Yellowstone or Bust!

This last Saturday as we sipped our hot chocolate and watched the snow start to flurry down from our kitchen window we (the Peterson Family) all decided it was a perfect day to venture out as planned and visit Yellowstone. We were sure all the animals would be coming down to feed and prepare for winter. The leaves were suppose to be gorgeous and we had nothing better to do as a family.(The Utah game wasn't on Dish Network). Unfortunately, when we made these plans it was the day before and it had been a toasty high 70's and we were all geared up for a great Saturday. The snow is no deterrent to a child we found and we were soon on the road to Yellowstone - no matter the weather. We made it all the way to Island Park where the magic of the car ride wore off and we were all ready to take a break. Funny thing the gas station/bar/service station/restaurant we stopped at happened to have 1 cent candies...a thing of the past I thought. It made the trip all exciting again and we decided according to the dropping thermometer in our car that 32 degrees was chilly enough and we stopped at the coolest, closest next stop. Big Springs in Island Park. We were the only ones there. (I can't imagine why). Still, I have to admit that it was really cool and a rare chance to be there alone. The gigantic trout were starving and jumping out of the water at any food thrown their way. The kids could have cared less about the temperature and we played at the springs for a bit. Troy was as giddy as the kids were at the fish. It was quite the sight. It was really fun...fun enough that Yellowstone was no longer a necessity of the day. We started for home and took a detour at Mesa Falls. It was awesome. Again we were the only ones there again but the water was still so warm from the recent weather that it was steaming all over. Very cool. We hiked our little hearts out and marveled at the wonderful pace of life we have somehow discovered back into our lives. It is so easy to forget about how important it is to enjoy the small moments. The waterfalls got Troy reminiscing of college days at Ricks and he mentioned another waterfall called Cave Falls. So we ventured on over to there. It was such a beautiful drive, the last part was slightly hard to see when it started to snow so hard it was a white out. That's when we saw a sign that welcomed us into Yellowstone Nat. Park. I laughed that we somehow made it to Yellowstone even though we thought we had talked the kids out of going there. Obviously it was snowing in Yellowstone and no animals were out for us to see, but we sure did have fun discovering beautiful parts of Idaho and all the great water falls of Idaho. Idaho...what a great and crazy place. Scary how much it actually grows on you.