I have an exciting and actually farm-related announcement to make - we are officially adding another Scotch Collie to the family! I put some feelers out to my breeding community right before we left that we were looking for a boyfriend for Lucy. Someone from TX found my phone number from our website and, after seeing what we were all about, called me to offer up their beautiful 3 year old service dog. She had been quietly looking for an active home for him - preferably a farm with kids - and so we seemed like the perfect fit! They have a dog training business and can’t give him the time and attention and roaming space they would like to see him have. With his clear genes, fabulous temperament, intelligence, and excellent training, he sounds like a dream and I am SO EXCITED to add him to the family. We are making plans to meet in Memphis, TN on our way home. Timing it with their business needs has delayed us a few more days from getting home but it was really the best way to make it work. So we should be pulling in late Saturday night with him!! Breeding these dogs has been such a neat learning experience for my kids and myself, and we have loved it. It has also been a great way for me to help out financially from home, which is such a blessing. The puppies most certainly funded this trip
Yellowstone has the distinction of being the only park we have spent two entire days and three nights in. It’s just SO HUGE it’s really impossible to do it justice in one day. There is so much to see here! I think everyone’s favorite was the impressive Grand Prysmatic pool. We had visited it early that morning to avoid crowds. Only problem was, the cool morning air hitting the hot water created so much steam that the pool was virtually invisible, making it rather unimpressive. I was disappointed bc I remember this being one of my favorite stops.
Later in the afternoon, when the sun was out, we hiked up to the overlook and what a transformation! The colors really stood out whenever the sun hit the pool, dulling when it was behind a cloud. It really was stunning. It made me happy that even the 14 year old Micah said, “Man that was beautiful.” Mothers are always happy when something other than cars and snowboards impress your son. Maybe there's hope for him yet...
Zippy is not as impressed as therest of us…
In between hikes to volcanic activity and geological wonders, we made a few side trips to keep the younger ones happy, who really only wanted to swim somewhere bc it was pretty hot. And DRY. My goodness, despite copious amounts of sunscreen applied several times, we all still burned. I was so annoyed I forgot my hat the first day but I remembered the second! It didn’t help that it was hard to stay hydrated. I never drank so much water but never had to pee… hmmm. Everyone enjoyed the dips in the water. Yellowstone Lake was FREEZING - 50 degrees! My toes in the lake cooled me off just fine. “Happy When Not Hiking” aka Zippy, especially enjoyed the swimming and it was important to do something that kept her engaged, and literally off our backs for a little bit.
At the very end of the day we hiked out to Mystic Falls with the bribery of swimming in the river on the way. Firehole River is exactly what it’s named and Malachi learned the hard way. He stepped in and jerked his foot back with a yelp. The water there must have been around 150 degrees or more! We noticed that there were little springs all around the edge of the river, all boiling hot. Even the rock I sat on was strangely warm compared to the rest of the rocks around it. Thankfully, Malachi’s foot was fine and we learned what to stay away from. The river was pretty warm for a mountain river because of those springs and it made for some fun splashing around without the blue lips.
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