Bits and Pieces...

[nwhiker]

Horny

So. At a gift shop, we purchased a stuffed bison for Linnea. She loves loves loves her stuffies and we knew it would be loved and cared for.

I asked her, at one point, what the bison's name was: Heart, she tells me. OK.

Then I heard her talking to it later, at the Gros Ventre campground, and asked again.

The bison's name has changed.

It is now Horny.

It's gone back and forth a few times. Last I asked, its name was Horny. I cackle in delighted glee and anticipation of sharing this little gem at Thanksgiving Dinner when she is 15.

Axis of Spin

Well. Perry adored the waterslides at the Wingate Hotel. He was very efficient at them. Down. To the closest edge. Hop out of pool. Head back up. AC was almost as terse.

Perry figured out a new... ummm... twist to the waterslide: at the top, as he started down, he'd sit up and start spinning on his own axis... He'd apparently spin most of the way down that that way, before, of course, straighening out so he'd hit the water in the Attendant Approved feet first manner.

His method was observed, favourably commented upon, and adopted by several teenagers.

Rules, Damnit!

My kids have been brought up to be very gentle with our natural environment. They scowl at Meadow Stompers and Switchback Cutters. This, of course, is why the No DS in National Parks rule works: they really have been... actually, lets be honest with the word, endocrinated to be respectful of outdoor rules.

When we were at the Midway Basin, on the boardwalk over the bacterial mat (these are them), we saw... footprints. A man, a woman (judging by footsizes), with a child between them walked on the flats in the 1cm of water for at least 100m, leaving footprints that will last a long long time, I'm sure. They even signed their crime, at the place there they presumably got back on the boardwalk: CEQ and Tessa. BTW, CEQ and Tessa: you're scum.

Perry was outraged. Absolutely outraged and upset and appalled. He wanted to go to the ranger station right away so the rangers could find them and arrest them and put them in jail. He was even more horrified, as was AC, that they'd taken a child with them when they committed their crime.

It was funny, because you'd have thought CEQ and Tessa had murdered someone, and reassuring, because it gives me hope that my children, at least, will respect these very special and very fragile places on Earth.

The next day we were walking on Geyser Hill. Perry was carrying a water bottle and was doing a usual Perry swinging it around. He had, however, a good grip on it. This couple sees him and starts literally screaming at him. At the top of their lungs. They thought he was going to throw the water bottle into the geyser. I just stared at them and said "no way!" or something like that. I can't trust Perry for many things, but he knew that it was forbidden to throw anything in a geyser, and he'd never, as a result, do it. I trust that.

AC and Linnea

AC had her moments on this trip. When she whined, fought with her siblings, and was an all-around butthead. But.... at other times, she was incredible. Most times, she helped set up and tear down our campsite, I was able to send her off to wash dishes on her own, she helped with Linnea... oh how she helped with Linnea. Ultimately, Linnea refused to go potty for anyone but AC. And AC was a trooper about it, taking Linnea over and over. Yes, I know it was a Linnea power play.

National Parks and America's Contribution to the World

I love the US National Park system. Overall, they do such a good job of keeping preserving but also showcasing the parks, of keeping people and features safe.

There was a plaque at the Norris Geyser Basin about how the concept of national parks around the world came from the US system, and how this was a major contribution that Americans had made to the world culture. That struck me. There are many things the American people have in the world's cultural melting pot, and some of it is rather embarassing (cf: Britney Spears, Reality TV, and Country Western Music), but the concept of national parks is one we can, and should, be proud of. Of course they worded it better than me, and I wish I'd taken a photo of the sign! Oh. And NPS didn't diss Country Western and Britney Spears, I did. Hee.