Yellowstone is a unique and interesting vacation spot, with many odd natural occurrences, such as geysers that go off automatically like clock work at fixed intervals with no human intervention, and mud that sputters, looking like it is boiling. Of course, before we took our own vacation to this spot, we had only heard of such things, and it seemed almost imaginary.
One summer we made the plans to go ourselves to this unique spot, and set out on this adventure. We were planning on making the trip in two days, and had planned how far to go each day. However the first day, before we had nearly put in our quota of hours, the car stopped along the highway. There was no starting it again. What could we do? We found a phone and called a tow truck. Our car was towed to a shop, but by that time, it was too late to fix it that day so we found a hotel where we could stay.
We waited until noon the next day, while our fuel pump was being replaced. Then we set out to reach Yellowstone—greatly behind schedule, but still aspiring to reach the cabin in Yellowstone that we had reserved for that night. We drove and drove.
At twilight, we had reached the Grand Tetons, and thoroughly enjoyed the awe inspiring site of the towering pointed peaks against the evening sky. We even took a few minutes to get out and stand beside the quiet expanse of scented plants and enjoy the view as the sun neared its setting point. However we couldn't stop for long, as we still had “miles to go” before we could sleep.
As we drove along, the twilight faded into night. My dad was at the wheel as we drove across the desolate countryside of Wyoming, and then wound our way through the forests as we drew closer and closer to our destination. We sang songs as we drove through the dark.
Finally we got to Yellowstone itself. It was past midnight when we pulled into the office to ask directions to our cabin. As we waited for Dad to pay and get the key, we got out and stretched in the nice cool night air, then finally found our cabin and went to bed. The next day we were tired, but we began to explore the strange natural phenomena in this park together as a family! We walked on the board walk, marveling at the odd colors. At a different part of the park, we watched the mud bubble, and felt the warm streams, with warm water that came straight out of the ground. During our stay at this national park, we were able to enjoy Old Faithful's hourly eruption, shooting the water high into the air! How amazing!
Even the car break down actually made the trip more memorable, and we weren't sorry about how things turned out!