Family Vacation 2017

Fall is here!  There are leaves in my front yard, kids are back in school, and the busy season for family photo sessions is in full-swing!  But before we get too far into fall I will post some pictures from our family vacation this past August.  We went on a road trip to Yellowstone National Park, and then on to Montana for a family wedding celebration.  The car ride was L-O-N-G, but the kids really did amazing entertaining themselves in the back seat and hardly fought at all!  The scenery on this trip was amazing, so of course I took way too many photos and have to share my favorites.

After getting to Montana, we spent the first couple days of the trip in Yellowstone, and explored all of the amazing sites there.  It is a beautiful place, and so unique.  Parts of the park looked like another planet with the geysers and bubbling mud pits.

We entered the park from the north entrance, and then drove down to the canyon area where we explored the “Grand Canyon of Yellowstone,” and did some hiking.  That evening we drove around and saw bison and a grizzly bear on the side of the road (the grizzly was way way way off in the distance, but still caused quite a traffic jam)!  I didn’t have the right lens on my camera to get good shots of the animals, but we did end up driving pretty close to the bison on the side of the road!

The next morning we set out to see geysers and mud pits!  I loved the boardwalks and how they led you through the hot bubbling springs.  We ended the afternoon at Old Faithful and waited quite a while for it to erupt but ended up with a great spot to sit and watch it!  It was amazing how many people gather to watch it and how they can predict when it will go off right down to the minute!

After two full days in crowded Yellowstone, we exited the park from the west, and went to the amazing and peaceful Under Canvas Yellowstone to stay in a fancy tent for the night.  This place was beautiful, and such a fun experience!  I highly recommend staying here if you are ever near Yellowstone or any of their other locations!  It is a perfect camping experience for those of us who don’t really want to camp.  🙂 The tents have floors, a wood-burning stove, a very comfortable bed, and a bathroom inside them.  And I got some of my favorite photos from the trip as the sun set this evening!

After that incredible experience, we headed northwest to Ennis, Montana, where we stayed for the remainder of the trip.  In Ennis the kids and Paul did some fishing, the kids swam, we shopped in the cute downtown, and we went horseback riding!  We also spent a lot of time visiting with Paul’s extended family who came into town for the wedding from all over the world!  It was a relaxing time, a lovely wedding celebration for the bride and groom, and so much fun for the kids to meet a lot of second cousins.

Thanks for reading!  If you are thinking about a trip to Yellowstone anytime soon, I’m happy to give you suggestions and tips!  🙂