[Guest Post by Layla Samoska] My Trip to Yellowstone

This is a guest post written by my daughter, Layla. She went on a special trip this summer with her grandparents. Below are some things she wanted to share about her trip, as well as pictures she took.

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The reason that I chose to go to Wyoming is because my Mimi showed me a list of really cool places to go to. We have a new tradition in our family that, whenever a child turns 10, our grandparents will take us to wherever we want to go in the United States. I looked up the places on the list and liked the pictures of the mountains in the Tetons and Old Faithful in Yellowstone.

Day 1

We took a plane and we had to change planes in the middle. It was the first plane ride that I can remember. I thought it was really cool being able to be in such a high place. Even though I’m scared of heights, I liked it a lot.

When we got to Wyoming, we went into town to get groceries, then we headed to Single Mountain Lodge. On our way we saw a pronghorn.

Day 2

In the morning, for breakfast, we had a little bit of raisin bread and then we went to the Lodge to get ready for rafting. When the bus came they took us to Snake River. I was the only kid. Everyone else were old people. It was cloudy and about maybe 40 degrees. In the middle of the rafting trip it was so cold because we were going so fast. The man that was doing the rafting had blankets. I cuddled up with Mimi. For a few minutes I also got to row the raft. The raft was VERY heavy.

After we went back to our room and drank hot chocolate we drove to the chapel. It was a church that people who used to live there went to a long time ago. I really liked it. I thought it was really pretty, with beautiful stained glass. It was a lot smaller than churches now.

There was also a general store with cool stuff in it. I got a free cookie from one of the ladies, but I didn’t like it much because it was cinnamon sugar. I also got to try a sarsaparilla. We also got to see other old stuff they used way back when. There was a ferry, carriages, old saddles and a big well.

Day 3

On this day we went to Yellowstone National Park. On our way I saw my first actual snow and I got to throw a snowball at Mimi.

When we got to our room, it was so small. I got the bed in the corner.

For the first time in my life I got to see Old Faithful erupt. There were a lot of people.

After the eruption we went on a walk. We got to see mud pots, water pools and lots of other geysers. I also found out that someone died in a water pool because they went after their phone that fell in the water pool. He couldn’t get out so he died because of the heat.

After dinner we went to the lodge and got ice cream. Then we went to sleep.

Day 4

At around maybe 11:00am we went out of the cabin and we went to a beautiful site. Usually I’m afraid of heights, but when we saw the waterfall I leaned over the edge to see. We drove around looking at stuff. We saw these two bison on the road. They were HUGE. When we drove past, one of them was pooping.

Day 5

When we went on a boardwalk we saw a town nearby. When we went into the town, there was an elk sitting in the middle of a yard. We found out that mama elk are really protective of their babies. We also found out the baby would not be far from the mom. Whenever a person gets too close to the baby, the mom will charge them. It will HURT.

Day 6

This day was fun because I got to see my first actual bear. It was a black bear. There were two of them. There were so many people crowding around them.

After seeing the bears we went on a wildlife tour. We saw a bison herd full of only mommas and babies. There were no males. They were moving pretty fast.

Day 7

In the morning we went horseback riding. It was very fun because that was the first time I ever rode a horse without someone watching everything I did. I was just riding by myself. There was a coyote that kept coming up to us. The horses weren’t even bothered by it because they were so used to it.

A little later we had dinner. I had a bison burger.

After dinner we went on a hike. I sat on a rock next to a cliff. I wasn’t scared a bit! It was fun. There was a waterfall and a very fast moving river. Everything was very pretty.

Day 8

On this day we drove back to Jackson Lake. I had a meatball sub for lunch and it was delicious! Afterward we went to the lake. I rolled my jeans up and put my feet in the water. It was so cold. I was in the water for around five minutes.

Day 9

The morning started off early. And I mean EARLY. I had to wake up at 4:30 in the morning. In Houston it would have been 5:30 in the morning since Wyoming is an hour behind. We had to be at the airport really early. I slept on the plane.

I LOVED THE TRIP!!!!!!!!!