yellowstone, revisted

Several weekends ago we went to Yellowstone National Park with our friends the Christiansens.  Really, if you are planning on going to "the Park" as Scott (Christiansen) calls it, there's no better person to go with.  He works for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, and is literally a walking encyclopedia Britannica of Yellowstone ecology/wildlife knowledge.  He's like... that encyclopedia britannica kid but with a cooler haircut.

We all piled up in the Christiansen's swagger wagon and headed for the park.  Of course, before we really hit the road we needed to make a pit stop for diet cokes and miniature cowboy hats.

We saw so many buffalo and elk it wasn't even worth taking a picture of them.  They were everywhere. We also saw antelope, coyote, deer... and something very cool which you'll see at the end.

 Here we are under the Roosevelt Arch.  Yellowstone was the first National Park in the world, and it does have a special feel like few places in the United States, that I've been to.  It is very difficult to resist the beauty and grandeur of the place.

Here's a better shot of the fam.  Ashley looks so beautiful, and she's knocking on 7 months pregnant.

 Here's Scott trying to explain the intricacies of geothermal activity to George (with Abram's curly locks in the foreground).  I was afraid that maybe it was a little over his head, but George seemed to take in all in.  I cannot emphasize enough how much fun it was to go with the Christiansens... we had such a fun time.

 Ashley, modeling the mineral deposits.  I can't really remember anything else about these.

 I had to take about 15 pictures of George before I could get a cute one of him smiling.  Despite running his hand along the wooden rails and filling his hands with splinters, he was still in pretty good spirits.

 Here's me and George... this was one of the few pictures of me and George. Even though my glasses make me look like an idiot, I wanted some documentation that I was actually at the park.  This is also one of my last pictures with a mustache... it has now gone away for the next forseeable future.

 George and his good friend Abram worked really hard at the park.  So hard, that they fell asleep and were totally exhausted.  They laugh and entertain each other so well.  They are really great friends and it is so fun to watch them play together.

Just as we were leaving... we saw one of the crown jewel's of the park.  Nature/wildlife enthusiasts! No... if you scan just past them, you can see a grizzly bear.  Yellowstone tip - if you see a bunch of people with their cameras out... you'll probably see something cool.

We have yet to see a wolf and moose, but we were so jazzed to see the grizzly.  We love being close to the park and hopefully we can continue to see incredible things.  If any of you want to come up... we'd love to show you around!