Brie celebrated her 30th birthday while she was visiting us, and Jason took Sierra for the afternoon Friday so that we could go out and have some "girl time." First I took Brie out to lunch for her birthday at a Tapas place. We got a selection of things to share, including, on Brie's recommendation, bacon wrapped dates. Delicious! I was surprised by how much I enjoyed them; I think it was the sweet-salty combination that did it for me.
We then wandered through the shops along Main Street and we just happened to be there for CRAZY DAYS! Oh, yes, CRAZY DAYS!! It's essentially a giant sidewalk sale where all the shops downtown have merchandise out on the sidewalk and offer sales. I bought fabric. Brie bought jewelry (for herself and for gifts). It was so nice to have the chance to explore the shops without the company of a 2-year-old. It's such a different experience when I actually get to browse rather than trying to take in what a store has to offer while pulling tiny hands away from things on the lower shelves.
There were some great shops, and I could have definitely spent some more time there, but I did get some ideas for crafty projects (art and sewing) that I might try someday. If I ever have free time again.
Friday, July 30, 2010
A fair day
In this case, the fair day in question was a GREAT day. It was the day Brie and I took Sierra to the Gallatin County Fair. What fun. The Gallatin County Fair took place last weekend, Wednesday-Sunday, and we went on Friday afternoon. It's a small-ish fair, but with plenty to do to keep us occupied for several hours. 
First stop: funnel cake!
We wandered through all the animal barns: bunnies and chickens, cows, pigs, horses, sheep and goats. Sierra loved this part. I'm not even sure which one she liked the best, but if I had to guess, I would say the bunnies. They were all lined up in their cages and she kept exclaiming, "There's another bunny! There's another bunny!!" It was so cute. By the end of the row of bunnies she was giggling and giddy.
She was fascinated by the horses and even curious about the goats. That was awesome, considering her past trepidation around goats.
Next up: pig races. Oh, yes! Pig races. At the pig race, you could pick a pig to win and get a free ticket with that pig's color on it. I took Sierra up to the booth, and she wanted the "blue pig." And the blue pig won! How exciting!
Go, pigs, go!
Go blue pig!!
We wandered over to the arena to watch some of the barrel racing. Sierra loved watching the horses as much as she loved running up and down the bleachers.
Before heading home, we made a stop to the children's area. We met Plasterman.
Plasterman was fascinating. Kids (mostly older kids) would come over to him and stare or poke at him or try to shake his hand. He would either not move, or make a move when they weren't looking, or grab onto their hand and not let go. It was amusing. But Sierra was the only one he talked to. I was standing there holding her, and she was curious, but then he turned toward her and spoke. That did it! Poor Plasterman, being so sweet to Sierra, but Sierra felt about a talking statue the same way she felt about meeting goats the first time.
With the goats, though, it seems we have had a breakthrough. There was a petting zoo, and she touched one! And she looks happy about it!
There were quite a few other animals Sierra got to interact with as well.
Last stop before we left: the noise making booth! What more could a 2-year-old want?
First stop: funnel cake!
We wandered through all the animal barns: bunnies and chickens, cows, pigs, horses, sheep and goats. Sierra loved this part. I'm not even sure which one she liked the best, but if I had to guess, I would say the bunnies. They were all lined up in their cages and she kept exclaiming, "There's another bunny! There's another bunny!!" It was so cute. By the end of the row of bunnies she was giggling and giddy.
She was fascinated by the horses and even curious about the goats. That was awesome, considering her past trepidation around goats.
Next up: pig races. Oh, yes! Pig races. At the pig race, you could pick a pig to win and get a free ticket with that pig's color on it. I took Sierra up to the booth, and she wanted the "blue pig." And the blue pig won! How exciting!
Go, pigs, go!
Go blue pig!!
We wandered over to the arena to watch some of the barrel racing. Sierra loved watching the horses as much as she loved running up and down the bleachers.
Before heading home, we made a stop to the children's area. We met Plasterman.
Plasterman was fascinating. Kids (mostly older kids) would come over to him and stare or poke at him or try to shake his hand. He would either not move, or make a move when they weren't looking, or grab onto their hand and not let go. It was amusing. But Sierra was the only one he talked to. I was standing there holding her, and she was curious, but then he turned toward her and spoke. That did it! Poor Plasterman, being so sweet to Sierra, but Sierra felt about a talking statue the same way she felt about meeting goats the first time.
With the goats, though, it seems we have had a breakthrough. There was a petting zoo, and she touched one! And she looks happy about it!
There were quite a few other animals Sierra got to interact with as well.
Last stop before we left: the noise making booth! What more could a 2-year-old want?
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Winding down
Three days from now, we will be on the road, heading west, homeward bound.
For the past week, my friend Brie has been in town. She and I worked together in Yellowstone 10 years ago, so this was a reunion of sorts for us. We went to Yellowstone twice, took Sierra to the Gallatin County Fair, and explored downtown Bozeman. I'll have some posts about those adventures in the future.
Meanwhile, here's my little cutie:
For the past week, my friend Brie has been in town. She and I worked together in Yellowstone 10 years ago, so this was a reunion of sorts for us. We went to Yellowstone twice, took Sierra to the Gallatin County Fair, and explored downtown Bozeman. I'll have some posts about those adventures in the future.
Meanwhile, here's my little cutie:
Saturday, July 24, 2010
10 Year Reunion
No, I'm not talking about my 10 year high school reunion.
Or my 10 year college reunion.
I'm talking about my 10 year Yellowstone reunion. Ten years ago, I spent one of the most amazing summers of my life living and working in Yellowstone National Park. This week, my friend Brie is visiting. She lived next door to me in the dorm behind Old Faithful Inn. So what if our 10 year reunion is only 2 of us? So far, we've been to Yellowstone once, we have another trip planned, and we're having a great time.
Brie got in late Tuesday night and I had a harrowing short trip to go the 15 minutes to the airport to pick her up. I was driving down the very dark 2-lane highway and suddenly there was a tire in the middle of the road. I swerved back and forth before going off the side of the road into the ditch. I turned of the car, sat for a minute, and then turned the engine back on. Thankfully, all was well, and the exterior of the car was fine too when I checked it when I got to the airport ... just in time to pick up Brie.
We stuck around Bozeman Wednesday and left early Thursday (with Sierra in tow) to visit our once familiar home around Old Faithful.
Even though we were on the road by 7:45, we still got stuck in a miles-long elk jam on the way to Old Faithful. I've written about my frustrations with people driving in Yellowstone before, so I won't go in to detail, but I just can't get over how inconsiderate some people are. If you want to look at an elk, fine. But pull over rather than stopping in the middle of the road to gawk!!
We arrived at Old Faithful early enough to get a great parking spot right near Old Faithful Lodge and headed up to the mezzanine level just moments before Old Faithful erupted.
We took the trail out to Morning Glory pool, which I had been to when my parents were visiting, but when we walked back, we took a different loop than I had walked before. That was great because it gave me a chance to see some new features of the Upper Geyser Basin that I hadn't seen yet.
I have some pictures of some of the other cool things we looked at, but I'm sure you can only endure so many pictures of thermal features in one blog post. And our day isn't even over yet.
Back near Old Faithful, we wandered behind the Lodge to catch a look at Laurel Dorm, where Brie and I lived the summer we worked in Yellowstone. I'm sure the employees we saw must have been thinking, "What are these lost tourists doing back here," but that's okay, we were being nostalgic. Or something.
Next stop: Hamilton store for french fries and ice cream (lunch?). Don't mind the ketchup on Sierra's face.
We left the Old Faithful area and our next stop was the Fountain Paint Pots, which has a short boardwalk trail with views of the paint pots, hot springs, and a couple geysers. The paint pots look like boiling mud, but it is apparently created by acid eating away at the rock to create the mud and then gas bursting through to the surface.
On our way back toward the entrance of the park, we took a side-route and followed Firehole Road, which turned out to be a great decision because we got some awesome views of the Firehole River along the road. We also passed what appeared to be a designated swimming hole with lots of parking space and people below us swimming in the river. If only we had known, we could have planned for a little swimming excursion ourselves. Next time ... (in two years).
Last stop before we made our way out of the park and back home was the Madison River picnic area for some lunch. Sort of lunch. By this point, it was nearly 4:00pm, but we had skipped lunch at the lunch hour in favor of the aforementioned milkshakes and french fries. So we ate something a little bit healthier for us this time around and let Sierra play in river a little bit before trekking home.
Or my 10 year college reunion.
I'm talking about my 10 year Yellowstone reunion. Ten years ago, I spent one of the most amazing summers of my life living and working in Yellowstone National Park. This week, my friend Brie is visiting. She lived next door to me in the dorm behind Old Faithful Inn. So what if our 10 year reunion is only 2 of us? So far, we've been to Yellowstone once, we have another trip planned, and we're having a great time.
Brie got in late Tuesday night and I had a harrowing short trip to go the 15 minutes to the airport to pick her up. I was driving down the very dark 2-lane highway and suddenly there was a tire in the middle of the road. I swerved back and forth before going off the side of the road into the ditch. I turned of the car, sat for a minute, and then turned the engine back on. Thankfully, all was well, and the exterior of the car was fine too when I checked it when I got to the airport ... just in time to pick up Brie.
We stuck around Bozeman Wednesday and left early Thursday (with Sierra in tow) to visit our once familiar home around Old Faithful.
Even though we were on the road by 7:45, we still got stuck in a miles-long elk jam on the way to Old Faithful. I've written about my frustrations with people driving in Yellowstone before, so I won't go in to detail, but I just can't get over how inconsiderate some people are. If you want to look at an elk, fine. But pull over rather than stopping in the middle of the road to gawk!!
We arrived at Old Faithful early enough to get a great parking spot right near Old Faithful Lodge and headed up to the mezzanine level just moments before Old Faithful erupted.
We took the trail out to Morning Glory pool, which I had been to when my parents were visiting, but when we walked back, we took a different loop than I had walked before. That was great because it gave me a chance to see some new features of the Upper Geyser Basin that I hadn't seen yet.
Morning Glory pool (and a sleepy toddler)
Giant Geyser
Beauty and Chromatic Pools
(now a sleeping toddler)
View of Old Faithful Lodge from the trail
Brie and I on the bridge over the Firehole River (and a recently awake toddler)
This is the only picture I took of Brie and I together for the entire week she was here. Fail. At least there's this one.
Giant Geyser
Beauty and Chromatic Pools
(now a sleeping toddler)
View of Old Faithful Lodge from the trail
Brie and I on the bridge over the Firehole River (and a recently awake toddler)
This is the only picture I took of Brie and I together for the entire week she was here. Fail. At least there's this one.
I have some pictures of some of the other cool things we looked at, but I'm sure you can only endure so many pictures of thermal features in one blog post. And our day isn't even over yet.
Back near Old Faithful, we wandered behind the Lodge to catch a look at Laurel Dorm, where Brie and I lived the summer we worked in Yellowstone. I'm sure the employees we saw must have been thinking, "What are these lost tourists doing back here," but that's okay, we were being nostalgic. Or something.
Next stop: Hamilton store for french fries and ice cream (lunch?). Don't mind the ketchup on Sierra's face.
We left the Old Faithful area and our next stop was the Fountain Paint Pots, which has a short boardwalk trail with views of the paint pots, hot springs, and a couple geysers. The paint pots look like boiling mud, but it is apparently created by acid eating away at the rock to create the mud and then gas bursting through to the surface.
On our way back toward the entrance of the park, we took a side-route and followed Firehole Road, which turned out to be a great decision because we got some awesome views of the Firehole River along the road. We also passed what appeared to be a designated swimming hole with lots of parking space and people below us swimming in the river. If only we had known, we could have planned for a little swimming excursion ourselves. Next time ... (in two years).
Last stop before we made our way out of the park and back home was the Madison River picnic area for some lunch. Sort of lunch. By this point, it was nearly 4:00pm, but we had skipped lunch at the lunch hour in favor of the aforementioned milkshakes and french fries. So we ate something a little bit healthier for us this time around and let Sierra play in river a little bit before trekking home.
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