Part 2~West Yellowstone

We arrived in West Yellowstone on Sunday after spending the day in the Park. After checking into the hotel {or motel cause Emmrey always wants to know which it is} and getting cleaned up we headed to town to walk around.

Mark owed the girls ice cream. We tried City Creamery this time. 

Homemade ice cream while you wait .... see the little churner

Mark would say it was no better than some of the others. Maybe it was just psychological for me, but I thought it tasted so much creamier:)

The next morning we drove back into the park to hike the Artemisia Trail which is sort of the back way into Old Faithful along the Upper Geyser Basin.

We have been along this trail before from the other direction. This time we were hoping to catch Daisy Geyser. There was no lack of beauty along the way ...

Artemisia Geyser

Daisy is said to be one of the most predictable geysers in the park. She goes off every 2-3 hours with a 30 minute window on either end.  So you could get there and just miss it or if you're really lucky arrive right when she goes off. In our case it worked out that she went off toward the end of that window so we made it there and waited ... and waited. We waited through the rain that inevitably came:)

before the rain rolled in and some of us sought coverage in the trees

When she went off it was worth the wait. Daisy erupts on an angle and reaches up to 75 feet. 

Pretty neat to see geysers erupt off the beaten path.

Not so off the beaten path ... we had to go see Old Faithful. It is part of the Yellowstone experience. We enjoyed the show with thousands of other Americans and Foreigners alike. Can't think of a better place to spend Independence Day than in the nations first National Park.

Ice cream on the porch ... another Yellowstone tradition

After the day in Yellowstone we headed back to get ready for the festivities in West. We decided to try the "Taco Bus" for dinner. It had great reviews and the night before it was packed. 

We deliberately went early to avoid the crowds. It was a little claustrophobic in the Bus but a memorable experience anyway. I can't say any of us loved the food but I think that had more to do with what we ordered. The guy's next to me looked yummy. 

Next time we will stick with straight up tacos rather than enchiladas.

We found a good spot at the beginning of the parade route and hoped the rain would hold off. 

It did not so we ran to the IMAX center to wait it out. 

It cleared up just in time for the parade to start and it was a perfect small town parade. Short and sweet with way too much candy:) We only got nailed in the head a few times!

We played Frisbee in the park until the fireworks started. The music wasn't as entertaining as the Adam Ezra Group that was there the past two years, but they did play some good songs.

The night ended with a pretty fantastic display! 

Then the locals continued with their home shows until early into the morning:(

Happy 4th of July!