Family Trip to Yellowstone

Over a month ago, my Dad asked me if we would be interested in going to Yellowstone National Park on a snowcoach.  I have alway wondered what it would be like to be in Yellowstone in the winter and told him I would have to check the calendar to see if there might be a conflict.  After talking to other family members, we were able to reserve a snowcoach just for the family for Saturday February 27th.  We left at 6:30 a.m. and after meeting in Rexburg with the other family members, we arrived in West Yellowstone at 9:00 a.m.  Here is what the snowcoach looks like from the outside and inside.

Mary enjoyed having a seat all to herself by Aunt Karen. There were two empty seats which were filled with all of our food and clothes. We had enough food for a couple of days.  That is a Hansen trait passed down from my Mom.

 

We left about 9:30 and were able to see a coyote and many elk and buffalo. 

The park was beautiful.  We were even able to see the sun at times on the way into Old Faithful.

We arrived at Old Faithful about 12:30 p.m. and were able to eat in one of the yurts they had set up for people to eat their lunch in.  There was a pellet stove set up which kind of took the chill off.  We left West Yellowstone with the temperature below zero.  It was a mere 10 above zero when we saw Old Faithful erupt.

Here are the brave or not very smart family members waiting for Old Faithful to erupt. We waited outside for about 10 minutes before it erupted.  In addition to the cold temperatures, we had a nice wind and blowing snow to go along with the wait.  The new visitors center has huge windows that allow viewing Old Faithful from inside.  A few family members chose this option. 

Here is the beginning of the eruption.

Here is the other side of the new visitor's center that opened last August.  The big windows are on the other side.

Here is my nephew Chris Grover and his wife Taylor at the end of the eruption.

We were able to enjoy the exhibits and new auditorium in the visitor center before we left to go back to West Yellowstone.  Here is a group picture of the 18 that went.  From the front we have Ryan and Lydia Hansen.  The 2nd row we have Alexa, Kate Hansen, Drew, and Mary.  The back row we have my brother John, my sister Karen Grover, Emily Hansen, Camille, my brother Scott and his wife Karen, Jeffrey, Brandon, Taylor and Chris Grover, and my Dad.

On the way back it was more cloudy and windy.  We were able to see Mary Mountain through the windows of the snowcoach.  Mary was excited.

It was a wonderful trip with the family.  I would recommend the trip to others if you have not been in the park during the winter.  Thank you Dad and John for inviting us along.





Valentine's Day

Today was Valentine's Day.  Katie always had a special meal planned for us on this day unless it was on the weekend.  We would usually go out to eat somewhere if it was.  I did not feel like making a special dinner this year so we planned on going to Rupes (an old A&W) in Blackfoot to eat, but everybody else thought the same.  Rather that wait for a while, we decided to go somewhere else.  The kids could not decide on another place, so Drew and Mary won out.  It was to McDonalds.  Thanks for the great pictures kids (not).

Jeffrey and Brandon sat by an old friend of Jeffreys. 

Several weeks ago we got a heart wreath to replace the Christmas wreath we had at Katie's grave.  The flowers from the funeral are still there.

We also added some roses on Sunday.

I plan to have flowers for each season according to what the cemetary will allow.  I will also get the headstone ordered in the next few days.  I also have kept with tradition and got a minature rose for Katie that we will plant in the flower bed this spring.  That was always one of the gifts that I gave her every Valentine's Day. This was a gift that would give throughout the summer.  Sometimes the roses would come back for the next year, but if not then she would always have one that would bloom that summer.

We hope that you all had a wonderful day.