Team Schmidt Adventure Day
Day 7
As the sun crept up in the sky behind us, Yellowstone awakened. Sunlight brushed the treetops and steam rose from the winding river on our right, and out of crevices in the earth. We saw a herd of elk at Gibbons Meadow, more than 20 strong. Not long after we passed a huge fumarole - the appearance of its steam magnified by the cool morning air.
As we drove along, spotting more wildlife (e.g. herd of elk, bald eagle, ducks, geese, a heron) and hydro thermal activity along the way, we all agreed we would like to return someday. Now, starting last night my right eye has been tender and felt as if it were bruised. Combined with a headache, we decided it may be sinus issues caused by the elevation. Feeling that pressure as we drove along I added “Even if my face hurts, I’d like to come back to Yellowstone.” “Does your face hurt?” Bryan asked. “Cause it’s killing me!” I laughed and laughed. Desmond, from the back said, “What?” Bryan replied with a smile “Papa just burned Mama and it made her laugh.” (Near the end of third grade Desmond and his classmates had become very interested in ‘burns,’ so he was familiar with those terms.)
Not long after, we passed into Montana. This is the first time Bryan and Desmond have been to Montana. I’m a return visitor, but it has been a long time. A little conversation about super-volcanos (dubbed by Team Schmidt vast-canos), and we were leaving the park by the West entrance.
We sang along to Weird Al as we drove along. Desmond played Civilizations in the back seat periodically asking questions like “What is an embassy? “What is fatal?” “What is civics?” Bryan drove along answering vocabulary questions as well as suggesting game strategy without missing a beat. Of course, the cruck having lane following and cruise control does free up some energy and brain space for him as we go along. It has been super handy in making the driving less taxing!
We saw another bald eagle (this one on the ground eating), some deer, and magpies. And of course, lots of cattle and horses as we passed through ranching country. The sky was as big as advertised, and we were enjoying our morning drive. Desmond was captivated by the idea of some roads without speed limits.
Our first destination today is Grant-Kohls National Historic Site. Since Desmond has been enjoying the Junior Ranger program, we decided to hit another site on the way to Glacier. The Williams opted to take a more straight shot as our drive time today will already be 7 hours or so without the addition of a stop. We decided to take a Team Schmidt Adventure today, adding one hour of driving, and rejoin them this evening at the lodge.
We had to contend with a few mosquitos, but nonetheless enjoyed our stop at Grant-Kohrs Cattle Ranch. We all got to see the blacksmith, learn a little bit about ranching, see someone using a lasso, and take a tour of a nicely preserved historical home. The ranger giving the tour did a nice job, and Desmond had some great questions (which he waited until appropriate times to ask) about things that seemed out of place (such as a statue of cleopatra, and extra chairs in the office) or things he wasn’t familiar with (like all the various cups for different drinks on the Victorian table setting). The highlight for us though, was when she showed us a replica library chair and how it became a ladder. He raised his hand “I think Benjamin Franklin made that.” We were so excited to see one of Ben Franklin’s inventions that Desmond had done a recent school project on in real life. Very cool.
On our walk back to get sworn in as a Junior Rancher I asked Desmond if he was going to be a Jolly Jr. Rancher. 😜 We’ve been practicing our ranger puns, since a number of the rangers have had a thematic pun to share. While he was getting sworn in, we noticed a boy who looked to be in his early teens wearing a hat with many Jr. Ranger badges on it. I asked how many he had. He shrugged good-naturedly. “We don’t keep track.”
All in all, it was a good stop. We got stamps, stickers, a Junior Ranger badge, and had a great excuse to get out of the car and do something on what would otherwise have just been a driving day.
Next stop was one of Desmond’s favorite places to eat: Panda Express. We went a bit out of our way (20 minutes), but it just seemed like the right choice for today, and went down easy. We popped into Winco to replenish our supply of shredded mozzarella, and got back on the road.
Further along, the conditions became very windy. The grassy plains on either side of the road rippled and waved in the wind. Bryan said it was like driving over the 205 bridge for an hour. Yuck. Wind buffeted the cruck and made driving the hardest it has been so far this trip.
We made it to St. Mary’s and went straight to the visitor center. We got stamps, took a look at an exhibit about wolves and indigenous people who historically inhabited Glacier, and picked up two Junior Ranger booklets. While Bryan was waiting in line, I saw a gal who was probably in her early twenties picking up a Jr. Ranger packet. “Just one?” The ranger asked. She smiled sheepishly as she nodded. “Is it for you?” The ranger, who looked only a few years older, asked. She admitted it was. The ranger encouraged her with a smile. It really is a cool program. It made me wonder if she had started it as a kid and continued because she enjoys it and it is part of her tradition when she is in a National Park, or if she had started it as an adult.
We joined back up with the Williams, who had arrived about 45 minutes ahead of us and eaten a late lunch / early dinner at the restaurant. We are staying at the St. Mary Lodge. Desmond was really excited to meet back up with his friend, and seemed impressed by the size of our room, the view from the balcony of a creek and the mountains, and just being at a real hotel.
Desmond immediately set about the important task of creating a system reliant on knocks on our shared wall to notify his friend of various things. Three knocks meant he had something to tell her, and they should meet on our balconies.
When asked, he enthusiastically got ice for our room and started asking to go down to the creek. We explained to him he needed to take a shower first. He grabbed his swim suit to change into, and went to take his shower. There was a great deal of disappointment over the fact that there would be no swimming or wading in the fast moving, snow melt of the nearby creek.
Before heading down to the creek, we all had a chance to wash off the last three days worth of dust, sunscreen, and bug spray. We had vouchers for showers included in our campground stay, but the showers were not nearby our campsite and once the tent is set up, the cruck stays put. This coupled with tiny little camp towels (intended more for drying dishes than drying people) meant we hadn’t showered since Old Faithful. It has been great to alternate a few camp days with a lodge or hotel. Having a private bathroom is an amenity worth the extra cost for the night.
We decided to lay low for the evening, and plan to leave around 9AM to give ourselves a bit of sleep in time tomorrow. The kids played at the creek side, with Jamey, and now are doing activities in their Jr. Ranger booklets with Debbie in the Williams room. I am waiting patiently for photos to load so I can publish blog entries. Tomorrow we enter Glacier National Park and see what there is to see. We plan to take one or two short hikes and walk around Logan Pass as we drive through to our campsite which is on the other side of the park.
Good night!
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