I woke up at 5 am (6 am EDT) and laid in bed making a list of everything I needed to buy at Walmart because we were leaving for the park, and though I gave United the park address to deliver my bag, I had no confidence whatsoever that they could get it to Cody, much less get it couriered the 2.5 hours into the park.
We got up around 8 and packed Dad's awesome new truck, then stopped by McDonald's for some breakfast before another foray to Walmart. I got some jeans, shirts, and snacks and then we were on our way to the park! The Yellowstone Park sign was a required stop, of course!
We started seeing signs of the buffalo almost immediately, and after a quick stop at a general store we got stopped by a herd crossing the road all around the vehicles. Some folks were getting out of their cars but we did not. We got pretty close to several, one even licked dad's bumper as he was wandering past.
Next we stopped at the mud volcano and saw Dragon Cave spewing steam and gas, then kept on hiking up to the mouth of the mud volcano that last erupted in 1870. The smell was...strong.
On the way back down we stopped at several other geysers and fumaroles (dry gas vents) and then continued on our way. We stopped by the Yellowstone River to see where gas was escaping from vents beside and underneath the river. So cool!
We kept driving into the park, stopping to look for animals and at the amazing views. The South rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone was along the way, so we stopped and did a quick hike down to see the ENORMOUS waterfall with perfectly clear water pouring over the falls, ending in a double rainbow.
Back on the road to the Canyon area we got to see some elk before arriving at the Canyon Visitor Center around 2 pm. Since we couldn't check-in until 4 pm, we walked through the Center, watched the film about the park, and rented some bear spray for our hikes. We had to watch a (honestly terrifying) video on bear safety and practice with an empty canister before they would send us off with our fully loaded can and holster. I decided to get a little copper bear bell for my bag for good measure...
Next we got some dinner at the diner there (Dad and I both agreed that the BBQ pulled pork sandwich was amazing). After dinner we drove over to the lodge and got checked in and settled into our cabin (Canyon Lodge Cabin 6).I decided to go in search of wifi to check on my bag (no cell signal since we got into the park, unfortunately) and I walked back to the main lodge. After some fiddling, I got the internet to work and discovered that not only had my bag gotten to Cody, it was in the park not even 45 min. away.
I walked back to tell Dad and Jenifer the good news, had a drink on our porch, and then walked back to see if my bag had made it there. By the time I got the wifi working again it showed that my bag was half a mile away 3 minutes ago. It refreshed and then said the bag was at the lodge. I looked up, and there was a nice lady wheeling it in. Could. Not. Believe. It. I gave Mackenzie all the cash I had, signed for the bag, and nearly skipped won the road back to the cabin.
Bag is here. Everything is fine again!
I got to take a bath, change into my own clean clothes, and relax while Dad and Jenifer took a walk. They ended up walking all the way down to the canyon and all the way back so they were even more exhausted than I was. We all crashed and had an early night of it.