Yellowstone Day 4

This was our last day in the park, so we headed to the Canyon area. We had picked up "Junior Ranger" packets for the kids the day before. One of the requirements (in addition to answering questions and finishing some activity pages) was to attend a ranger talk. The kids sat very quietly for the whole talk, which was entitled "Them Bones". The ranger had all sorts of skulls of different animals and the kids had to guess which animal they belonged to.







After the ranger talk, we headed into the visitor's center to turn in their packets and let the kids get officially sworn in as Junior Rangers.




We indulged in a very expensive lunch at the Canyon Visitor's Center (our first time eating out the whole trip). Then it was off to see the canyon and the waterfalls. Notice the kids proudly displaying their Junior Ranger badges. Nate fell asleep on the drive there, so I got to carry him down to the lookout. He woke up for our second attempt at a family picture.





We spent quite a bit of time trying to get a good picture of the kids in front of the falls.




And trying to get a family one...








We stopped at several lookouts along Canyon Rim Drive.





Then we headed back toward West Yellowstone. But first we made one last stop along the way--at the Artist Paint Pots. We spotted a cute little bunny along the way. When we got to the end of the trail, we left Nate in the stroller with Grandma while the rest of us climbed stairs to get a good view of the area.





At the top of the stairs we found a great bubbling mud pot.





Around this time, the kids really got into their roles as Junior Rangers and decided to pair up--Aaron with Sara, and Josh with Savannah. They forged ahead of us "leading" the way.









We made it back to the cabin and had a late dinner, then went to bed. And here's a picture of my sleepy little Nate on his last night of being a one year old. That's one cute (and tired) little boy!