Yellowstone and Mt Rushmore Trip.

20/6/08
7.30am
At 5pm we got up and started driving. We drove into Boulder and saw a beautiful sun rise. The sun was a huge! We stopped at the side of the road. Dad stopped to check the map and just by our van there was a box of free stuff everyone but Ruth and Mum climbed out. Most of it was just junk but Paul found a 98 computer. Before Paul found this, he thought that 98 computers were dumb; he loaded it into the already stuffed van and settling it lovingly by his feet. We crossed into the state of Wyoming. It was very cold there.

11.46am
We stopped at a rest stop; there were heaps of prairie dogs. One was so friendly he walked right up to us, that we think he may have had rabies. We stopped at a place called Eden and got some petrol (gas) There was a very old house there and a old saddle that Mum said we could not have it!

6.07pm
We arrived at a very old Western town; there were heaps of bears around there the man at the visitors’ center said. We then went to a camping ground called Wildness camping ground. It cost $12 for our whole family. It was in the Bush (woods), it was a very restful place.
There were heaps of Bear warnings everywhere there. While Mum and Dad set up the tent Me, Paul and John went for a swim. There was a beautiful lake just a little walk from our camp site. The water was extremely cold. So we did not stay in it very long as it made you numb! When we got back to the camp site, Paul built a fire and we roasted Pitas.

7.46pm
We are nearly ready to spend our first night in bear territory. We have cleaned up the camp site of all the food scrapes and anything that’s smells such as sun screen, soap, and other things like that. The sun is slowly setting but is still high in the sky. The boys are with Dad down at the lake.

21/6/08
10.22am
Well nothing happened last night, no bears came and the only sound I heard that sounded a bit like a bear was Dad snoring. When I woke Paul, John, I made a roaring fire.
We packed up tent and left the campground, we went up another road, and stopped at a lake called Half Moon Lake. John found an old fan and he wanted to take it home. But Dad said no. We went to the General Store; on the walls were lots of animals, deer, buffalo, bob cats and other things.
Cow boys and cowgirls walking around, they were not in costume, but they just dressed like that for everyday. The towns out there are old old western towns as there are not much people living Wyoming.




3.31pm
We arrived at Yellow stone, and went to the visitors centre.
We went to the Famous Old Faithful; we got there just in time as it went off. There were Thousands of people. We saw some buffalo grazing at the side of the road. Mum found some buffalo hair by the side of the road.


5.28
We were driving a long when suddenly we came upon a HUGE herd of buffalo; they were all over the road. The walked right by our van and we could have touched them by putting our hand out the window if we had wanted to. The poor people on the other side of the road they had been behind the buffalo for a long time, and buffalo are slow. So there were more then thousand cars on the other side of the road.

22/6/08
9.09am
We arrived at the Camping ground at 7pm yesterday. We got up this morning at 5am as it is pretty hard to sleep when you are on a hill. We were driving along when suddenly we saw it! THE BLACK BEAR. It was quite far away at first but it came closer.
We stopped at another park; we clean our teeth in the mountain river. As we were driving out we saw a HUGE GRIZZLY BEAR on the hill. It probably would have stood 6ft if it had been standing up. We drove out of Yellowstone, into Montana and then in just a few minutes back into Wyoming.

23/6/08
5.40am
We arrived at a state park it was already 8.10pm we pitched the tent and started the fire and cooked some potatoes. Mum made a nice stew over the fire that tasted a little like rabbit stew, though there was no meat in it. Paul, John ad I went on a thing called a bouncy pillow. It was a giant pillow that was in the ground and you jumped on it.
In the middle of the night we woke to a sound we have not heard for quite a while. Heavy Rain.
There was Thunder and Lighting. They have lots of fork lighting and we were in tent.
I am glad to say we got through that night only a little wet. We are almost ready to leave for Mt Rushmore.

8.46am
We arrived at Mt Rushmore at 7am, we saw the Crazy Horse that is still being caved out of rock. We could see the Indians head but that was all. We came to the President’s heads. We couldn’t get close up though, because it cost $10 to park the van. We drove. We arrived in the Bad Lands at 8.47am, it was strange land. Though we had to turn around as we were going the wrong way. We saw some long horn cattle. We are on our way home now.


4.39
At 12.20 we stopped at the side of the road for lunch.
And since it had been raining when we left the campground so Dad spread the tent, sleeping bags and stuff like that. So it looked like we were camping there by the side of the road.
We are now only a few hours away from home.
I asked each one of the family what their favorite bit of the trip.
Paul’s was his 98 computer.
Johns was seeing the black bear.
Mums was seeing the Buffalo close
Ruth’s was seeing the Buffalo too.
Dads was driving out of Yellow Stone in early morning.
Mine was seeing the Grizzly on the hill.
We are now in Colorado.
The rain is drumming on the sides of the windows.
We arrived home at 6.24pm.