We all slept well even after coming across an animal in the dark while on a hike, but the boys all awoke the next morning anxious and ready for zip lining and rafting! We drove up into Montana to meet our guides. Zip lining was the day’s first activity! We went on a course of two bridges and three zips. Will showed us that he had no fear when he walked across the bridge without holding on to the hand rails. Jonah made it across just barely since he is so light, but made the miracle connection and grabbed the guides finger just before he slipped back into the middle of the line. Everyone tried different zipping poses, such as the cannonball or Superman.
We finished zip lining and took a break for lunch. The day’s cook crew made bratwurst on buns with a side of chips for lunch. Blake taught us all how to play a new game called Black Magic, and we played for the rest of the time until it was time to go rafting.
We were ready to cool off after our time in the sun and rafting was the perfect solution. We rafted on the Gallatin River, split in two boats. The group had a great time jumping in and out of the raft in the calm sections, and enjoyed splashing each other. Our guides told a lot of jokes and we laughed our way down the river. We had a long drive to our next campsite and were asleep as soon as we arrived.
The next day was characterized by one thing: good food. We started off our day with delicious breakfast burritos, filled however you wanted with steak, eggs, bacon, cheese, and bell peppers! Cook crew members Caden and Finn were highly praised for making a fantastic meal. With full stomachs, we then went to take showers. Then, once clean, we went to our next campsite to set up tents, make lunch, and explore. Our lunch was great too, pasta with spaghetti sauce and cheese was the perfect light meal before our big evening. After a couple rounds of playing ninja, we headed over to Roosevelt Corral, for a wagon ride and all-you-can-eat steak buffet! On our wagon ride, we learned a lot about the area, and saw a black bear eating berries! Once at the picnic area, we listened to an entertainer play cowboy songs. The food was the best part. The boys stuffed themselves full of steak, baked beans, watermelon, corn muffins, and apple cobbler. We all were full to bursting.
Upon returning to camp, we decided to hike up the hill to see the last of the sunset and work off some of the extra food. Teddy led the group up the hill, anxious to reach the highest point. We enjoyed a beautiful view of the area from up on the hill and then journeyed back. Caden launched himself down the rocky hillside, passing everyone, but then waited at the bottom to make sure everyone was down safely. We let our eyes adjust and then walked back in the almost dark. We learned that grizzly bears have approximately the same sight as humans so we wanted to see how they saw in the dark. The boys played a game of rummy and then were off to bed.
The next morning, Will, Tommy, and Braden made the group delicious scrambled eggs for breakfast. Then the group headed over to hike Mt. Washburn. Finn was in the front of the group the whole time, stopping every once in a while so that we could all catch up. Braden raced to the front after learning that there were bighorn sheep to be seen. We were almost to the top when we found the sheep. They walked right by us on the trail, while some remained grazing on the hillside. There was only a short walk left to the top, and we soon arrived at the old fire tower. The group all signed the guest log and looked through the telescope, and admired the view of Yellowstone. It didn’t take too long to get back down the mountain and we travelled to our next campsite.
The next day was dedicated to cleaning and exploring. We ate bagels and bacon for breakfast and then went to take showers! After showering we pulled out our dirty clothes and did laundry. The group played poker and quarter hockey while waiting for clean clothes. We explored some of the middle Yellowstone on our way to ColterBay, our next campsite. We restocked at the grocery store then made for camp to set up. After setting up we went to the lake to swim and hang out on the shore line. We made bacon wrapped filets for dinner and a neighboring campsite gave us left over spaghetti so we went to bed with full stomachs.
Today we’re heading out of camp after a laid back morning to the visitor’s center in Moose, Wyoming! After we check that out we’ll meet up with our guides for our scenic boat trip! The group is very excited for our last few days here in Yellowstone and we’re planning on making the most out of it!
