Photoessay #1215 - Could be Yellowstone (2002)

Concerning my post day before yesterday...do you have any cute pictures of your grandparents when they were young?

Came upon this picture as I sorted through the box. Dramatic lighting? Where were we? Dennis is sure it was Yellowstone. We did take a road trip when Naomi was 3, is this it? The striated peak on the left looks the part, the wood paths. It looks more desserty. So who knows, we can call it Yellowstone.

Yes, we did take all 4 kids and it was a budget trip (like all of them). I remember cooking in shelters (always hot dogs) during the daily rain storms. We're not talking easy living here!

I remember my mother visiting, assessing the scene of four active kids and not a lot of money and asking what we were going to DO at Yellowstone. I answered without skipping a beat. "Scream in the parking lot, same as we do here".

If it's yellowstone, I'm taking suggestions what else this might look like, the kids would be 3, 6 ,8, 10.

The signature story (I may have already told it) involves Susanna. Lots of hot springs in Yellowstone. All the guidebooks warn about the high temperatures and the danger of scalding. So we lecture before we get here. You have to stay on the path, you can't get in the water, you could get burned. Susanna starts worrying about the elk. "What about the elk or deer? What if they get in the water? Will the poor elk get hurt?" We reply that the elk know what to do because they live here. And we might have said that the elk know it's hot so they know not to get in the water.

So we stop at the first hot spring place and we're walking on the plank path. We went around the corner and, you guessed it, several elk are standing in the hot spring. Susanna goes BALLISTIC, just about shoots herself into orbit "The ELK!!!!! THEY'RE GOING TO GET HURT!" Those of you who know Susanna, imagine an 8 year old Susanna. When she lost it she lost it LOUD, LOUDER than you ever thought possible. Shrieking at full volume about elk getting hurt in the hot spring.

She still remembers it, claims she was shattered for all time seeing those elk standing there.

So do you have any pictures from a vacation from long ago where you're not sure of the locations though it certainly was happening?