Yellowstone 2012 May 24-28

So here are just a few of our most favorite memories. This year we shared our vacation with Mom and Dad Covington and Troy and his girls. It was great we had a memorable Idaho Falls with these 2 Canadian Geese that had like 100 goslings. They were so dang cute they just kept coming and coming. The blossoms on the trees were beautiful as the air was filled with excitement to begin our vacation.





We got to West Yellowstone and we were all starving so Gpa took the kids swimming because they just couldn't wait one more minute and we responsible adults went to get KFC which Treg has been begging us for since we went to Gma Townsends and she shared some with us back in Feb. So that was the highlight of the first day of our trip.

The kids woke up early ate a quick breakfast and headed to the pool before check out time. Mom and I went for a little shopping downtown West Yellowstone and had to check the roads since it was snowing and we weren't sure if it would still be open. Then we headed back to the hotel and had to pry the children away from the pool. But they were all excited to get to the park and see what there was to see.

Once we got into the park we headed to Mammoth to get our cabins and of course they were not ready yet so we headed to Tower for a quick drive. This was the first year that the Tower Gift Shop was not open so we walked to the falls and then headed back to Mammoth. And on our way to Mammoth....

We saw this amazing site. This young bear was so cute playing by the road side exploring the trees and playing peek a boo with the people watching him. The rangers had scared him off earlier that day but he came back for more. He wasn't shy at all and we sure had a good time watching him, all within reach of our car doors!

The next morning we woke up to at least 6-8 inches of fresh snow covering the grounds. That morning walk to the bathrooms was not the best of memories. So we headed to the ranger station to see what the road conditions were like and well this is what we saw....

Yep it was official we were stuck there in Yellowstone so we watched some movies in the ranger station and looked through their museum and just spent time shopping and eating ice creams. Then we took a drive over to Lamar Valley. There we saw off in the distance 2 wolves frolicking in the fields.

This was also the first year that the Slough Creek campground was closed so we parked it by the trail head and ate our lunch. It was a crazy time with the weather not knowing what it would do from snow to sunshine moment by moment. I guess it kept us on our toes. The Mountain Goats were fun to pull over and watch for a while.

It was kinda sad to leave Yellowstone that last day we woke up to more snow and the kids loved saying good bye to their Yellowstone Snowman friend. This year it seemed to be another Yellowstone in Wintertime. We got our fill of bear watching and snowplows.

But I can't remember Mammoth being quite so amazing the snow really brought out such beautiful coloring it reminded me of how it was during my childhood when I would just stare at it and all I could think of was the most amazing Carmel sundaes. Oh how many wonderful childhood memories I have of this place.

On our way to Jackson Hole we stopped by Old Faithful for Troy and his girls. This was their first experience at Old Faithful so I busted out the stick on mustaches and was determined to make this a memory they would never forget. Of course Old Faithful was as amazing as ever. Never disappointing!

The kids were so excited to go swimming we made a quick stop at Wendy's then down to the pool for the rest of the night. Dad Covington was amazed at the ability that both Troy and Terry have of staying underwater for so long. So of course we had to have a few competitions, I was the official timer and I just couldn't help myself watching them all floating around was just too silly to pass up a good photo.

The next day we checked out then went shopping. Dad and Mom decided the kids all needed some special souvenir to remind them forever of this fun trip we all shared together. So these are the sweet necklaces they bought them for that sweet reminder of all the fun times we had. I am just so grateful to have parents who love us for who we are and who care to be part of our lives!

We drove home the longer way so we could enjoy the views of Bear Lake... Man I miss this place. We stopped and enjoyed some good old Raspberry shakes before we jumped back into the car to finish out our amazing Yellowstone trip of 2012.