July 2016, Wyoming, Day 4

Good Morning!

We slept great! But it wasn’t without a story! You see, I had agreed to camp IF I could have an air mattress and coffee.  Mr. Bullington spent his hard earned money on a nice new mattress and battery powered pump for the girls and I.  Then, last week it snowed in Grand Teton and I started freaking out about staying warm during our camping nights. The weather was predicting 38 degrees on the nights we were due there.

 Two days before the trip, I stayed up half the night googling things like: How cold is too cold to camp?, How to stay warm when you camp,  camping with kids in the cold, how to convince your husband that hotels are amazing, etc.  I got lots of great tips. One that was repeated was that when cold weather camping, you shouldn’t sleep on an air mattress…Dang it! Apparently, the mattress becomes the same temp as the air and it’s like sleeping on a queen sized ice cube. No likey. So two days before we left, I put out a desperate APB to my woodsy friends. The Becketts and Krivskys heeded the call of the wild and provide loaner sleeping mats to the Bullington women folk. Thank you!! Your sleeping mats were a lifesaver and we are very much alive and not frozen. 

Happy Hubby!

A little Cowboys and Indians before breakfast

One of my sweet clients let me borrow her camping percolator that I’ve been carrying in my purse for 3 days. Coffee was written into my second amendment of camping.  Fortunately for Mr. Bullington, I got a somewhat decent nights sleep (for me) because he had to deliver the bad news this morning that we bought the wrong kind of fuel for our camp stove.  The only job of Mr. Camp Stove was to provide coffee to the camp Queen. Queen minus coffee equals hissy fit.   He delivered the news as delicately as he could and I showed remarkable restraint. No Coffee. No Air Mattress. Mr. Bullington is in direct violation of the first two amendments of camping with me. Someone may need to draw up a peace treaty.

It must’ve taken approx. 15 hours to pack up all the gear and load the car, I developed a sneaking suspicion that our luggage is having babies while we sleep.  We headed straight to the gas station for coffee. Next stop, Rafting!

Mile 2341-We booked a white water rafting trip with Lewis and Clark River Expeditions. They were so great! They drove us in a van (Just like Lewis and Clark!) to the Snake River and we met our guide, the ever-patient Aaron.  As you may remember, Thomakazi makes friends easily and he took a shine to A-aron.  Our guide joyfully answered 101 questions from Master Thomas as he guided us down exciting whitewater and beautiful scenery.  And, thank you, nice family from Texas who rafted with us. Your children were so quiet. Was it because they couldn’t get a word in edge-wise?

A small sample of questions from Thomas to A-aron- Have you seen Star Wars? What about the one with Jabba the Hut?  Did you see the one where the guy got his hand cut off? Do you like Minions? Which one is your favorite? How old are you? Are you Married? Why not? Do you have a BB gun? Is that a beaver dam? Do bear cubs have sharp teeth? Is your bb gun a Red Rider, ‘cause mine is. Have you even seen a Christmas Story? Can I paddle? Can I do a 360 jump out of the raft? Do you want to see my cannonball? Who liked it when I jumped in? Do you know how to sing It’s the Final Countdown? Are those bubbles from fish toots? A-aron answered every question with good humor and a smile and managed to keep us alive and afloat.

 Mile 2348- After the rafting trip we headed north after grabbing Lunch at Dornan’s Chuckwagon. They had a big ‘ol tee-pee and the most beautiful views of the Tetons

So pretty, and the mountains aren't bad either!

And more cowboys and indians. Best $7 i've spent! 

As we drove up towards our next destination, Yellowstone, I offered to take the wheel. Mr. Bullington was super tired and I hadn’t driven at all yet. It was fun to be reminded as we rounded the road to Yellowstone Canyon how much he loves it when I drive. He likes to show his love with yoga breathing, meditation, loud inhales and fake-brake slamming from the passenger side.  I like to show my love by reminding him that one of us learned how to drive on the hairpin turns of Appalachia, not straight-as-a-stick dirt roads in South Georgia.   I only had to drive for 30 minutes!

Mile 2444-Dang. This place is weird and gorgeous.  Weird in a beautiful unlike anything I have ever seen way. We left Grand Tetons NP that had all of the most beautiful vistas and wildlife available for viewing. Yellowstone has all of that coupled with a lot of weird nature.  The earth here is alive with gurgling, bubbling, steaming displays that delight and offend all of the senses all at the same time.  We caught some excellent wildlife coming in to the park, a huge Elk and lots of Bison.  We also caught a whiff of the most putrid, stank-tastic mudpots, Fumeroles, and hot springs that nature has to offer.  I can only imagine what the early trappers and explorers must’ve thought as they stumbled upon Yellowstone. Are we on the moon? Why is the ground so mad that is spews forth lava-hot steam and stinky-stank?  How did this arrow get stuck in my back?! Can’t wait to explore more tomorrow! And, the good news is that we are happily tucked into the new expansion of Canyon Lodge.  The lack of WIFI makes blogging a challenge, but the disconnect is worth it!