Yellowstone by numbers

1 Petrified tree
1 Wolf (seen through the scope of a very nice person))
2 Bald Eagles
2 Coyotes
3 Moose
5 Bighorn Sheep
6 Waterfalls
7 Hikes
8 Erupting Geysers
9 Miles Hiked (approx)
really very many Elk and Bison seen
998.6 Miles driven

Sadly (or not sadly at all, for me) we saw no bears and Zak is now heartbroken, because nearly everywhere we hiked were signs warning of bear activity in the area and he was SURE we were going to get to see a bear up close and personal.

Yellowstone in Pictures

Beehive Geyser

Old Faithful

Mammoth Terrace

Upper Mammoth Terrace

It's Autumtime, It's autumn time!

The snow is falling down!

Things learned from living in Utah

1. Just buy the darn snow blower already!

2. Get a house on the north side of the street. (south facing driveway means much less shoveling!)

3. Even though gloves don't go through the dryer, they disappear just like socks do.

4. The kid who loves to roll around in the snow will whine unendingly when asked to shovel it.

5. Stephen's cocoa is awesome.

6. Food storage works well to put weight over your rear axle.

7. Water softener salt melts snow nearly as well as ice melt.

8. I'm not a 'snow' person.

Finally finishing that fishing merit badge

So, the Slade fishing curse seems to apply even to the Cooks. Happily, Jerran finally caught something, brought it home and cooked it to finish the merit badge. Some of the kids ate it and declared it "not horrible"! That's my fault since I haven't cultivated a love of eating fish in my kiddoes. Great weather for fishing!

Since I'm here anyway

Em informed me today that my name is Mrs Mommy Cook. It's good to know one's place in the world, no?