Week Six ~A Geothermal hot spot!

Week Six began with 2CousC’s first birthday party. CubJ loved that UncleJ let him light the sterno for the buffet chafing dishes! SparkJ was ecstatic to see 2CousM again so soon. Thank you for inviting us R-Q’s.

After a flying tea due to a nose bleed, the middle part of the week was spend cleaning the house. Some people spring clean, well, we the 4J’s do summer cleaning LOL. This even lead to a massive team cleaning of the playroom, no small task. In the end, despite all of the work, it was well worth it as it helped us get ready for our end of the week adventure.

Friday we were off on our great adventure to Yellowstone National Park, which we started planning in Glacier National Park last summer! We began the trip with a drive short of 700km to Helena, Montana. We got caught at the border in long-weekend traffic for about 30 minutes. Despite the length of time, we were all entertained by the trucks around us and some funny tricks to pass the time as the line inches along one car at a time. Thankfully, the staff at the Coutts border crossing are always very pleasant and relatively efficient.

We rolled into our hotel after a quick dinner at IHOP. As Fairfield Inns go, the one in Helena is nicely decorated, new, clean, and easy to find. The buffet breakfast staff are fantastic, while the desk staff will leave us with many things to joke and laugh about! For a mid-point rest station, this place did the trick perfectly. We would recommend it to anyone passing through so long as you have a good sense of humour about cultural differences when checking in.

Saturday morning we were up and off to West Yellowstone, approximately 350km away. The drive is lovely,as it takes you through Montana and Idaho while the scenery constantly changes. Conveniently, with all of the terrain changes we did not get board along the way.

Driving from Helena to West Yellowstone

When we arrived in West Yellowstone, we headed to our Kozy Kabin at the KOA. This is a huge KOA! There is an indoor pool, crazy bikes to rent, a Koffee Kabin for espresso drinks and ice cream, mini-golf, a playground, and a cooking pavilion complete with cook tops, sinks with hot water, lots of lighting and plug ins! This is camping at its cushiest without being in a 400k motor home.

After check in we were into the town of West Glacier for lunch. We ate a nice little place called the Old Town Cafe. DaddyJ and I have fantastic bison burgers. They were juicy, flavourful and just the right size. The kids menu has of the usual choices. For a cute and tasty lunch, the Old Town Cafe was great stop.

Then we were off to the main attraction, the Lower Loop of Yellowstone. This part of the loop includes that majority of the parks thermal hot spots we most wanted to see, and they certainly did not disappoint! We saw the Artist’s Paint Pots, Old Faithful, and the Geyser Basins. The sights were amazing! The variation in the colours that result from the depths of the pools, the composition of the waters and the bacteria made each one different. Some of the pools like the Abyss, we so mesmerizing that you could truly lose track of time staring into it. Some of the thermal pools were so deep that you felt sure they really must reach all the way to the earth’s core. Fantastically, the kids loved seeing all of the thermal hot spots from the bubbling pools or mud, giant pools of acidic bacteria laden water to the mini volcano cones being created. After the first stop, we knew that the drive had been worth it without a doubt.

The beautiful scenery in Yellowstone

Fountain Paint Pots

Fountain Paint Pots Continued

Old Faithful

Geyser Basins

DaddyJ's happiness at being near a lake, Yellowstone Lake

Dinner at the Fishing Village and then seeing our dinner of the drive to our Kabin!

Given the two rounds of epic rain that might made one consider building an Arc, we were very thankful not to be in our tent as fun as it is. The kids love the bunk beds in the Kozy Kabins and are always sure to angle for the first night on the top bunk! We enjoy the porch swing, the fire pits and the guarantee of being dry despite the weather. The last things the kids said to our Kozy Kabin after our two nights there was that they hoped to see it again soon! Seems like a ringing endorsement to us.

We hope that this post finds you all well and enjoying your own summer vacation. Check back for a new post next week about the rest of our trip to Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks in the Week Seven recap!

Best Wishes Always,

MommyJ