All of this quarantining business left us with a need to get away from our house and have a change of scenery! My friend told me she just returned from Yellowstone and it was a great time to visit because it was less crowded than usual. I had never been to Yellowstone. Dallas and I did a little research, realized we had three completely empty days on the calendar that next week, and behold! A family vacation was born.
We packed up and headed out. Our first pit stop demanded a photo:

The drive was so fast and easy, and before we knew it, we were in West Yellowstone. We enjoyed this sign:
We got to the park and realized that we had just enough time to book it to Old Faithful before its predicted eruption time. We made it there in time to sit and wait…

and wait…

and wait…

until finally…she erupted!

We decided to walk the boardwalk around Old Faithful. Caroline bit into a Starburst on the way and her loose tooth came right out mid-chew:

I loved this little hike. I’m not sure if it’s because it was the first thing we did, so everything was so new and amazing to see, but, well, everything was just so new and amazing to see! We loved looking at the geysers, trying to come up with our own names for them, and then running ahead to find the next wonder to behold.

Luckily for us, Old Faithful decided to erupt again about forty minutes before the predicted time, so we got to see another explosion from a less-crowded spot:

Dallas took the little kids to the bathroom while I waited with the big girls. We had nothing to do, so we had to get creative as we waited for them. We took awkward jumping pictures:

And we took turn-your-sister-into-a-rabbit pictures:

Then Brooke learned how to take creepy panoramic pictures and that kept her busy for the rest of the trip.







After Old Faithful we went to Black Sand Basin to see the geysers there. It was getting really stormy and we were afraid we were about to get dumped on. There was a nice rainbow geyser there that I liked.

We walked around quickly to see everything:


Then we ran to the car right before the heavens opened and rain, sleet, snow, and hail slammed down on us. It was a pretty impressive storm.

We were worried it would rain out the rest of our day, but before too long the rain cleared up and Madison spotted some elk. We stopped for a closer look.



We ate dinner at Lake Village and walked through a gift shop looking for treasures. None found.

Then we stopped at Mud Volcano and saw Dragon’s Mouth Spring which was a favorite. We loved the steam coming from the cave and the groaning noises that felt like a dragon did indeed live there.
On our way back to our hotel in West Yellowstone we stopped by the Artists Paintpots which was another favorite. We liked the white stew/soup spot that gurgled and bubbled and made us feel like an ogre lived beneath it.

At the hotel the kids loved playing with the old fashioned phone:

The next morning we decided to get up bright and early and drive out to Lamar Valley to look for wildlife. We saw lots of bison, elk, pronghorn, and birds.

We were mostly searching for a bear…and we found one!

It was just frolicking in a meadow full of wildflowers. It felt like the most perfect spot to watch a bear play.
After driving around Lamar Valley we went back to Mammoth Hot Springs for lunch.

We liked watching the elk that roamed through the little town. We explored the Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces. This was the hottest part of the hottest day that we were there and there were so. many. steps. so this wasn’t the most pleasant of all of our stops, but we made it through and this picture will give you the illusion that we all had smiles on our faces the whole time. I’m sure none of us complained one bit during this hike.





We found some rocks to climb:

We drove down to Norris and tried to stop, but that was the only place where we couldn’t immediately find parking, so we just continued on.
We went on to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. That was also beautiful. I loved how each part of Yellowstone was so different but so beautiful.


We loved the waterfall and did a couple different hikes to view it from different spots.

Brooke made a friend with a dragonfly:


On our way back to the hotel, Dallas spied some cranes, so we stopped to look. (They’re behind Brooke right in front of the tree line.)

The next day was the day our kids were looking forward to the most – horseback riding day! We had to wait for our turn which gave the kids plenty of time to bond with the company’s pet dog:

And to walk on wood planks:



And to show off how Brooke can twist her leg in unnatural ways:



Finally we were able to hop on our horses and ride through the woods.

Brooke’s horse was a little stubborn, so her horse got roped up to the guide’s horse in front of her. This arrangement is important because it led to the highlight of Brooke’s vacation. The horse in front stopped to poop and somehow the rope got caught in the horse’s butt…? And the guide couldn’t get it out. So she had to call to the guide at the front of the line and ask if she had gloves. Which made that guide ask why she needed gloves. So the guide in the back had to say, “Because there’s a rope stuck in my horse’s butt and I can’t get it out. I’m going to need some help back here.” Which led to silence from the guide at the front until she said, “I was not expecting to hear that!”
Meanwhile Brooke giggled uncontrollably through the poor horse’s ordeal…and anytime afterward when she thinks about that story.
Luckily the guide was able to free the horse without compromising too much of his dignity and we were able to continue our ride.



Dallas’s horse also brought comic relief as he kept stopping to eat every chance he got and when he wasn’t eating, he was finding small trees to walk over to scratch his underside.

After horseback riding we were ready to head home. We decided to drive through Yellowstone and go home through the Grand Tetons and Jackson Hole. This gave us the perfect chance to take these pictures:

And also these pictures:

We stopped at the Grand Prismatic Spring on our way out. The pictures of this spring look so pretty, but unfortunately, from the boardwalk, you can’t really see it. I was sad about that. Next time we go to Yellowstone we’ll have to hike from above so we can look down on it and appreciate the colors.


Dallas was amused by this poster every time we saw it, so we had to do our own version.

(To be clear – Caroline wasn’t really off the boardwalk. Dallas just Photoshopped her there. We were good tourists and stayed on the path.)
Our trip to Yellowstone was just the diversion we needed to break up the monotony of having nothing to do because of COVID. Dallas and I are already dreaming of when we can go back.


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August 28, 2012 @ 6:42 pm
I share Spencer’s feeling about Snakey. Particularly while he’s eating worms. That video. Was. Disgusting.
Looked so fun!
August 29, 2012 @ 5:28 pm
Is it weird that I read your blog and look at all the pictures of your kids?
Don’t answer that.
I love your blog Rebecca. And also Dallas?? (Who has no idea who I am either… which probably makes me even creepier)
But I just thought you should know of my love for the Golden Family!
P.S. I know where you live.
Okay now I’m legitimately trying to be creepy.
But actually I really do.
August 30, 2012 @ 7:22 am
It has been a very fun documentary of all the things you did with all those kids under your care for the week in Washington. I’m so glad you took all those pictures and have taken the time to blog about it. I know Mark and Michelle (and probably their kids) have gotten a kick out of seeing all of you in action having a good time while they were off having the time of their lives on the cruise. Your comment about Mark and Michelle planning another cruise so your family can have another great visit made me laugh. Funny! But I think they should take you up on on your offer and I’ll put my offer out there as well that we’ll be willing to go on another cruise with them if they want to plan it!
Kenzie’s comment is hilarious. Especially the part about her really knowing where you live. Gotta love her!!!
September 4, 2012 @ 3:29 pm
For quite a while I checked every day to see if the last Washington installment had been posted. I was starting to worry that I might be left hanging. I tried to be less compulsive about checking. 🙂 So today, imagine my happiness to find you’d posted quite a bit since I last checked! Rebecca – the photos are so cute! You guys are truly the BEST babysitters EVER and I would definitely take you up on the offer to come again and Kim’s offer to cruise again!!! Of course it will take quite a while to save up $$ for another cruise…but I will start saving!! I’m glad our kids had such fun together. My girls keep playing different imaginary games and often say, “Let’s do it like Brooke and Caroline!” I love how famous those 2 are around here!
September 4, 2012 @ 4:51 pm
Michelle – Sorry to leave you hanging for so long! If it’s going to take a while to save up money for another cruise maybe we should wait until Hailey is old enough to tend ALL the kids and we’ll go with you next time! 🙂
Kenzie – Favorite comment ever. I’m glad you stalk our blog.
P.S. I know where you blog. And I may stalk you there. Which is how I can say I’m happy you’re posting more lately. Keep it up!
–Rebecca