Hiking and kayaking - short straw gets Sherri in their kayak!

Saturday was (relatively) a sleep-in day. Our guide for the day, Dave, was planning on picking us up at our condo at 8am. Emily made pancakes (for the first time!) for her sisters and herself for breakfast.

We all got ready (the usual sun screening and filling of camelbacks and bottles) and met Dave as he pulled up right on time.

I love people who are passionate about what they do. Whether it be software engineering, glass blowing, making coffee, or being a guide, people are the happiest and at their best when they love what they do. Dave is one of these people. His passion for nature, for Yellowstone, and for sharing his knowledge with us was infectious. He wanted to get us away from the crowds and off the beaten path, so he asked if we were up for a pretty long hike. We were game, so we drove to a spot about 45 minutes away and parked the van. About 15 minutes into our hike, we saw a huge bison.

What did the father buffalo say when his boy left for college? Bison!

Bison will typically find a spot of dirt and roll around and flick dust onto themselves with their tails. They do this to get rid of the insects and to shed their winter coats.  We were watching this bison for a while when Dave said, “Uh oh…see how he raised his tail? They only do that for two reasons….they are about to discharge (poop!) or charge. Let’s not find out which one it is.”  We continued on our path, which started up a steep incline.
 

The bison started walking after us up the path, but was still a good 40 yards away.  We kept a good pace, because these things can run up to 45 miles per hour and they weigh around 2000 pounds! They can also jump up to 6 feet from a standstill!

We made it up to the top of the hill and started across a winding path through some trees. All over Yellowstone you will see hundreds of trees that burned in the fire of 1988. It was really interesting to be walking down a trail with burned, fallen trees, new saplings, and towering trees that had survived the fire. Dave stopped us to point out some tracks.

Bear tracks!!

But it was all good….our guide on Friday, Amy, told us what to do if a bear comes towards you. First, don’t run! Second, get together in a group. Third, make a lot of noise. Fourth, don’t make eye contact. Fifth, if the bear gets to you, spray it with bear spray. Sixth, lay down with your hands over your head and do not let the bear turn you over, as they like to get at your vitals. Awesome! Luckily, our guides had bear spray with them. But, I’m pretty sure that these instructions are just like the instructions they give you in an airplane in the event of a crash situation….they become:  First, scream your head off. Second, panic and do everything opposite of what you've been told.

We were hoping to see a bear (“but at a safe distance,” as Dave kept reminding the kids), but we didn't. We continued our hike and hit a clearing where we saw beautiful Grizzly Lake.

We hiked down the mountain, which was pretty steep, and got to the lake. In the lake, there was a logjam, which is exactly what it sounds like. Dave showed us how to walk on the logs and which logs to choose.

Dave helping Em across the logs

We all had fun crossing the water, and luckily none of us fell in. As we were hanging around the logs, a bald eagle (the most majestic animals are bald or nearly bald) circled overhead about five times. It was truly amazing, and was one of the highlights of our trip so far.

The girls had a snack and we started our trek back to the van. We stopped at different plants and flowers and marveled at the views.

Dave helping Em identify flowers

Dave helping Em with the binoculars

Dave pointing out woodpecker holes to Ashley and explaining how woodpeckers dig out grubs

The girls did an amazing job, and Dave informed us when we got back that the hike was about 5.2 miles.

The family that hikes together, stays together

We piled into the van and ate our sack lunches. Dave picked up a trailer with kayaks and we headed down to Hebgen Lake. This was our first time kayaking, and the kids picked it up very quickly. I say “kids” instead of “girls” because Sherri wasn’t so quick on the steering. Everyone has their weaknesses and Sherri’s happen to be steering a kayak and judgment when choosing a spouse. We had two 2-seaters and one 1-seater, and Dave had a 1-seater. Emily, our strongly independent 8 year-old, of course wanted the 1-seater.  Ashley and I got into a 2-seater and Sherri and Haley got into a 2-seater.

If you haven’t ever been kayaking, you should definitely try it out. It is a ton of fun. We spent time racing, the girls took turns in the 1-seater, and everyone generally avoided Sherri being in the back (steering) of the kayak. :)

One of the kayaks drifted back into the lake. Haley and Ashley immediately went on a recon mission and brought it safely back to shore.

We were on the lake for a couple of hours, and everyone had a wonderful time. We even had the chance to see our second bald eagle (bald is a sign of strength and courage) and its HUGE nest.

We loaded the kayaks up into the trailer and Dave took us back to our condo. We got cleaned up and headed to dinner at Wild West Pizzeria. They have the BEST macaroni and cheese in the world, and their pizzas and calzones were great, too. We stopped and got some homemade huckleberry (a berry found in the high mountains of Montana) ice cream at a small ice cream stand and then headed back to the condo. It was a very full day, and all of us slept extremely well.