Day Nine:
The rain finally cleared and we are ready to camp! We headed back into Yellowstone to tour and get a campsite. The campsite we picked is near Mammoth Hot Springs. After we got our site reserved we toured around the area. The Hot Springs at Mammoth are so cool. They are these bubbling pools of water and sulfur coming out of the ground. We walked the board walk around the pools and just enjoyed the sights.
Next we headed to see the Grand Prismatic Spring. It was actually quite a drive since this park is so big. We arrived to the spring area and unfortunately the air was so cold that the steam from the spring completely covered the colorful sight! Later this summer we plan to take a hike by the spring to get a view from the top of a mountain. We’ll be able to see the colors a little better too.
While we were already in that area, we decided on hitting Old Faithful. The Inn at Old Faithful has a three story entry way that is so neat. There is a giant fireplace in the middle and the whole place is built with logs. I didn’t get any pictures of it yet, the lighting could be tricky. At the Inn we got some hot chocolate to go wait for the geyser to blow. It seemed like forever until it started spurting out some water. There were several false starts and then it finally gushed out of the earth. It was spectacular! It shoots really high. I’ll get pictures next time we go. I wanted to just enjoy the sight this time.
After this we headed back to our campsite to cook dinner and just chill. We met our neighbors and shared some s’mores with them around our fire. It got really cold that night, but we survived. As long as it doesn’t rain I’ll be happy.

Day Ten:
I woke up really early this morning and made some coffee in order to warm up. It was an amazingly beautiful day! The sun was out, our camp is nestled in some mountains, birds were chirping. So amazing! Josh didn’t get up for a while, so I was able to enjoy the early morning and write in my journal. This trip is very well documented.
Once we got moving a little bit and had some breakfast we decided to hit a trail. The first trail we went on was called Bunsen Creek. It was a two mile hike up a mountain. We were both struggling to get up it. Altitude and not being in shape really made it difficult, but we pushed through! When we were close to the top we lost the trail because it was covered in snow. So we cross-countried it up to the peak. I felt all goat-like from climbing up the rocks. It was quite an experience. At the top we could see an amazing view all around us. It was so windy though, that we didn’t stay very long.
After the hike we went to a nearby picnic site and ate some lunch. Then we started toward Upper and Lower Falls. On our way there, the fatigue from our climb really hit us. I was about to fall asleep in the car. At the falls we barely made it to the look out point to see them. There was a hike to get a better view, but we definitely didn’t make it. Fortunately we are staying all summer so we can go see these things again.
At the campsite we crashed in our tent for a little while to rest. Then we just hung out at the fire until the sun went down. We played some cards and ate some dinner and of course had some more s’mores. It doesn’t get dark here until about nine-thirty, so we were up for a while. The days are very long here. It’ll be really nice when we are able to hike longer trails.

Day Eleven:
This day has only started. We got up and had some coffee and decided to stay one more night at this campsite. We are currently doing some laundry in Gardiner (the town right outside the North entrance to the park). They have showers here too. We were both getting a little ripe!
We aren’t quite sure what we are going to do today, wherever the wind blows, I guess. Both of us are worn out from traveling and are ready to get settled in our room and start working. But we will make it work out. The campsites here are nice and it’s a beautiful place to be.