The kids and I gave Patrick cards on the drive up for his birthday. The kids got him a gift card to Pet Smart, so he could finally get his fish tank up and running. I had a surprise date planned for us inside Yellowstone.
It was Fathers Day, so the lines into the park were pretty long. Luckily once in the park it wasn't bad (except around Old Faithful).
After we watched Old Faithful erupt, the kids were starving! We brought stuff in to make PB&J's for everyone. I'm sure we looked ridiculous slapping sandwiches together for 30 people on a sidewalk, with no plates. There were a lot of mouths to feed.
We passed out sandwiches, granola bars, and fruit in record time! After everyone had eaten enough, we went to see Old Faithful Inn and do some souvenir shopping. I seriously love this lodge, someday I WILL stay there.
After some shopping, we dispersed our kids with their Aunt's & Uncles who would take them back to the camp, so we could go on our date.
Soon after we left the group we pulled over to look at a beautiful waterfall. We drove a little further down the road, then pulled over to look at a map, and spotted some Elk right by us. We also spotted a woodpecker who wasn't very happy we were bothering him.
We drove to West Thumb where we were to meet up for the Birthday surprise. We walked around Yellowstone lake a bit while we waited for the Boathouse restaurant to open up. I told Patrick his birthday surprise was a sunset kayak trip on lake Yellowstone. We had a tasty dinner, then headed over to meet our guide. We got all our gear on and heard a brief overview of how to kayak. Then we were off!! I must say I was scared!! Our last experience didn't exactly go well, and Yellowstone lake is huge, and so, so deep!
After a bit I started to relax and little and stopped telling Pat "Stop moving, you're making the kayak rock!" We went 3 1/2 miles out and back. We saw some wildlife, and amazing scenery. We were able to see things that people normally can't see. There were underwater geyser's, dormant geyser's, and cool areas where the water was bubbling up, but not boiling. Our guide did a great job explaining things to us.
We got back to shore right at 9pm just as the sun was starting to set. It was beautiful! I think Patrick really enjoyed his surprise gift.
So many beautiful sunset pictures. It was breathtaking.
