Day 5

            It’s the 4^th of July and where do I begin? To start out, I officially dub today as the best day of the trip so far!

            Today was another ‘sleep in’ day for Kendal and I, but mom and dad were up and out by 6:20 seeing sights. In fact, they saw one of the rarest sights in Yellowstone right by the road: a black wolf (just the wolf, not its color). We were out of our room and on the road at 9:00 in order to get to our trail head.

            To all those who were surprised to see snow on the trailhead picture from yesterday, there was a ton of snow on the trail! Thankfully, we all had our waterproof hiking boots so the snow gave us little trouble. Though the trail was very difficult, the views were rewarding up until we got to the top (we saw a family of marmots, with at least 7 babies! =D), when we were almost literally blown away! The top of Mt. Washburn, one of the highest peaks in the park, has a stunning, 360° view of everything until the mountains of the horizon block that which is beyond! We ate lunch at the top and then made our way down, enjoying wildflowers as we marched. In its entirety, the hike was over 7 miles (to all the comments about my eating habits, I earn my food during this trip; my philosophy is “If you don’t work you don’t eat.” At home I am not as physically active, therefore requiring little food; this is not the case when expiditioning!)

            After the hike, we went and viewed the Tower Falls/Lamar Valley area in which we saw bighorn sheep and a herd (although I think it should be called something else due to its immense size) of hundreds upon hundreds of buffalo!

            Next on the agenda was our horseback ride to our Wild West Cookout! Promptly changing into riding attire, we were soon on our mounts (my mount was named, much to my surprise and delight, Prince; indeed I felt like a prince as I rode upon the obedient blonde horse with its flowing white mane!) and riding across the plains. On our transit, we saw a family of pronghorns with two babies (very cute!) and Kendal’s horse kicked a ground squirrel (XD)!

            Dinner was delicious (top sirloin steak, 3 cornbread muffins, milk, lemonade, and 2 hot chocolates for me) and there was an old bard with a guitar that sounded like a mixture of Elvis and Johnny Cash for entertainment.

            As we mounted up and set out for the return journey, a great storm began to brew overhead (actually it had rained a little at dinner, but it went away shortly). Halfway through our egress, the heavens opened up and a great wind pelted icy rain upon us (it was epic)! The wagons that had brought other people to the cookout were laughing at us as we were buffeted by the gale, but upon my noble mount, I did the best impersonation of Napoleon as possible (at the cost of freezing my right arm) and they were silenced by the sheer fortitude! Haha, I wish; the people who had to stop in the road were awed though! This equestrian expedition has been firmly cemented in all of our memories! OH! And I forgot to mention it, but we saw a grizzly bear on the ride back as well! Imagine that! We then proceeded to see two black bears on the ride to our lodging!     

            It has been quite a day and we are all thoroughly exhausted! Hope you all are doing well!

            ~Logan

RTC:

Unfortunately, I am extraordinarily tired tonight (it's 11:00 PM here: 1:00 back home) and simply cannot reply to all of the comments and emails I received! However, we are very happy and honored to hear from each of you, and that many of you figured out how to use the comment box! I would like to mention my good friend Michael though, as he did the honorable deed of trumpeting the National Anthem for my church on Sunday! Great job, Michael =D! (Also that storm story Grandma is pretty cool! God is good!)

Mt. Washburn Summit

Wild West Cookout

Canyon Sunrise

Hike up the great Mount Washburn

Black Bear

Aproaching the Summit Tower

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Showdown with a marmot