Day 20 : Bears, and Bison and Mountains, Oh My!

{ Monday, 04 August 2009 }

This particular Koa Kampground was pretty deluxe. They hosted breakfast specials for those who don't want to cook; a fancy store complete with fresh, homemade fudge; and a playground that blows all the other playgrounds to shreds! Our kids woke up early to play.

GIAN IS MORE INTERESTED IN PUSHING BALL THROUGH THE TUNNEL

ADJUSTING HIS STROKE

LOOK, HOLE IN ONE!

LET'S DO IT AGAIN

DADDY TAUGHT ME ALL I KNOW

AND MAILE? WELL, SHE DOES WHAT SHE LIKES BEST...

AND THAT'S SWINGING WITH MAMA!

After a morning filled with miniature golf, pancakes and eggs we packed the RV yet again and left the campsite for the great sights Yellowstone has to offer. And WOW! Yellowstone offers a lot for everyone: bears, bison, geysers and soothing green foliage. So to start this part of my post, let me introduce you to Mr. Bison:

BYE, MR. BISON

We kept driving until mom and dad saw a pretty view and wanted to stop so we could take their photo:

Then it's off to the most famous attraction in the park: Old Faithful.

HERE SHE IS, WAITING TO ERUPT

MOM AND DAD, FRONT AND CENTER

HUNDREDS OF THESE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR OVER AN HOUR

STILL WAITING

IS IT MY IMAGINATION OR IS SHE ALMOST READY?

HERE WE GO!

YAY!

THAR SHE BLOWS

ONLY THE BEST VIEW FOR MY MAMA AND SISTER

CHECK OUT THE LENS ON THE LADY SITTING NEXT TO MY DAD

A HAPPY MAMA

THE EARLY BID CATCHES THE WORM

Dad, Mom and Atelei came back inside the motorhome to find us waking up from our naps and informed us that we must visit Old Faithful. Like, now. For those who know me { husband! } you know that I am a bad waker-uper. I didn't feel like visiting the geyser and the Moningka family didn't seem too keen on it too. As Brandon drove past it we saw that another huge crows was forming, anticipating to see her do her thing. Yes, the energy was there but with three children under the age of four, if Old Faithful won't spew within the next ten minutes it's not worth watching. But she did look cool from our vantage point.

Next stop: The Color Pools { I think that's the name; if not, Atelei, please correct me. } We parked and walked the few hundred feet to the boardwalk and viewed pretty waters and mini Old Faithfuls. It was like viewing the real deal!

WALKING TO THE POOLS

ATELEI IS OUR RESIDENT PHOTOGRAPHER FOR TODAY

"PRETTY WATER," GIAN SAYS

TOO BAD IT'S OVER 150 DEGREES; WE WOULD'VE JUMPED IN!

STRIKE A POSE, G

WALKING TO A GEYSER

STAY ON THE BOARDWALK BOYS

LOOK AT THAT STEAM!

NOTICE THE BEAUTIFUL SKY?

IT MAY BE BEAUTIFUL BUT SHE STANK LIKE ROTTEN EGGS

BUT WE COULDN'T GET ENOUGH OF HER LOVELY ODOR

UH OH, LOOKS LIKE RAIN

TIME TO GO

BUT FIRST, ONE LAST SHOT

THE RESULT OF FIRES

DAD, GUARDING OUR HOUSE

REUNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOOD

It was late afternoon when we finally emerged out of Yellowstone. I honestly didn't think that there could be even lovelier vistas than the Colorado Rockies, but oh goodness me, the Grand Tetons can really compete!

THE DRIVE THROUGH YELLOWSTONE IS THIS PRETTY
{ but we don't like the crazy traffic due to road conditions }

DEER!

KALE'A LEADS OUT IN THEIR NEW FAVORITE SONG: INTSY WINCY SPIDER

We saw a gorgeous waterfall and stopped by the side of the road to pose near it. If you look closely, you can see the falls behind and to the left of Atelei

IS THAT ALL YOU GOT, GIAN?

SOOO PRETTY...

... THAT IT NEEDS ANOTHER ANGLE

GRANDMA AND HER LITTLE APU

WHAT A LITTLE POSER!

YOU CAN'T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT, BOY

DON'T BE SAD, GIAN

MAMA'S KISSES HEAL ALL WOUNDS

UH OH, MAILE'S TURN

FALSE ALARM EVERYBODY!

REALLY FALSE ALARM!

FINALLY, THE GRAND TETONS

These photos just don't do the Grand Tetons { or any of the national parks } justice. I wish I was a professional photographer or at least have an eye to capture the images we saw. God really blessed us with eyes that can adjust to the varying shades of light and colors. We found a picturesque place to have dinner and the kids had fun walking through the wildflowers to the lake where they skipped stones and got a little wet. And Atelei went photo crazy!

YUM, DINNER

IT IS TOO PRETTY TO PASS UP A POSE

EVEN BETTER THAN TV

MAILE

GIAN

MY TACTILE EATER

HI DADDY!

AWWW

OUR MOVABLE HOME

Like always, after dinner we showered the kids and got them ready for bed. Then came family worship, but you can see that tonight everyone was tired.

DON'T LET SATAN BLOW IT OUT

BEST FRIENDS FOREVER!

Then it's off for more driving, this time through Wyoming and into Idaho. While driving we saw a herd of bison and deer and elk heading home after a long day of grazing. Despite the chill and rain we stopped to photo them.

THE GRAND TETONS ARE TOO BEAUTIFUL

OUR NEXT DESTINATION

Do I have a story for you to end this day! In order to get to our next RV park in Idaho, we had to ascend and descend the Grand Teton range. After passing Jackson Hole { and wanting to stop because it looked mighty nice but quite pricey } I saw a sign that read, "Watch Out for Deer." Well, I've seen that sign many times on our trek across the US so I didn't take much notice of it. With the blackness enveloping us like a hug, everyone sound asleep in their beds and my trusty navigator sitting passenger seat, I felt confident. I winded up and towards the mountain when all of a sudden - SCREECH! a huge deer, which seemed to stretch over six feet in width, ran in front of me. I slammed on my brakes, but mind you, our RV is well over two tons strong. The deer, frightened by the gleaming headlights, faltered, unsure whether to run across or run back. He chose to scurry past me and I barely passed him by a foot. I hit the brakes with such force that I was sure Brandon and his kids in the bedroom at the back of the RV had flown off the bed and had hit the wall. Christine went back to make sure all were safe. Praise God no one was hurt!

But there's more! I only had a few minutes of relief when I saw the sign, "10% grade. Use lower gear. Windy road." Oh goodness me. I set the gear to second and slowly inched my way up the Tetons. With the first twist Atelei yelled, "Slow down! You're driving too fast!" To which I yelled back, "I know what I'm doing!" But I slowed down considerably. For the next six miles our little cockpit was still save for me playing with the gears and turning the wheel. Even Christine, sitting at the dining table, was mute.

When we got to the peak I breathed a sigh of relief. Phew, out of the danger zone, I mused. Then I saw it: "Steep decline. 10% grade. Use Lower Gears. Windy Road." If I thought driving up the mountain was stressful, driving down almost gave me a heart attack. The next six miles driving down the mountain caused all three girls to remain silent save for the pounding of my heart and my breathless prayers. With each turn I thought the RV's brakes would give way, plummeting us over the ridge and down the steep cliff to our deaths. I didn't even bother to use the turning lanes for the hundred or so cars inching behind me. Fifteen minutes later we reached the bottom and my sisters and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"I was praying the whole time," Atelei said.

"Me too," I replied, still shaken from the ordeal.

Christine's reply, however, was money. "I could cut the tension up there where you were with a knife," she exclaimed.

Seriously.

Praise the Good Lord that He brought us up and down that crazy Teton mountain range safely with a petite Filipina behind the wheel, an even more petite girl as navigator, and a very pregnant sister as support. Pulling into our RV park never felt better.