399 Days

Day 34 – Wyoming (by Lindsey) Thursday, July 29, 2010 Early this morning, while we kids were still asleep, the rumbling of the RV started up. We slept for an hour more as the rumbling and bumping continued. I woke up first and glanced out to see a foggy landscape moving fast through the window. We drove for a while more until we reached a pullout. We stopped and began to get breakfast and ourselves ready for the long day ahead of us. The view during our first meal was of the heavy fog over a curving river. As our meal went on, the fog slowly lifted and a new view was formed. We noticed three buffalo grazing across the river from where we were parked. As we were cleaning up from breakfast, the three buffalo started across the river. We watched as they clumsily swam across and then shook themselves “like dogs” as they exited the river. Daddy was able to get a video of the whole experience. Next we drove to the trailhead for Bunsen Peak, a 1,365 foot vertical climb up a steep mountainside. We sunscreened and bug sprayed from head to toe and energetically started out. After 20 minutes or so the energy lessened and some difficulties came into play. First, it was painfully discovered that my (Lindsey’s) hiking boots were a size too small. We also found that the shade was not all too plentiful and of course that the elevation changed quickly. However, with short water breaks and some stops to apply moleskin and Band-aids, we eventually made it to the top. After the hour and twenty minutes that it took us to climb the 2.2 miles to the peak, we were tired and hungry, so at the summit of Bunsen Peak we ate a delicious lunch of pre-made PB&J sandwiches and plums. Daddy had accidently left his prescription sunglasses hanging on a tree, when he was putting moleskin on Abby’s blisters. So, while he went back down to retrieve those, the rest of us sat under the shade of trees and rested. When Daddy returned with his sunglasses, we then started to descend the 1,365 feet down to the Osprey Falls Trailhead. We sang along the way because going down is so much easier than going up. However, our singing halted when Mom took a bad fall. She is now fully recovered, but we became more cautious. Somewhere along this trail, we missed a sign that told us to turn off onto the Osprey Falls Trail. What was supposed to be a 1.4 mile descent became almost double that. After walking along a dusty prairie trail for a while, we discovered that we were actually heading back to the parking lot. So, we found the right trail with minimal difficulty and headed down an old jeep trail to get to the Osprey Falls Trailhead. Once we got there, we immediately started down, descending 700 vertical feet to the bottom of the canyon. From the top of the trail we could see all the way down to the tiny sliver of river. We were basically going to hike down a canyon. The trail was 1.4 miles and it took us an hour because it was so steep. But, the result was amazing. The thundering waterfall was so beautiful. We climbed close to the falls to take a picture and we were getting misted! Then we took our hot sweaty bodies down to the river’s edge and dipped ourselves. Mom was so hot she dunked herself completely. I don’t think we have ever been more relieved! The water was cool and refreshing, but since it was 6 pm, we needed to head back to the RV. As we ascended the 700 feet back up, we passed two fawns together and later on their mother. We also saw the skeletal remains of an elk. Mom was soon busy identifying the different bones. Eventually, we reached the top. It took us only 5 minutes more to get up the canyon, than it took to get down it and we were very proud of ourselves. Even so, we still had three miles on a dusty, dry, dirt road to get back to RV. So, it took us two and a half more hours to get back. Some of us shed tears of joy upon seeing that dusty vehicle. But hey, after a total of 11.5 miles in 9 hours and 4,000 total feet of elevation change, you would too! It took a while for us to get settled down. We all took ‘wipe showers’ and surveyed our injuries. All of our backs were extremely tight and sore after carrying a backpack the whole way. In the process of trying to get something for us out of the freezer, Mom dropped a frozen bottle of limeade on her foot and broke one of her toes. Lindsey, Mom, and Abby took first, second, and third in the worst blister contest. (Just to give you an idea, one of my blisters on my heel was an inch in diameter). Well, we were all dog-tired and so the first thing that I did was fall asleep. I’m not sure how long I slept, but I was awoken suddenly and followed my family into Mammoth Hot Springs Terrace Grill. We got in just before it closed. Daddy rewarded all of us with some ice cream, hamburgers, a salad, and fish and chips. We felt so much better, despite an overly “friendly” waiter and slippery floors. Daddy wanted to get a campsite out of Yellowstone National Park, so that we could take showers that night. However, when we arrived at the campsite, we learned that it was full. So, Daddy drove on for another hour and a half to return to our campsite inside Yellowstone. We barely were awake when we reached our campsite and all fell asleep with aching bones, but happy memories.