Anna asked me to take a picture of her "pirate face" to show the Romgi.

Of course, then Brandon wanted his picture taken.

And I couldn't leave the Bwun out.

Despite the pleasant weather when we left, in Idaho we hit a hailstorm that forced us to slow down to about 25mph. A lot of cars just gave up and pulled over to wait it out. Isn't this a nice through-the-window picture?

Our first glimpse of buffalo on Monday was these 3 butting heads across the river.

We saw several baby buffalo, and without fail they were hiding - or being hidden - behind their moms. Better baby buffalo pictures to come.

The first elk we saw, and Yellowstone in general. I expected it to be greener, but I guess we came too early in the season.

My camera was zoomed in. We didn't dare get any closer to this elk but stayed on the other side of the log.

Once the elk came around to our side of the log we took off, but Krista was much more daring than I was.

First glimpse of a steamy hot spring.

Another baby buffalo. Keep waiting for good shots!

We got out to walk on a trail through several hot springs. This is part of the Black Opal pool.

Leading up to the Sapphire Pool...

...Wow! That is VERY blue.

Steamy view from the other side of the pool. It was cold and windy that day, so I appreciated the steam, even if it smelled a bit off.

When we got to Olf Faithful, they said it'd be going off in about 10 minutes - but the Bwun wanted to eat. I didn't think I would get to see the geyser. Luckily he ate quickly and when I got to Old Faithful it was just getting ready to blow.

Ta-da!

Day 2: buffalo crossing the river...

...And the road.

Here a line of about 6 buffalo came marching past us off to the side of the road.

It was so fun to see a herd of buffalo and imagine what a big herd must have looked like. You know, back before we killed them all.

I think this may be my favorite Yellowstone picture.

Yes, that buffalo is heading straight for our car.

Gorgeous waterfall.

Look, it's me! I loved the background.

I loved it so much that I stood on the rock wall to take a picture. Now that I think about it, that was a really dumb idea.

There is nothing interesting about this picture. Do you know why? Because everyone else was out taking pictures of a bear, and I was sitting in the car feeding the Bwun. The hill was just oustide my window.

So I got to take a picture of this little bear instead. I don't know why my face is such a funny shape here, so just pay attention to how cute the Bwun looks.

This wasn't so much a herd as a swarm of buffalo.

Some of the buffalo crossed to our side of the road.

I was definitely glad to be inside the car that time.

In Mammoth Springs (about 60 miles from our resort) there was this interesting building which said it was the United States Engineer Office. Come again?

I liked these buffalo because one moment they were just walking along...

...And the next they formed a nice straight line.

Most of the hot springs near the road had signs like this (Hazardous Thermal Area).

One of the better views we had of a baby buffalo. They are surprisingly orange.

Anna wanted to be a Junior Ranger, and her drawing of a buffalo was so cute I had to take a picture.

Finally! This is by far the closest shot I was able to get of a baby. They had just come out of the river across the road.

Without a doubt, though, what Anna and Brandon remember most about Yellowstone is that our resort had a swimming pool they got to play in every night.

Last view of Yellowstone - this time! I'll definitely come back.