Dear Diary,

I should have written everything down at the end of each day. I'm still amazed at how much we did during Day 2--and the best stuff was all finished before lunch!

We rose early to make it to a 7am ranger guided tour called Beasts and Birds at Breakfast. On the way, we ran into a traffic jam caused by a massive herd of Bison. By the end of the day, this animal was old school--we wanted to see bears, wolves and coyotes!!

Andrea and Audrey--these girls just can't get along!

These are the times when a handicap spot doesn't work to your advantage!

The ranger tour was okay, but we saw more beasts and birds on our own. The boys learned all about buffalo hair and buffalo chips--they weren't shy about touching either!

After we ditched the tour, our noses had a work out at the Sulfur Cauldron. The kids didn't seem to be too bothered by the smells of sulfur, but then again, by this time, they may have smelled worse! It was in this area that the boys began the ritual of "re-naming" every geyser, pool, hot spring, etc...

This little geyser will always be know as "Evan Geyser". It is a fairly new geyser at the park--formed in the middle of the parking lot! Yellowstone is always changing!!

Jared, Tyler, Isaac, Tanner and Evan soaking in the fumes.

Our next stop was the area of Mud Volcano or "hell on earth". With names like Dragon Mouth, Black Calderon, Churning Calderon, and Mud Volcano--this area must have been pretty scary back in the day. Of course, the kids ate up all the names, smells and the whole aura of the area!

Entering into the pit of Churning Calderon--I'll miss you, boys! Notice Evan is running away...smart kid!

My sister and I at the Mud Volcano

Our next adventure was a beautiful two mile hike around the edge of Yellowstone Lake. What a great way to enjoy the scenery! Unfortunately, we saw no bears on our hike...supposedly they frequent this area, but in the spring.

The Kunz Family hiking Storm Point

A quick lunch and then on to our "cruise" of the lake. We'd gotten a pretty good view of it on our hike, so this is a part of the trip I could have done without, but of course, the kids enjoyed it.

Evan cruising on Yellowstone Lake--he's started sticking out his tongue whenever a camera is in sight. Little Stinker!

We then headed to West Thumb Basin--this area was okay. Lots of beautiful pools that taunt you to just jump in, but unless you want to scauld your body, not a good idea! The boys were fascinated by the cones and geysers forming on the shore of the lake. They still had not seen a geyser "go off" and were hoping this would be their lucky day--like I said, we saved the best for last! We headed back to camp and made some dinner while the kids ran around playing "Yellowstone" and "Kennecott" in the ditch between our camp sites. Because we were in the Canyon area, we visited it again that evening--seeing the Upper and Lower Falls and Artist Point. This area was my favorite and I can't wait to explore it again some day. There were a few hikes we would have liked to have done in the area, but just plain ran out of time--next time!

See the gap under the fence--I didn't trust Evan one bit in this area! Would you??!!View of the Lower Falls--which is twice as high as Niagara Falls! I loved this area!

Oh, how I wish I had an awesome camera! We have vowed to never go on a trip like this again with a point and shoot camera! These pictures do not do justice to the area. You must go see it!

Jared and Tyler taking in the beautiful view.

**Rob and Anna will be home in a few hours (midnight)!! We had the best LAZY day today. Jared even slept in until 11:30 (the rest of us woke up at 9:30--not too bad!!). It's been awhile since I've been affected by time change. I'm sure we'll adjust in a few days!**