Wyoming's big enough for all of us

Our Whitaker Reunion was more informal this year - Grandpa and Grandma, Monica and her family, Melody and her family, the Hart families and Noel and her family couldn't come. The rest of us planned to rendezvous in Yellowstone at the southeast entrance for camping, hiking, and driving fun. We live in Denver, so we drove north on I25 to I80, then west to Rawlins to catch US287 NW. At Muddy Gap we left civilization behind for several hours.

Then came the best surprise of the trip - a visitor's center around the 6th crossing of the Sweetwater River on the Mormon Trail! The site honors the members of both the Willie and Martin Handcart companies (1856), but particularly the Willie company which was rescued there by those dedicated mortal angels who left Salt Lake City to brave the winter weather in the mountains and on the plains to answer Brigham Young's call.

Our favorite part was riding in the handcarts. It's a beautiful site with a section of the Mormon trail preserved for youth conference treks.











Yellowstone looked nothing like I remembered. I was about 9 when my grandparents (Chidester) took us there. We stayed in 1920s-era cabins and drove and drove. There were bison and elk everywhere and we saw moose (a little too close up - Grandpa tried to feed one a handful of weeds) and a bear or two. Old Faithful seemed way bigger, closer, and more intimate. A trail between the mudpots seemed unbearably fragile (how did they know the boardwalk was secure?). It was a memorable trip.

This time, we watched Old Faithful from benches 100 yds away with 1500 other people. The wide, caldera floor was built up with several huge lodges and more under construction. Does it sound like I'm complaining? Really, the geyser walk was phenomenal. Another hike took us 3 miles to a lake (Nathan and Samuel made it about 3/4 mile in, melted down asking for water - Marion had the water backpack and we had the food backpack ( poor planning ) - and had to turn around for the car). The pine forests were thick and beautiful. We saw two chipmunks and lots of streams and wildflowers.

Another hike took us along the north rim of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Green and churning at the bottom of the canyon, the Yellowstone River has cut a stunning and multi-colored path through the stone mountains. The trail ran unnervingly along the drop-off in several places. Thirty years ago, an earthquake shook off part of a road that had followed the edge for decades. It's still visible in spots and heads eerily off the edge in one place in particular. Hiking that trail was another of the highlights of the trip for me. Nathan and Samuel made this hike very well, with no meltdowns. It was a little longer than the distance they'd gone the day before and they started out with a lot of enthusiasm so I was encouraged that they were becoming good little hikers. It's a good thing because I can't carry them for any length of time anymore. They're both 50 pounds.

My two brothers' families and my sister's family camped right next to us, so we got in lots of visiting time. One of my favorite times was the family untalent show. We commandeered the restroom steps for a stage and circled our camp chairs. 7 boy cousins had put together a crime drama, practicing every spare moment, and were delightful! Samuel wanted to steal the show, singing every song everybody else was singing, with his own twist (Book of Mormon stories ... are about the selfish boy from far across the sea). You can imagine. We let him have the spotlight for '1st Grade, 1st Grade' to the tune of 'New York, New York' - watch out Frankie!

We brought our creative cooking implements - reflector oven Allen made when he was 13, dutch oven, and toaster sticks. The cinnamon rolls were fluffy and golden brown, fresh from the reflector oven. Sirloin tips and rice were well-cooked and flavorful from the dutch oven. Marshmallows puffy, chewy and melty from the toaster sticks. Yummy! My brother had a toaster platform for his one-burner top-of-the-propane-bottle stove which turned out beautiful toast - crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. Amazing!

Enough for today!