Natalie & Ryan: Yellowstone in the Fall

I'm not really sure how to go about posting about our latest Yellowstone trip. I have so many pictures, I don't want to overwhelm anyone. So, maybe I'll just break it up by day...Okay, here goes...

Day 1:

We left Alpine around 9. Lilly handled the drive quite well. Our first stop was at a small waterfall. We had a quick hike before heading off for West Thumb. Since lunch was quick for me, I spent the rest of the time following Lilly while she chased the crows. She did a good job of keeping them away from our table. She would flap her arms and say "BIRDY" as she pointed and ran after them. Making her leave turned out to be a bit of a tantrum-endusing task, but we survived.

The tantrum didn't last long, since we were already at the spot where we were hiking. We meandered along the boardwalk and enjoyed the cool, misting rain. I came upon a comfy-looking bench, and decided to sit while we waited for Jan and Colton to catch up. As we stood up to continue on, I don't know why, but I looked behind me. I gasped when I saw a huge bull elk poking its head out of the bushes. I whispered "guys! look!" in a panic. Just then, a doe wandered out ahead of it. Ryan and Kevin hurried to pull out their cameras. Christian and I, or, what I like to call "the smart ones," kept our distance. What happened next is kind of a blur. The female did a growly, territorial kind of move towards Ryan, lowered her head, and charged a bit, causing all of us to reflexively step back a few steps. She decided to let it go and continue on, but not before her mate picked a fight as well. He literally gave Ryan the stink eye and made a few quick steps towards him to scare him off. At this point, I clicked into protective mommy mode. I knew there was a chance that the elk could charge, so I started to slowly back up the stroller. Ryan and Kevin were continuing to slowly back up, as they were probably only a few feet from it at this point. When we were able to determine that it wasn't going to actually kill Ryan, I tuned into the fact that Lilly was yelling "MOOOOO!" the entire time. She thinks all big animals are cows. We had a good laugh and couldn't believe what just happened. As we left the trail, there was a sign placed oh so perfectly, as if yelling at Ryan. It was a warning sign to stay away from the elk, and it had a pretty awesome picture of a man running from a charging elk. I was just glad that I didn't happen to capture a similar picture.

Not wanting to push our luck, we hurried back to our cabins. We stayed at the same place on Hegben Lake, this time getting two cabins. We played with Lilly while Jan prepared dinner. Lilly loved getting to play in the grass, learn how to kick a ball, and learn how to throw rocks. I think it's safe to say she was properly worn out by the end of the night. Erin and Drew showed up right as dinner was ready. The gang was complete! We got to share the cabin with them. Ryan and I got the bedroom, while they got the pull-out bed in the front room. I think it's safe to say those beds are probably some of the worst I've slept on. Rubber, loud, hard, and mine made me roll into the wall because it was tipped. Oh well, I survived. Lilly slept just fine, and that's all that counts.