Island Park with the Graybills

This year for our Annual Graybill Campout we went to Island Park for a couple days. There's nothing like roughing it with a soft bed, running water, refrigerator, and hot tub. The downfall was that half the family couldn't get off work to make the trip. We headed out Tuesday morning but had a slight delay as we met up with the whole group. Erin was following Keri and Maryanne and the kids in Keri's Subaru to The CAD Store and got rear-ended by a ReddiIce truck. Erin was okay and so was the car for the most part, but we had to make some phone calls to get things squared away to cover any damage to the car. It wasn't the greatest start to the trip, but our spirits were quickly renewed and we were off.



About a year and half ago, Dion was working on a project in Rexburg and discovered a delectible little pizza joint called Craigo's. It was all Omai and the kids could do from salivating at any mention of pizza--they had the opportunity to taste of Craigo's goodness last year and couldn't wait for another visit. When we got there, we all filed into a little room off the kitchen and had our way with the pizza buffet. And it was, as Paige would say, DELISH! There were about eight different kinds of pizza, a pasta bar, a salad bar, and my favorite (and I think everyone else's too), a dessert pizza buffet. It was fantastic! (And as a side note, they have fabulous canned Mandarin Oranges, which is all Bailey would eat.) After stuffing ourselves to the gills, we were off.

When we got to Island Park the first thing all of us noticed were the mosquitos. My family usually goes there in the fall so summertime at The Pines was new to me and I thought we were going to be eaten alive. Keri quickly ran to the store to get bug repellant for all and I don't think any of us got bitten. Phew. Like I said, experiencing Island Park in the summer was new to me and the word I would use to describe the scenery is BREATHTAKING! The foliage was so thick and green and it covered the hills and mountains for miles. In this part of Idaho there is mostly just flat fields and rolling hills so you can see for miles and miles and the green goes on for miles and miles. It's incredible.

On Wednesay we drove into Yellowstone and had a delightful time. On the way into the park, we stopped to see the Buffalo, and man, are they big.



For lunch we stopped by a little stream and were pleasantly surprised at the beauty and tranquility of our surroundings. Here's Bailey with her daddy enjoying the scenery and lunch.



Here was our view from the picnic table.



(And I think we saw Oprah's boyfriend Steadman there in his fishing garb. We aren't 100% sure, but Erin, Keri and I all think it was him. We should've taken a picture darnit :)) But just so you can get a visual of our experience...



After lunch we drove into Fire Hole Canyon to see the falls.



Then we were off to see Old Faithful.



On the way home, Omai took us along the scenic by-way to Mesa Falls. Once again, it was a breathtaking site.

This was the view from the ledge of the falls.





The view from the walkway was a little scary when you looked down to the sheer cliffs and tumultuous water below.



On the way home, we stopped at Craigo's again to make ourselves sick on the pizza buffet. Yum Yum. Then we headed over to a carousel for a couple rides on the ponys. Bailey LOVED it! This is my favorite picture of the trip.





Thanks everyone for a fun vacation.