Geysers and a Few Bumps in the Road

Sorry, no internet access for a while. We made it to Yellowstone, where a traffic jam generally means bison are crossing the road, and it's snowed at least a little every day. The girls were amazed by Old Faithful, but too cold to want to linger over the experience! After some hot chocolate and a day indoors, we started hiking again.

We've made a couple of 2-mile hikes through the geyser basins. I'm so proud of how Noni has been holding up on the hikes. She goes slowly but steadily until she suddenly falls to pieces--usually about 1.75 miles into the hike. Gloria can handle them easily, although she's more likely to whine that she's tired of walking. At the end of a particularly impressive route, Gloria told a Park Ranger that her favorite thing she saw were the buffalo chips ("bison poo-poo") beside the trail. And she has actually asked me to turn on the dvd of Yellowstone attractions instead of looking out the window at the same features. (Ouch!) At least she's enjoying herself.

After a few nights at a campground inside the park, we came in late one night, and while Dad and I were walking the dogs, the carbon monoxide alarm started to go off, terrifying the girls into uncontrolled shrieks. Suspecting a problem with the furnace, and unable to do without it on a night that fell to 22 degrees, we gathered everyone up and moved on to the sofa in Dad and Glenda's RV for the night. The next morning, we moved to Baker's Hole, a national forest campground just north of West Yellowstone, Montana, with electrical hookups so we could use an electric heater instead and avoid the CO risk. Dad has ordered a few furnace for us and a new water heater, and we'll be here until they arrive and Dad can get them installed. Soon, we'll be on our own--whatever else breaks, and Dad will be able to go back to retirement!