Island Park and Yellowstone
August began in Island Park, Idaho for a family reunion. We spent a few days in Yellowstone, went on a hike, floated a portion of the Henry's Fork of the Snake River, played volleyball, ate yummy food, and made memories. Eli still regularly mentions the cabin in Idaho and asks when we will be going back.
Our first day at Yellowstone was a bust. We left the house late, had to stop at a pharmacy in West Yellowstone for some Benadryl, and got stuck in the wrong line of cars entering the park. By the time we actually go in the park it was time for lunch. After a picnic lunch we tried to go see a few things but there were cars and people everywhere. It was crowded, hot, and quite unpleasant. We did go to Firehole Canyon, which is one of only two places in the Park that swimming is permitted, and that was the day's one saving grace.
Here is the story about the stop for Benadryl. The day before Yellowstone, Eli mentioned his ankle was bothering him, but we didn't think much of it. By that evening though, his entire ankle was swollen and hot and he was limping. Our best guess was that it was just a bad reaction to a bug bite of some sort (bee sting maybe). By the time we figured this out, it was too late to get Benadryl. All the stores close pretty early in rural Idaho. That night was terrible. Eli couldn't sleep because his ankle itched, ice gave him some relief but the ice pack kept falling off and he couldn't go to sleep with ice on his foot. He was crying because his ankle itched and he was tired and Josh and I were trying to keep him quiet so we didn't keep everyone else in the house awake. Sometime between midnight and 2am we gave up and tried letting him watch a movie in bed, hoping he would fall asleep. He did not. So he watched a full movie in the middle of the night. Somehow, after that he fell asleep, but by then it was 3 or 4am. Needless to say, we were not up to a bright and early start to the day. Luckily, the Benadryl did the trick and we had no more issues with his ankle for the rest of the trip.
That was basically the only picture we took that first day in Yellowstone. Day two in Yellowstone was great. We went to a more remote corner of Yellowstone called Cave Falls. The falls was impressive and there was a short hike to Bechler Falls, which yielded some spectacular huckleberry picking. Everyone seemed to enjoy grazing off the berry bushes as we hiked. It made the actual hiking a little slow, but the berry picking was well worth it. It was a fun day and one of the highlights of the week.
On our drive back home, we stopped in Rexburg, ID to see how the town and BYU-I's campus has changed since we went to school there. It was fun to take Eli around to a few of the buildings and see the growth of the university. All in all, we had a really great trip and made some fun memories.
The whole Mendenhall crew
All of the cousins.
Eli and Susan on an old train bridge over Henry's Fork.
Checking out Big Spring, which is the source of Henry's Fork. There were tons of huge trout swimming right below us.
Our first day at Yellowstone was a bust. We left the house late, had to stop at a pharmacy in West Yellowstone for some Benadryl, and got stuck in the wrong line of cars entering the park. By the time we actually go in the park it was time for lunch. After a picnic lunch we tried to go see a few things but there were cars and people everywhere. It was crowded, hot, and quite unpleasant. We did go to Firehole Canyon, which is one of only two places in the Park that swimming is permitted, and that was the day's one saving grace.
Here is the story about the stop for Benadryl. The day before Yellowstone, Eli mentioned his ankle was bothering him, but we didn't think much of it. By that evening though, his entire ankle was swollen and hot and he was limping. Our best guess was that it was just a bad reaction to a bug bite of some sort (bee sting maybe). By the time we figured this out, it was too late to get Benadryl. All the stores close pretty early in rural Idaho. That night was terrible. Eli couldn't sleep because his ankle itched, ice gave him some relief but the ice pack kept falling off and he couldn't go to sleep with ice on his foot. He was crying because his ankle itched and he was tired and Josh and I were trying to keep him quiet so we didn't keep everyone else in the house awake. Sometime between midnight and 2am we gave up and tried letting him watch a movie in bed, hoping he would fall asleep. He did not. So he watched a full movie in the middle of the night. Somehow, after that he fell asleep, but by then it was 3 or 4am. Needless to say, we were not up to a bright and early start to the day. Luckily, the Benadryl did the trick and we had no more issues with his ankle for the rest of the trip.
Some of the cousins playing riverside after our picnic lunch.
That was basically the only picture we took that first day in Yellowstone. Day two in Yellowstone was great. We went to a more remote corner of Yellowstone called Cave Falls. The falls was impressive and there was a short hike to Bechler Falls, which yielded some spectacular huckleberry picking. Everyone seemed to enjoy grazing off the berry bushes as we hiked. It made the actual hiking a little slow, but the berry picking was well worth it. It was a fun day and one of the highlights of the week.
Cave Falls.
Berry picking
Enjoying a short break and a view of Bechler Falls.
Grandpa with two of his granddaughters.
That evening my parents, brother, and Josh drove up to Sawtell Peak. There was a lot of smoke from wildfires for most of the week, so they weren't able to see as far as you could on a clear day, but the sunset was pretty great.
View from Sawtell Peak
After a disappointing first day in Yellowstone, we decided to give it another go. This time we got up early and were able to enjoy much of the park before the crowds came. It is impossible to see the entire park in one day, but we saw what we could and had a much better experience than on our first attempt.
Norris Geyser Baisn
View from the Lower Yellowstone River Falls overlook
Eli wanted to be the cameraman for the stop at Dragon's Mouth Spring.
Taking pictures of people taking pictures.
Hello there, little fella! As is not uncommon, we had a few close encounters with the wildlife.
Waiting to see Old Faithful do her thing
There she goes!
On our drive back home, we stopped in Rexburg, ID to see how the town and BYU-I's campus has changed since we went to school there. It was fun to take Eli around to a few of the buildings and see the growth of the university. All in all, we had a really great trip and made some fun memories.
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