A walk down to the edge of the water was good incentive to get everyone up and out the door...
The lodge was nice, but we really didn't spend much time in there this go round. They offer couches for lounging by the fire, desks if you need one, rocking chairs on the porch, and of course a gift shop and restaurant...
We didn't visit any of the restaurants in Yellowstone on this particular visit. We have eaten in the Lake Lodge dining room before and it was just ok, nothing special. If you are going to spend the $$, make it worth your while and go to the Old Faithful Snow Lodge dining room. Much more better ;).
When we left the Lake area, we slowly made our way back up towards the Canyon. We didn't get very far before we just had to pull over and get closer to the river...
There was no one else around, we had it all to ourselves :)...
A few shoes came off...and were quickly put back on. That water is cold! hahaha...
Checking out the different rocks...
...chunking a few, just to watch the splash...
...finding treasures with great stories just waiting to be imagined...
...little creatures, held for a moment and then carefully placed back in their pools...
...the Yellowstone River was awesome :). We could have spent the entire day right there on that rocky shore and been quite happy. Except...there were such wonders as the Mud Volcano and a Sulphur Cauldron waiting to be discovered. Oh yes. Time to go find and explore Shrek's Swamp ;)...
I call it Shrek's Swamp because that was our first impression of it. Very swampy with pools and puddles filled with sizzling, bubbling mud of various consistencies. And talk about stinky! Whoo! It was bad, ya'll. Had my boys not been about to bounce right out of their seats with excitement to go explore "the swamp", I probably would have just left without even getting out of the car...and that would have been a real shame. We parked, all got out and explored together, and it was great. Still stank, but that's ok...my kids loved the murky swampiness of it in spite of the stink ;)...
The Mud Volcano was cool. Well, the story of how it used to be and what's left of it...
When it was first discovered, many years ago, it would erupt so violently that the sound could be heard a mile away. The ground would shake and mud would shoot up into the tops of surrounding trees. After only a couple recorded years of this, it literally blew itself apart...leaving behind a hole full of boiling mud.
The Dragon's Mouth Spring was a good one, too. It really does make dragon-ish noises...
I finally got the boys to leave the "swamp" behind and we headed off to find the Sulphur Cauldron. One of the most acidic springs in the park. And also a stinker...
Next up, the canyon area. But first, lunch...I wasn't about to make the same mistake as the first time we tried to visit that area ;). We pulled off at the first picnic area we came to and somehow managed to get the only table there with dry paint. For real! The picnic area was right alongside the river and I parked and told the kids to hop out and choose us a table while I gathered up the food things. Of course their first choice was the one closest to the water. Well, that table had very recently been repainted...I guess it looked really shiny to the kids because they tested it with one fingertip and yep, wet paint (there were no signs warning of this). They checked out the other tables and found one, tucked away by itself beneath the trees, that was dry. Good deal. We spread out our cloth, got out our food, and had a nice lunch. The whole time we were eating, other cars pulled in...one after another. Some of them discovered the wet paint and left, but lots of them SAT IN IT AND ATE! Whaaat??? One man touched it not with a fingertip, but smacked his whole hand right down in it. Makes me just shake my head in puzzlement...
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