Vacation Update

I'm back to writing, dear readers, after a few days in the wilderness of Yellowstone where there was very poor cell phone service and no wi-fi. I was disconnected from the world, and it didn't excite me as much as my husband had hoped it would. You would think he'd know after 22 years together that roughing it for me is a hotel with no room service. And now that includes no wi-fi. I expressed my astonishment that Yellowstone was not connected, and my dear husband loftily informed me that the National Park Service had better things to spend their money on. I told him we would just have to agree to disagree on that point.

Before Yellowstone, we spent a couple of days in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The first day we did an alpine slide. The slide was fun, but Sabrina was convinced she'd plummet to her death on the ski lift up to the top. I made David go with her. The second day we spent on the Snake River whitewater rafting. It was a gorgeous day, and we saw at least a dozen bald eagles and osprey.

We then traveled to Yellowstone. We saw bison, elk, and wolves, and gorgeous scenery. Because we were there on nights with no moon, Rose, David, and my father-in-law were able to go to an astronomy lookout and use giant telescopes to look at the galaxy. Rose even got to see the rings of Saturn.

We were fortunate enough to stay in the Old Faithful Inn. My favorite part was the tour of the Old Faithful Inn that gave us some of the history of the park and the hotel. We got to see lots of geysers, including Old Faithful. We went on the geyser walk, and David and the kids loved every minute of it. Calvin at one point said, "This is the most epic vacation ever! Thanks so much, Dad!" This was said just as a group was passing us on the geyser walk, and one mom said to her teenage girls, "Did you hear that little boy? You should be more grateful." David and the kids were so determined to see Grand Geyser, which has a four-hour window of when it is estimated to erupt, that they sat in the sun for two hours. They assure me it was totally worth it. We also saw Old Faithful, again and again and again. I think I have to agree with Sabriba's assessment that geysers are a little like over-enthusiastic hot tubs.

Yesterday, we left Yellowstone for Ring Lake Ranch outside of Dubois, Wyoming, for a week of hiking, horseback riding, and general relaxation. It is somewhat primitive, by my standards, although at least we don't have to sleep outside. David gave the kids a safety talk before we left. By the time he was done, I was petrified, and I've even been to this ranch before. I texted my friend to tell her goodbye as I was afraid I might not be coming back alive. She asked what the safety lecture included, maybe don't let a horse step on you and avoid poop? I told her that horses didn't even make the top ten, because it was too busy being filled up with ticks, scorpions, rattlesnakes, wild elk, falling from rocks, and avoiding the glacier-fed lakes.

More soon, assuming a rattlesnake doesn't get me first.