Yellowstone Vacation

Everyone is telling me I don't post enough, and since I haven't posted since March 31, maybe they're right. We just got back from Yellowstone with Brad and Mel, Jeff and Holli, Melinda and Leah and us. Courtney and Robert and Steve and Cathy couldn't make it. Boo.

Anyway, the BIG story is the lightning strike. We were walking around the geyser basin at Old Faithful in the rain (it rained almost the whole time, off and on) when it started to hail. I heard distant thunder and thought we should go in, but it was far away. Not five minutes later there was a huge crash of thunder and I thought, OK, time to go. I turned to gather everyone and saw a man falling and another down. Behind me, a third guy was down. His friends were trying to get him up, but I made him stay down until it was obvious he was OK. The one who fell was up and calling on his cell phone, but a third guy was down and not moving. A woman said she knew CPR and started it. Brad and Nancy were observing. I heard Nancy say "he has a pulse" but she kept going. Afterward, Nancy said she had her hand on the woman to pull her off because she wouldn't stop even though the guy had a pulse and was breathing. The woman apparently forgot the training about taking time to assess. All the other kids' blogs will have their versions of the lightning, so be sure to check them out.

Apart from that, there were two other things that really stand out. On Wednesday we went to Canyon Village. I recall a fishing trip with dad in 1962. He and his friends took their sons on fishing trips for three summers. This was the first. We went to Yellowstone. We got there late in the day and everyone wanted to fish so we unloaded the cars but didn't set up camp. While we were fishing a black cloud parked over our campsite and soaked it. The men built a big fire and tried to dry things out. I don't remember that night but the next morning we checked into the Canyon Lodge. I remember the snaking counter in the diner. It looks like elongated horseshoes so the waitress can walk into the U and serve both sides. Good memories from that trip.

Then in 1967 and 1968 we went two summers and stayed in the Lake Yellowstone Hotel. I made everyone stop there, too. It is an elegant hotel, built in 1890 with a beautiful view of the lake from a huge sitting room with a massive fireplace. There is a grand piano where someone plays every afternoon. They serve tea. It is gorgeous. I have put staying there again on my list of things to do.

A memorable trip, made better by having family along. I hope their memories of the trip will be as good as mine. Here are some pictures.