Ranger Program at Artist Point

For a ranger program in Yellowstone early one morning the boys, Charlotte and I did a special painting program led by one of the park rangers (named Ben - HS physics teacher from CA) at Yellowstone Canyon). This is the spot where the American artist Thomas Moran painted the famous "Grand Canyon of Yellowstone" that helped to inspire the creation of Yellowstone as the first National Park. Moran saying "with a sort of regretful enthusiasm, that these beautiful tints were beyond the reach of human art." What the sketchbook could not encompass, however, memory and imagination perhaps could, and as soon as he got back to New York, Moran ordered an eight- by-fourteen-foot canvas and flung himself into work on the climactic panorama of America's years of Western expansion: The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

On this enchanting morning, we practiced some art of our own with pencil and water colors. Note the painting by Charlotte and the fun that Holden had. Henry had great fun and did an awesome waterfall drawing in pencil.

On a day in Yellowstone around Old Faithful, Sam went on a geyser science exploration that including measuring the tempature of geysers and hot springs and reading the thermal vents for signs of interest. What an outstanding learning experince for us all. Around Old Faithful there are numerous geysers, one named Castle Geyser was very impressive.

Here are a few more Yellowstone photos...It was simnply amazing each day the awesome world that God has created and that we got to explore as a family.

Three pics from Yellowstone National Park...

A buck at our campsite in South Dakota (Custer State Park)

A meal in Wall...

Badlands...

Wind farm in Minnesota...

Our stop in Chicago at the Lego Store...

Road Trip Day !

We startecd out our road trip on July 1. A safe and good day it was with 700 plus miles in one day. Driving through Chicago was great. The kids turned off the dvd player and looked at all the big city has to offer from the highway view. We passed the Sears tower and Henry asked, "How many Henrys tall is that?" Without exact calculations, I said, "About 237 Henrys." Then Henry said, "That's a lot of Henrys." We all laughed and it became the mantra for the day and perhaps the trip. We went to the Lego store in Chicago, ate breakfast for dinner in Wis Del at a classic Dennys Diner, saw an amazing wind farm in Minnesota and spent the night at Americas Best Value Inn in ALbert Lea, Minnesota across the state. Another highlight was crossing the Mississippi River - we got out and explored at a riverside park. Pics to come later...