July, 2016- Wyoming, Montana-Day 6

Mr. Bullington and I started the day by completely emptying the entire contents of the rental car into the parking lot to see if we could pack it a little more efficiently.  After Zoopaloosa last night the car was in shambles.

We discovered 15 lost Combos (Cheddar), 5 colored pencils, a handful of legos, a wet towel, both cowboy and indian figurines, three lost socks, and a wayward flipflop. The humans are still packed like sardines, but at least we know where stuff is. 

Mile 2544- We left to travel north towards Tower Falls. When you are walking downhill for a mile to the base of a gorgeous water fall, the landscape is so thrilling! The mile back up the mountain will have you seeing the face of Jesus and smelling like a goat.

 

 I am about hiked out. But, Mr. Bullington is a national park junkie and if there is a hike. We’re doing it. Every turnout. Every site. All. Day. Long. I guess I know how he feels when we happen upon The World’s Largest Stack of Filing Cabinets and I make him go. We saw it all, even the petrified tree! Whoo-hoo!

Mile 2581- We arrived at our next stop Mammoth Hot Springs. We are staying in a little 1930’s cabin with two bedrooms and a DOOR between us and the children!  A real live door! We even have a cute little front porch!

Luxury accommodations included this door. Fully loaded with knob and hinges. Perfect for separating the savages from the civilized.  

There was a hike close by of the terraces. We had an hour to kill before our cowboy cookout. And of course, Mr. Bullington was game!

Greetings from the surface of the moon!

Land of the Lost

Mile 2601-Y’all are not going to believe this! We booked this little excursion a year ago where you ride horses  to a chuck wagon cowboy cookout. The girls and I were on horseback and the boys rode in a horse pulled wagon. Thomakazi was most chagrined that he didn’t get to ride because he missed the age cutoff. But, that is okay, because we ran into Marietta friends!! The Wills family! John Wills was Thomas’ t-ball coach that one time he tried t-ball. And they live near us in Marietta! The husbands are friends and I enjoyed getting to know Kristen better! After one of the Wills family may or may not have broken the record for number of steaks eaten,  we saddled up our horses for a ride through the back country back to the corral.

That time the boy-child convinced a team of older boys to build a bridge for him so that he could cross the creek. Evil Genus.  

May-retta in the house!

Don't mind if I do.

Mile 2623- We have more room tonight and the girls straight-up convinced Thomakazi that he should sleep on the floor so they could each have their own double bed. To persuade him, they built him his own fort complete with sleeping bag, camp chair, and welcome mat. He added the sign.  Sucker.

July, 2016, Wyoming, Day 5

Our early departure that was supposed to happen didn’t because we aren’t even halfway through this trip and we are already worn out! Hopefully, we’ll get our second wind. I had heard that you should get to Old Faithful early but we took our time getting there. Stopping to explore many of the gurgling mudpots, paint pots, and other bubbling oddities. Mae said on the back from Sulfer Caldron “No offense Mother Nature, but this stinks!” 

You haven’t lived until you've been engulfed in a cloud of sulfur steam.  I’ll never be able to un-smell that. And, hopefully my singed nose hairs will grow back.

Mile 2486- We arrived to Old Faithful with 2000 of our closest friends and half the continent of Asia. Old Faithful erupted twice while we were there. That sucker is huge! And quite faithful, every 90 minutes! Give or take a few.

 

It wouldn’t be a Bullington Family Vacation if I didn’t force the entire family to tour some historic property. This year was no different. We took the historic tour of The Old Faithful Inn that was built in 1904. It was built entirely of Yellowstone timber and has been kept virtually the same since then. Our tour guide spoke in a hoarse whisper that was impossible to hear and we ended up bailing halfway through. But, the Inn is incredible! And booked solid. Believe me, I tried!

 On the way back we took a little hike down to the Yellowstone River.

Mile 2528- The highlight of the day was a completely spontaneous wildlife viewing episode that made us look like a cross between Jack Hanna and a team of storm chasers.  There was a throng of people gazing out over this valley.  We pulled over to see what they were looking at.  It was so amazing! Y’all, it turned us into binocular wielding maniacs!  There was this herd of Elk that had been driven into the center of the river by a pack of wolves. WOLVES!!! Then this HUGE bull elk ran off the wolves and put himself between the herd and the wolf pack.  It was so exciting! We remembered that we had our telescope in the car we went tearing through the car in a frenzy looking for it.  Throwing dirty socks and sleeping bags hither and yon. After we got the scope all put together we got the Elk in our sight again (I am not making this up) a freaking bald eagle landed near the bull Elk. He stayed awhile, because I think he was hungry and expecting a wolf vs elk showdown.There were all of these strangers hanging out together pointing out the different animals to each other. It was a really cool vibe. What is funny is that all of the tourists get a glimpse of the wild and go along their merry way. But, the locals take this stuff really seriously. I overheard two ladies in the post office this morning. "Well I saw wolf #755 with my spy scope and it looked like he had a bloody nose, he's been fighting Mollie's pack and what with the new babies in the picture and that Alpha female catting around, who know's what's going to happen". There is no wifi or tv. And it shows. 

We would drive a bit and then spot something, Mr. Bullington would scream,  “There’s another elk!”  Then he’d swerve off the road. We’d gather the scopes and take off running.

 

It was a site! Thomas has been taking copious notes about all of the animals that we’ve seen and likes to share them with whoever will listen. He especially likes foreign tourists who don’t speak a lick of English.

Finally, we explored the canyons before dinner.  They were spectacular and the boy didn’t fall in. #winning

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!

July, 2016 Wyoming, day 3

Mile 2309-After we dined on a delectable breakfast of cold pizza from last night’s dinner we marched our happy tails back to the Gros Ventre Campground.  

The Tetons are Grand! And my arm isn't that long!

We are going to camp tonight GOSH DANG IT! I am going to sleep on the ground!  There will be a thin layer of canvas between myself and all of the predators that nature has to offer!
 It reminds me of my favorite 90’s Lifetime made for tv movie, “Mother, May I Sleep With Danger?”featuring young Hollywood starlet Tori Spelling. This mother is going to sleep with danger, Dadgummit!
Fortunately, or unfortunately (depends on your affinity for the outdoors) there was an available camping spot. The girls were responsible for putting up our tent and they got along AND worked together! 

After we got settled, we drove over to Jackson Hole to ride the ski lifts and Gondolas up to the top of the mountains.  
Mile 2317-The Aerial Tran took us up 4,139 vertical feet to the most beautiful mountain views! We saw little Pica jumping around on the rocks and lots of Marmot.  


After having lunch at the top of the mountain we set out for our first hiking trip.

Mile 2325 We took a boat ride across Jenny Lake and hiked 2 miles straight up to Inspiration Point, elevation 7200 feet. I can’t even. It was sublime. Beautiful water falls, huge trees and views that took my breath away.  Of course, it is always a challenge to corral Master Thomas who hikes in the style of a Mountain goat who just found his Spidey Sense. He doesn’t really fancy walking the way normal folks would. He prefers to ricochet from rock to rock and then leap off all herky-jerky.  It required a lot of  “redirection”.
 

Protective mom hand always upon the lit'list Bullington

Yes. That is thousands of feet dropping off on the other side of that unpredictable rocky foot path. 

We made it!

I heard that there was some good Taxidermy in the Jackson, Wyoming Million Dollar Cowboy Bar.

 We couldn’t take the kids in the bar, so we ate downstairs in the steakhouse. I snuck up to peek at what  they had to offer. There were zero chipmunks in canoes. ZERO. But, they had a wolf taking down a big horn sheep.  The bar stools are saddles, so that’s fun when you don’t have three kids waiting on your return from the “bathroom”.

Stop nibbling on my horn, Wolfie. I'm just not that into you.

Mile 2335 We wanted to get back to the campsite before darkness fell and it was gaining on us! But, we kept seeing all of this amazing wildlife on the way home! And, thanks to my daddy, I am a real good wild life spotter. We saw a mama moose with her baby, a daddy moose with a full rack, and Pronghorn.  I‘ve never seen Mr. Bullington gun-it backwards down the shoulder of the road until I shrieked, THERE’S A MOOSE WITH A RACK!!

Mommy moose with baby (you'll have to trust me, you can't see the baby)

Big Daddy Moose

We scurried to get organized once back at the campsite, we played cards by head-lamp and sat around the fire.  The temperatures were dropping, but we bundled up like only Southern people can do.  We were basically wearing snowsuits, while all of the tan, young camping folks milled about the campground in their sandals and hemp necklaces. As I write this Thomas is snoozing by the campfire in daddy’s lap and the girls are giggling in the tent. As you might have predicted, all of that giggling from the tent resulted in mommy's undergarments strapped to a soccer ball and hung from the "roof?"  Maybe camping isn’t so bad…..I’ll let you know tomorrow!