Wyoming and Other Activities

I recently got back from a trip to Wyoming, which was somewhat crazy, but somehow fun. I got to see my cousin Mariah. Not for very long, but I hadn't seen her since before I was engaged. So, it's been a while. She is married and has an adorable little girl! Jason and I slept in my Grandfather Cook's sheep wagon, which is super cool, in every sense of the word! I should have taken some pictures of it, but I didn't get around to it. Maybe I'll dig some up in the not-too-distant future.

On the way home, we decided to take it a little slow and go through Yellowstone National Park and make it a two short days trip, instead of a one long day trip. Here are some cool photos.
This is a warning illustration depicting why you should stay on the wooden trails near the thermal areas. We thought the kids expression was pretty good!
This is called "Dragon's Breath" and was super cool! You could hear water bubbling around in that cave. The whole thing was boiling. It was really neat.
This is a not-so-attractive picture of me outside the "Mud Volcano." It's really gray water/mud and it was also cool.
I can't remember exactly what this is called. Sulfur Springs, maybe? Also cool. Very blue, no?
This buffalo caused the most excitement/frustration of the trip through Yellowstone. It was just off the side of the road when we first saw it. The whole road was blocked off with everyone stopping and getting out of their cars (all of which is stupid) to take pictures. We saw it charge a few people, but no one got hurt. Then the buffalo decided to take a leisurely stroll down the middle of the road. The worst part about that was the RV in the front, although they had been there when the buffalo charged would not pass it, even when it was on the other side. It just stopped and stared. Very annoying. But cool. Jason was pumped to see it charge. Random Fact: Buffalo make the most injuries and deaths of anything else in the park.

Once we got out of the park, we decided to stop at Bear World, just outside of Rexburg. We were disappointed that we only saw a few buffalo in Yellowstone, and Jason really wanted to see a bear. It was expensive ($16.50 each) but soooooo cool! We loved it!
This is a black bear. Note, most of the photos aren't so great because you're not allowed to roll down your windows. Most of the bears were really close!
This is a pair of Grizzlies. They were really cool looking up close. Definitely not as cute as the Black bears. Much more menacing.
This is a white wolf. We almost didn't see it. The bottom left corner is part of the road. It was SO CLOSE!
This is another wolf, taking a snooze.
Right by the end of the park there were probably about eight bears. These two were hanging out in the middle of the road. It was neat!
This is us driving by the two in the middle of the road. It looks like they are farther than they were. Our mirror ruffled the left one's fur.
This is in their petting zoo. This fawn was only a month old. It was surprisingly soft!
Me with an older fawn. I am just not as photogenic as Jason...
Here's Jason with the older fawn. It's actually licking his fingers. I got it to lick mine too, which was pretty wild. Felt like a velvety dog-ish kind of tongue.
This was my favorite entry in the petting zoo. We almost didn't see this pig. It was sleeping, and everytime you touched it, it would let out a soft grunting noise. Too cool! Plus, it had bristles for hair, that were spaced out quite a bit. It's ears were really leathery too.

We stayed in Idaho Springs and got a nice hotel room. It had a second floor that was just an ENORMOUS tub! Seriously, I am sure we could have fit at least six people in it. We decided that since our five year anniversary is coming up on the 24th, and we have nothing planned, we might as well do the nice hotel thing a little early. We'll probably do dinner or something on our anniversary (or more likely near it) but at least this was something bigger.

And, for the end of a too-long post, I though I would post some belly photos. I am 20 weeks tomorrow, which is all coming a little quickly for me. I can feel the baby move now, in a weird round-a-bout way. I can't feel it if I am looking for it, but I can always tell where the baby is, so I must be feeling it somehow.

My ultrasound is next Monday, so you can all look forward to photos from that! And, in case you are wondering, Yes- we are still planning the surprise! I am getting too much enjoyment out of guessing to give it up.