Yeah we made it back! Oregon here we come!...wait this doesn't look like Oregon, but it is.

We drove Hwy 20 from Ontario to Burns and Bend. We thought this was a great scenic route

Almost to Boise, ID. A great drive through Idaho. The closer we get to Oregon the car drives faster and smoother.

Indian Cave at Craters of the Moon in Idaho

Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho

We had a great time exploring these trails at Craters of the Moon. The ground was just lava. Very rough terrain, off the paved path. We took a few small hikes before we prepared to go to Indian Cave and unguided hike through a cave.

Number Hill, small town Idaho

When driving past through this little town I felt like we were driving into a scary movie scene. Tres and I guessed it was graduating classes, but some numbers didn't make sense. We didn't stop to ask "why all the numbers?"

Tourist stop at Bear World in Idaho

We did not see a single bear on our tour through the Bighorn National Forest or even Yellowstone. So we decided to stop at a place called Bear World. It was like a Wild Life Safari that we have here in Oregon. Drive through and see the animals in the environment. Close quarters, they said to keep the windows up, don't stop and no backing up. They also had a few rides for the kids, and a petting zoo. We did see several bears of all ages, moose, elk, buffalo, and a wolf. The wolf actually followed our car and bit our camp chair strapped to the back of our car. we felt the car being tugged at and then the wolf behind us. The ranger came by on the Rhino she was driving and said to just keep driving the wolf was only being playful. Good time and the kids were satisfied with seeing the bears...our goal.

Last stop, a dip in Fire Hole Canyon River, a great way to end the tour of Yellowstone National Park. Such a beautiful place.

Buffalo Chips! We could keep warm by the fire with this tonight. Spencer knew right away what he was seeing & what we could do with them.Not this time

Old Faithful...Yellowstone National Park

People lined up along the benches waiting to see Old Faithful erupting boiling hot water and steam. There must of been at least 500 people there. It was exciting to see the water spouting and the steam flowing.

West Thumb Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park

The water is so clear you can see into the deep cavernous hole in the earth, emitting boiling hot water.. It looks like nature's spa...steam, mud baths, and hot tub soaking.

Yellowstone Lake

Our first stop in the Park. When the kids saw the water, they wanted to get in right away. It was to cold for Ruben, but to Spencer it was nothing just to drop his shorts and get in the cold water. With his new swimming skills he is excited about any water we come upon.

Entering Yellowstone National Park

Antlers, a strange log home that kind of looks like a mine, and rock formations millions of years old. Almost to Yellowstone N.P.

Buffalo Bill State Park

In the morning the sun was shining and the sky was blue. We went for a walk along the river. We fist saw the flock of White Pelicans on a tree in the water. Shortly after that Ruben spotted a family of four otters. I was not very quick with the camera but you can kind of see them in the water. They were on land, and when they saw us they all ran to the water and swam up stream. While we were camping the boys made friends with two other kids Jamie and Molly, they played at the playground until after dark and then again in the morning. The kids are so good a making new friends. When we were leaving the park we saw a coyote, it was pretty close to the park. We heard them howling early in the morning. One would howl and then several more would howl after that. I thought they were pretty close, then when we saw one when we were leaving I knew they were close. The ranger said it was rare to see otters, but he knew they were there. He also said there is a family of beavers that live close by, but we didn't see them. He also knew of the coyotes, he said they were a resident pack, and are there all the time.

Camping at Buffalo Bill State Park in Wyoming

The state park is located along the Buffalo Bill Reservoir, so we had a great view of the Cheif Mts. and the water. Yet with water comes mosquitoes, for about two hours they were so bad, I thought they would carry us away. The wind started to blow too, very hard. The Ranger came by to warn us of the high sustained winds. Tres tied the tent to the fence and found pieces of wood to stake to the ground. A storm was approaching over head too. The dark sky brought a little rain, and more wind. We finally went to sleep to get away from the mosquitoes. At 2 am we woke up to a calm, clear, night. The stars were so bright and looked like we could touch them.

More beautiful scenery in Big Horn National Forest, Wyoming

Shell Falls at Shell Creek in Big Horn National Forest, Wyoming

This was a nice stop. The falls were very tall, but the water was so clear that we could look down the fall to a pool and see fish swimming near the fall. The kids got free Jr. Ranger stickers and a braclet at the visitor center, and a few more arrow heads(their favorite thing to collect these days).