The Right Traveling Companions

I wanted to write one more thing about my journey to Yellowstone Park. This trip was accomplished due to the efforts of my dear friend. She is the one who looked up the accommodations, and she is the one who got me to commit to the trip. We have known one another since 1976. I moved into her neighborhood and we met at church. We just "clicked." I'm not sure why we have been able to maintain this friendship through this many years, especially since I have not lived in her neighborhood, nor even the same city with her for more than 27 years! I guess that is a sign of true friendship---it lasts. I tell her she's like another sister to me.

So, anyway, she and I made these preparations, and as I was packing the truck for the trip, CoolGuy remarked, "Those kids [the two grandchildren who accompanied us] have no idea what they're in for." He shook his head. I laughed! I knew exactly what he was referencing--my friend and I have awesome conversations. I wasn't even worried...as a little kid, one of my favorite things to do was sit quietly and listen to my mom and other grownup ladies talk. It was illuminating, entertaining, and a great way to figure out how to be a friend when you're an adult.

That morning, we pulled up to--[I'll call her New Sis] New Sis's house and, after we got all of our supplies carefully tarped and tied into the back of the truck, we said a prayer for safety in our travels and set off on the 300 miles north to West Yellowstone, MT. Now, New Sis raised seven children to my five. She has a group of grandchildren, too, so we're old pros at traveling with kids. Plus, my grandchildren are excellent travelers. It's good, too, because we spent a huge amount of time in the truck over the next four days. We tend to think alike--we brought lots of snacks; we both like to stop for random things; we are interested in just about everything. We had a blast!

For instance: along the freeway in Idaho, we all spied a sign announcing the upcoming Idaho Potato Museum. Of course we stopped! I mean, how could you resist? You're in Idaho! It's a potato museum!

It was an wonderful experience, too. We learned stuff, and we read lots of signs, and I found yet another group of horrible chores I'm so grateful I didn't have to do as a child.

When we got to our destination, we checked into our campsite, and then went into town to a performance at  the community theater that is staffed by talented and energetic college students. For the cast members, this a summer job. As they were introducing everyone, the grandchildren recognized a girl from their church, who had been in local theater performances with them at home! Again, a great experience we wouldn't have done without New Sis planning our agenda!

As we waited in the line with the other vehicles at the Park entrance that first morning, we realized that visitors to the Park had come from all over the country, according the cars we were seeing. New Sis casually asked the kids if they were interested in playing the license plate game. She had no idea what she was starting! These children are highly motivated to finish what they start and they are very observant. So, by the  third day, we'd found all but four of the 50 states, as well as six Canadian provinces and two states in Mexico. We were so close!!

We arrived at our main destination for that day, where we'd eat lunch and then start on the final loop of the park, and----there were two of last states, parked next to each other as we drove through the parking lot!! Excitement!! As we parked, there sat the third state we were missing!! ONE TO GO!! Despite the complete distraction of mostly looking at license plates, and the effort of walking up and down the parking lots at every place we visited the rest of that day, Rhode Island remained elusive...I guess no one from there decided to drive to Wyoming this summer. It was a big disappointment. But, we had a blast looking for it.

One day, when we women had been chattering away on one of the many wide-ranging topics on which we'd converse, I paused and turned to my granddaughter. "Grandpa said that he worried that you children would have no idea what you were in for, traveling with us two. Are you getting tired of us?"  She laughed, too, and explained that she loved listening to us! She knew exactly what her grandpa was referencing. But, she and her brother would often join in. They have opinions, too, about the school system, where ones gets the best ice cream, and why cats are such great pets. Once, they started the conversation by asking us to recall a memory from second grade, or fifth grade or to describe a fun birthday we remembered. We had a lovely time.

We were silly sometimes. There were moments of the normal sibling quarreling. Everyone got waaaay too tired everyday, and we had to remember to be kind and gentle with one another. We taught each other great facts about the nature we were viewing---I have extremely well-read grandchildren. We learned interesting and, sometimes sad, stories about our own childhoods. A trip to an amazing location was made even more enjoyable by going with agreeable companions. I guess you can't ask for more than that.

 Taking photos of taking photos.

 She decided to run away with the wolves. 

 We bought some souvenirs, but the cutest purchase was when they were looking everywhere to find something for their little sister, who didn't go on the trip. 

 It's one thing to go on a trip with one grandmother, but when two grandmothers are with you...! Except that she is as awesome as me, so we all had a lot of fun. 

 Just a little joke, Grandma! But...someday!

Here is a view of the whole campsite. This is located along the Madison River and so the view from the door of the tipi was river, backed up with forest, and behind that were mountains. Pretty awesome! Plus, another building housed real bathrooms--shower, toilet, sink, mirror. My kind of camping!