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2007 Road Trip Notes
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2008 Road Trip notes
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Friday, July 27th, 2007

Friday, July 27, 2007 We got up at 7:00 and the kids at 7:30. We left the campground at 8:25, and entered park at 8:30. There were a lot of people stopped at the arch so we decided to wait until later to take a picture. It was 63 degrees, cloudy with some blue sky showing, but not over us. Tour Guide Barbie (Sarah) read us information about Yellowstone. We entered Wyoming at 8:38, (in case you have not figured it out, the campground is in Montana). We got to mammoth Hot Springs at 8:46. We walked around looking at some of the hot springs. Some have no water in them anymore. Ron, Zach and I walked back to the Suburban and left Sarah, Grandpa, and Granny sitting on a park bench. We were going to pick them up. We left at 10:03 and stopped at the bathrooms to change in shorts. We left the bathroom at 10:15 and went to pick up Sarah, Grandpa and Granny. We picked them up 10:21 and drove around the Upper Terrance Drive. We stopped at pit toilets at 10:32 to finish our 58 ½ BB. Ron, Zach and I went when we changed into shorts. We left the pit toilet at 10:41. At 10:50 I cleaned everyone’s sunglasses. Grandpa’s were disgusting. AT 11:06 we saw our first buffalo. Granny got 5 points for an elk and the buffalo. We got to Norris Geyser Basin at 11:33. We walked around for a little while, but it started sprinkling on us. We left at 12:25. You could hear the water bubbling. At 12:35, we stopped to eat sandwiches and chips at a picnic area. We could hear thunder in the distance so we hurried and left the picnic area at 1:05. We saw big elk just after leaving the picnic area. We stopped at the Paint Pots at 1:10. We walked down and ran back because it started to rain on us. We left at 1:38. At 1:47 it stopped raining. At 1:56 we saw some elk. We reached Old Faithful parking lot at 2:24. We used our 59 ½ BB. We watched Old Faithful first. At 3:18 it spurted a little and then at 3:28 it went off. We walked around and looked at smaller geysers. We stood outside of the Lodge and watched Old Faithful again. We need to remember to watch from a direction that the wind is not blowing. The wind blew the steam toward us during our first one. After Old Faithful blew a second time for us, we walked into the lodge. It is very beautiful. We also the used the restrooms (our 60 ½ BB). We ate supper in the cafeteria. Grandpa, Ron and I had buffalo meatloaf, Granny had roast turkey, Sarah had a chicken sandwich, and Zach had alfredo. It was all good. We left at 6:09. It was 77 degrees, sunny with some clouds. We drove back toward the campground. At 6:21 we saw some elk. We stopped at Midway Geyser at 6:22 (just after seeing the elk). We had our 61 ½ BB. We walked around the geyser and left at 6:58. Grandpa saw 2 elks and got 4 points. Zach saw a big buffalo. He gave himself 30 points. Grandpa saw a herd of elk (4 points). At 7:25 it started sprinkling. At 7:30 we saw 2 elk, but no one got points for them. There were people already stopped looking at them, so Zach said we did not find them. It was still raining. At 7:33 it stopped raining. Ron asked what time did we want to leave in the morning. No one said anything. So Ron said, “Nose goes”. Grandpa lost. He said 5:00 am. Ron saw some elk (4 points). Zach saw an elk in the tree line. He got 30 points - 3 for the spot and a 10 multiplier. Ron saw a herd of elk (4 points), the he saw an elk (2 points). Ron saw a herd spotted by someone else. So he did not get any points. Ron and Zach spotted more elk. Ron got 4 points. Sarah wants to have a Point Nazi coup. Zach said that was a travesty of the game. At 8:12 I saw a grizzly bear. I got 1 pity point. Other people had already spotted him. Sarah spotted elk next to Mammoth Hot Spring. We entered Montana at 8:26 we left the park at 8:30. We stopped at the arch to take a picture of the kids standing in the arch. We left at 8:37. We got to the campground at 8:40. It was 82 degrees, sunny with some white clouds and a few grey clouds. When we got back to the camper, the A/C was not working. We opened windows and turned on Grandpa’s big giant outdoor fan. It cooled it down, and no one got hot during the night.