Yellowstone Recap + Friday Favorites!

Day #1… done and done!

When we were leaving the Airbnb at 5 a.m. yesterday morning Brooke said, “This feels like that St. George Marathon thing that we do.”   We wanted to get to Yellowstone bright and early so we could see a lot of things before the crowds came.  Luckily, we were able to avoid crowds and traffic everywhere besides Old Faithful but we could social distance/wear masks there easily.

As we were driving to Yellowstone, Andrew said, “I need to get up early more often for things other than work” because the sunrise was stunning.

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The first stop we made was to Beryl Spring.  The kids could not believe all of the steam coming off of them and turns out the early wakeup call was not a problem for Brooke and Knox as you can see below.

We planned on going on a long hike and assumed it was going to be very hot but decided to wear sweatshirts too last second and I’m so glad we did because it was COLD until about 9:30.  I love sweatshirt weather.

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Then we drove to go see the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  This area was UNREAL.  We got there early enough that there were just two other cars parked there too!  PS thanks for the advice to go early, it made our time there so enjoyable.

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Our kids loved seeing the big things like the scene above but they also found so much joy in just the simplest things along the way too.

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As we drove along the way to the big places we wanted to visit we made about 20 random small stops to get out and look.  We also stopped to see elk, bison and Andrew saw a mama bear and baby bear far away from where we were at one point.

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Old Faithful was incredible.  This was Knox’s absolute favorite part of the day!

Our next stop was for a hike that Andrew found which was awesome.  It was about 5.5 miles roundtrip and pretty flat the whole way!

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We stopped and ate donuts at Fairy Falls once we got there and played there for a while.

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We also hiked up to the overlook point for Grand Prismatic Spring.  We couldn’t even believe how gorgeous the colors were.  I feel like the entire day Andrew and I looked at each other wondering how in the world a place could be so beautiful.   Between all of the stops and driving around we were ready to head back to where we were staying to take showers and get in pjs by 5:30 pm:)   Can’t wait for what we see today and I don’t know how I waited 34 years to come to this place when it is so close to where we live!

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I have a few Friday favorites today!

*$14 SUNGLASSES!!!  They are polarized and have so many color combos to choose from.  With the amount of times I lose/sit on sunglasses, this price tag is very needed.

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*A few of you recommended that we get and download the GyPSy app before we went to Yellowstone (because there isn’t reception while in Yellowstone) and you guys are just the best.  This app tracked where you were the entire time and would let you know where to turn to get to different attractions along with the history/explanations of everything along the way.  It felt like we had the best tour guide with us. This app works for so many different National Parks and we will keep using it for each one that we go to.

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*Baking refrigerated cinnamon rolls on a waffle iron.  Grease up the iron with a little butter, cook the cinnamon roll for a minute or two and boom… heaven.

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*This Maxi Dress!  I love finding stuff that I can wear now but that I can also wear again next summer when I am not pregnant.    With almost 15k 4.5 star reviews on Amazon, I decided to go for it.  It feels like you aren’t even wearing anything because it is so soft.  They have a ton of colors to choose from but I of course went for black once again.

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Have any fun weekend plans?!

Those of you that have been to Yellowstone, what was your favorite thing that you saw there?

What app do you use more than any other app?

What is your current favorite baked good?

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24 comments

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When your trip is over would
You be willing to share which Airbnb you found nearby? I’d love to plan a trip here

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Yes for sure! We leave it tomorrow so I’ll share then. It’s been really nice and about half the price of anything close! Have a great weekend Steph! You will love it here!

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I just added the sleeveless version of that dress to my Amazon clothes list. (I have weird all or nothing issues with sleeves)

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I hope you love it too! I totally understand those issues ha, I have them with random things too. Enjoy your weekend!

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What a fun way to cook cinnamon rolls! Never heard of that!
I’m from the east coast but moved out to Oregon for one year, and did a drive across the country with my dad. We got to visit Yellowstone then for just a day. That was 15 years ago though so I can’t remember it all! I want to spend more time at national parks but they seem to be out west more.

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Current favorite baked good is banana muffins, been making a lot to bring to work for breakfast or snack!

Yellowstone looks amazing! Love the colors of the water in that last picture, so beautiful.

Weekend plans- running, virtual trivia to celebrate a friend’s birthday, picnic at a nearby park, and homework.

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Glad you guys got such an early start – it makes such a world of difference!

Not sure if you are going up to the Lamar Valley, but evening is a good time for that as well. I know it may be hard when you are further away.

How did the kids like the smell of the sulpher?

It makes me so happy to hear about you guys having such a great time!

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Hi Janae! Tomorrow is my birthday so I will have a few friends over in the backyard. Other than that not too much going on, just relaxing! Have a great next day in Yellowstone!

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Happiest happiest happiest birthday tomorrow! Enjoy your day with friends!

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The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is my favorite! When we went we debated hiking down to the base of the falls but I’m so glad we did! Breathtaking!

Current favorite baked good is Amish friendship bread. I’ve been on a kick of making that lately, but I’m sure I will get sick of taking care of the starter soon:)

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Is the app free?

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Oh wow looks amazing!! You will have so many great memories . Yellowstone has been on my bucket list and can’t wait until we can visit. Gling to have to wait for the the borders to reopen though lol.

We are headed out on a road trip of our own tomorrow. We are headed to south okanagan in BC..its about 4 hours from us in the Sumilkameen Valley..a place called Keremeos. We will be camping and hopefully swimming lots and just exploring in general. Its puppys first big road trip so wish us luck lol. And in general very excited to get away.

Happy adventuring!

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Hey Jenni! It was $10! Have a great weekend❤️

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Oh my goodness, your trip looks incredible. I’ll try not to be envious! I’m so glad you are able to get away and see such dazzling things. I remember being awestruck by the canyon when I was there. I loved seeing your Wildlife pictures on Instagram yesterday! Yellowstone reminds me of how incredible the world really is.

I also remember I think they had blackberry ice cream? Huckleberry? I don’t know if they’re doing that this summer, but it was so good. Highly recommend. :-)

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So beautiful, I’ve never been to the Yellowstone. What camera did you take with you? The shots are amazing. Also, wanted to say that I love your hair!

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Hey Katie!! Thanks so much and you need to go to Yellowstone! They are a mix between our GoPro and SonyA6300! Have a great weekend❤️

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I just ordered those sunglasses last week. Great find!

This is making me even more excited for our trip out to Yellowstone next summer.

We have friends that are camping so we’ll be hanging out at the campground and on the lake this weekend.

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I am enjoying watching your trip! Last summer my family traveled from Kansas to Alaska and we bypassed Yellowstone because we weren’t sure it was worth it. Next summer when this whole pandemic is DONE we are thinking about doing another round trip Alaska down the west coast to California then over to Kansas and back up. I was looking at whether we should try to go to Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon. Our kids are younger at 4 years and 7 months currently, but both are awesome travelers so hopefully we can go for it! I LOVE national parks! We may need to go into Bryce and Arches again, they are my favorite!

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Yellowstone looks gorgeous! You’ll have to let us know some more details, so we can plan our own trips! :)

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Wow, those pics are incredible, especially the grand canyon! Glad the kids are enjoying it so much, they seem like they are at the perfect age for it! It’s been ages since I was there so I don’t remember much about Yellowstone, but I do remember Jenny Lake in the Tetons, so pretty!

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The GyPSy app is the best!! My husband and I used it nonstop while on our honeymoon in Maui. Felt like we were getting all of the history and fun facts that we would have learned in a museum setting while we were traveling to the next hiking or snorkeling spot.

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Yellowstone is gorgeous! Thank you for sharing the photos-I love seeing them. I bet your kiddos were amazed at the enormity of all those sites. Did you say it is about 5 hours from you? Amazing!

Did you feel any of the earthquakes in Yellowstone?

Have a great rest of your weekend! I kept thinking today was Saturday-we went to a trail park and enjoyed some great mountain bike trails and had delicious kuchen afterwards.

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Hey Kelly! Thank you so much and yes it is just a little over 5 hours from our house. We feel spoiled! I didn’t feel any of those earthquakes, crazy! I bet andrew would love those trails to mountain bike on. Hope you are having a great weekend!

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The picture of the kids on a fallen tree see-saw = the best! If we’ve learned anything from the pandemic, kids don’t need as much as we think they do to be happy.

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