Stopping by Old Faithful on the way home
For dinner - ribs!
Our last day together in Yellowstone - a short hike to Harlequin Lake
We had lunch around the Ojo Caliente springs area
Stopping off at Old Faithful again...
On our way home!