Yellowstone National Park

There are certain things I want to do with my boys before they're grown and gone. Visiting Yellowstone National Park as a family was one of those things. I don't know why exactly, but I think a few contributing factors helped to push this destination to the top of my list.

While I knew it wouldn't be cheap, I thought with a little planning we would be able to afford it.
My boys loved Maine. So why wouldn't they love visiting one of the most famous US national parks where fishing and wildlife are main attractions?
Wildlife and nature photography opportunities galore!

So, when Ken asked me what I thought we should do for this year's family vacation, I voted for Yellowstone. I don't regret it. In fact, I think it was money well spent because, friends, this was a stunningly beautiful trip. It was also two weeks of family time with my favorite people.

I think the idea of spending this many days alone with just each other for company was a little daunting for my boys. In fact, they were downright skeptical of any fun being had without having friends along for the trip. The idea of spending two weeks with just each other and mom and dad was not their idea of a good time. At least, not initially.

Not that I'm saying they were joyous rays of sunshine all the time, but they did much better than I think they expected themselves to do. In fact, I think they had fun. I say this because my oldest - the one I thought would be the most difficult to impress - told me he hoped to someday bring his family to Yellowstone. Therefore, despite the occasional whining or bickering, I count this trip as a definite WIN!

Here are some of my favorite wildlife pictures we captured on Day 1 in Yellowstone. Enjoy!

I could do this all day. We took so many pictures. And, yes, I said we. I was not the only photographer this trip. I had help!

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