Other Check Offs!

Over the summer not only did I get my Yellowstone trip, but I also was able to check off four other items. Silly me, I forgot they were even on my bucket list and I didn't get any pictures, except for one! I know, I know, shame on me.

I went miniature golfing with my grandparents, and my uncle and his family for my cousin's birthday. I went to the Caldwell Night Rodeo with my grandma and cousins: Alanna, Shyanne and Carson. And finally, I went to the horse races twice! First time was with my cousin Stacy and second with my uncle's family. Finally, I went and floated the Yakima River and camped. That post will be coming soon with pictures!

Crazy that I have completed 16 items out of 35 on my bucket list. Two of the items are from a big section, such as a National Park/Monuments. Thanks to everyone that is making this possible for me!!!

Don't forget to check out my "Cousin Road Trip" and "Questions Asked By Peers post"! Enjoy!

Cousin Road Trip

On my birthday in February my uncle, Randy, and his wife, Stacia, gave me a sheet of paper with clip art stating cousin road trip for camping, zip lining and Yellowstone. What a gift! I was beyond grateful, but in loss of words on how to express it. I couldn't believe that a sheet of paper could mean so much! I was going to be checking off three things on my bucket list in one trip and I was sharing it with my cousins, Alanna and Sydney.

A lot of our extended family gave us trouble because they didn't think it would be safe that we only had one driver, who was also just sixteen. I trusted Alanna and I knew that with my experience with driving that I could talk her through anything if I needed to. I also felt insulted because some of the comments that were being said made me feel that even though I was the adult, I was disabled in their eyes and they thought another adult was needed, like I was not capable. Our parents trusted us and it made us girls want to prove that we would be fine and we would come home in one piece. We didn't let this ruin our trip!



Rest Stop

We loaded up the van with our gear and food, funny how you always end up taking more than you need especially food, and off we went! We stopped only three times: bathroom, lunch and Mesa Falls. The falls was a pretty sight but we were tired from being in the car so long and hot that we didn't spend a lot of time there. It took us about six and half hours to get to our campground. 


View From Rest Stop

I thought we made it in good time and no issues with driving. Alanna did very well and I was not worried one bit!





Mesa Falls

Mesa Falls

 We booked our camp spot in Island Park Idaho at the Buttermilk Campground. It was a great spot! We had the place to ourselves until the last night. We had a big clear area for the tent and woods at the back which had a trail that went to a little beach on the lake. The first thing we did was set up our "house", the tent was huge so I called it the house. Once that was done the girls went for a swim in the lake. It looked refreshing, but the water was not that clear. I asked Alanna if we're okay swimming in this, and just then a boat with a skier behind it came around the corner. That answered my question.

We drove to the West Gate and the cute little town that you went through reminded me of an old country town, with the old buildings and the little shops. At the gate there was a long line, but it was nothing to what everyone made it out to be. We heard that it was going to be full of people and busy, we didn't get that feeling at all.

We drove up to Old Faithfull, we arrived just as it went off so we had to wait for the next time around, 90 minutes. We went into the gift shops, Snow Lodge and ate our lunch. We missed the old lodge though, we thought that it was the Snow Lodge but realized later it was on the other side to where we were. We sat at a bench about twenty minutes before Old Faithful was going to go off and melted in the hot sun.

After about ten minutes we looked up from looking at a book and maps and people had filled the area. We were trying to figure out where they all came from! It was like bees all swarming the bee hive! It was crazy. I called Old Faithful a tease, it was start spit out water and more steam but then go away. It did that quite a bit before it finally shot in the air and it was neat to see, but it was not my favorite. It is crazy that it still goes off after all these years and on the same schedule.

After that we went on the trail that goes behind Old Faithful to see all the little geysers. To me those were the most interesting to me, because there were so many and each one had different characteristic, not one the same. The different shades of orange that is created by the sulfur and bacteria.

It was like art work, the paints being mixed together. It was a different kind of beauty. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the town outside the West Gate and shopped for souvenirs.

On the third day of our adventure we went zip lining through the wilderness and over the Gallatin River. It just so happens to be the river that was filmed in "The River Runs Through It" with Brad Pitt, great movie! We hiked a little ways into the woods and then climbed a rope bridge to a landing higher up in the tree, don't worry they hook us to a line in case we fell! Once we got to that landing, we were all in a circle around a tree and hooked on so we could lean back over the edge and hang there. I loved that and it was fun to hear and watch other people react in the group. I have to say that adds to the adventure and makes it fun, also having good guides helps too. Sydney and another guy were at the front of the line and one of them had to go first, but Sydney didn't want to and the other guy, who was built big who you think would, wouldn't either. So, I said that I would go. I had to walk along the edge of the landing while my lines went above my cousins to get to the front. I had to stand on a box so the guide could hook my lines to the cable. When I was ready, the guides radio to each other, "zipping Audrey",  and the other responds "See you at the other end Audrey". I stepped off the box to the landing and said, "Peace out" to the other's and fell off the side. There is instant wind gushing around you and the speed increases by the second, it was a thrill! Then...BAM!

 

You are at the end and being stopped by the guide who has to catch you so you don't go backwards on the line. We climbed a ladder to the upper landing on the tree and this zip line was longer and went over the river.

One Of The Zip Lines

On this run you had to get a running start on the landing to gather enough speed so you wouldn't slow down at the end and get stuck. Those that did get stuck, the guide had to hook himself on the cable, go to you, hook a line to the both of you and pull you back to the landing. It looked like a work out for the guide! It was a beautiful view, but of course with my vision I missed seeing the river, haha. It was a good thing that I videotaped my journeys on the cable. They taught you how to steer yourself, but I never got the hang of it and just went in circles, which was fine for me. It made it easier to see everything around me. We crossed one more rope bridge to our last zip line. This one went over the river again and back through the woods. You thought you would hit the water since you dropped low over it. To be only hooked by lines on a cable and nothing but the air engulfing you...was a thrill! (At the end of this post there are videos of the zip lining!)

Going Over Gallatin River

Stopped At The Last Line

The Girls And Our Guides, Ben And Josh

Since this only took up our morning, we spent the rest of the day doing the overlooks and back roads in Yellowstone trying to find animals, but had no luck. On our way back to our campground we saw a car at a stop and came to find there was a mama moose and two babies!

The mama was so big! We stopped and watched them for awhile. That night we had a very loud and close thunder and lightning storm. The ground just rumbled beneath us and made us jump in our sleeping bags every time that thunder roared. It was the loudest thunder I had ever heard, I would have loved and enjoyed it but it made my migraine worse.

That morning, I was in so much pain with my migraine that I told the girls that they would have to go without me today. As I laid there, I thought to myself I can't miss out what if I don't make it back here. So, I yelled don't leave without me from inside the tent and hurried and got ready.

The Girls In Our Matching Tanks

We went to the upper and lower falls. We had a bit of a hike going to the falls that kicked my butt and got my anxiety on high. The trails were skinny with an edge and with people passing me just got my nerves in a bundle. Yes, I used my cane the whole trip. My cousin, Alanna, told me she was going to make me a shirt because every time I almost ran into someone, did run into them, blocked their way or something I would say sorry. I said it a lot and multiple times at once on some occasions. At least we made humor out of it. Back to the trip, the fall and canyon was AMAZING! It was worth the hike and a sight to see. It can't be described in words.

We continued to drive around the loop from the Canyon, Tower Falls, to Mammoth Hot Springs and back to the West Gate. Tower Falls was okay, it was hard for me to see the towers, but the fall was pretty.

When we arrived to Mammoth Hot Springs it was starting to rain and we decided to make a run for it. We wanted to at least see some of it. Well, that backfired on us! As we were walking along the trail Alanna realized she locked the keys in the car. She started running back to the car, me on the other hand, kept walking, ha. I expected something like this to happen, and surprised it didn't happen sooner. I took some pictures of the hot springs that were near by and headed to the car. Then, of course, down pour.

Liberty Cap

Mammoth Hot Springs

We walked to the gas station and we were in luck they had someone license to "break in" cars. We had to wait for the rain to lighten up. Finally after some time it did and we all walked to the car, he started to pry the door open and down pour of rain again. This time it felt like hail! We were in tanks and shorts. We were wet and shoes were soaked. At this point, we were tired from the long day and thankful that he was able to get the door open with no damage. It was a good way to end our last day in Yellowstone! :) On the trek back, we actually had one buffalo sighting, just one. He was cruising along down the road, like he did this every day.

End Of Yellowstone Trip

Once we got out of Yellowstone we went to Jack Sack's Cabin since we were informed that at dusk animals come out around there...yeah, we had bad luck. We only saw the fish in the lake. We stayed for awhile walking around and made some laughs, but were disappointed that we didn't see any animals. We went back to camp and loaded all our stuff up, minus our home since we had to get up early and it was going to be raining.

We woke up to a huge puddle of water in our rain cover and my bed was soaked. We are not sure how it happened, but it made a messy clean up of getting the tent down. It started to rain some and we were worried our day wouldn't go our way. We hurried and got all our stuff loaded and got on the road to our last adventure of our trip...horseback riding!

Luck was on our side and the sun came out for us. We went on a three hour ride through the Gallatin National Forest. I thought that being on the horse would hurt my back but it didn't. It made me calm and relaxed inside. I soaked in the fresh air, nature and loved every second. Deep down I always kind of had a fear for horses, but once I got on it went away. We had fun and all of us didn't want it to end. When we got off the horses we all stumbled from our stiff legs and man oh man our butts were sore! It was all worth it and I hope to go riding again soon!

Photo Credit: iHorsephotomedia

Photo Credit: iHorsephotomedia

We left with Montana in the rear-view mirror with lots of memories created and the reality of life ahead of us. On our drive back we hit some very heavy rain, which made us hydroplane. Alanna did well, I had turned off the music and talked to her about what to do if we fishtailed and to not let the cars push her to speed up. She handled it very well! We made it home in one piece, just tired and in need of a shower.  It was a great time and I enjoyed my time with my cousins.

Zip lining, check! Yellowstone National Park, check! Horseback riding, check! Three off the bucket list! These were only some of the pictures I took, :). See below for zip line video!

Zip Line One:

Zip Line Two:

Zip Line Three: