enjoying the show

A few weeks ago we had an afternoon thunderstorm slowwwllly roll in over the mountains. The sky was growing darker, the rumbling getting closer, and before the storm was overhead we sat out in the grass to watch nature's fireworks. We oooohed and aaahhhhhed as we watched the electricity streak across the sky. As the winds picked up and the rain began to sprinkle we headed inside to take cover from the storm. 

A few hours later, storm long gone and sun shining bright, I listened to my sweet girl tell dad about our day....."and then, we sat out in the yard and watched the lightening show! 

It was the best lightening show EVER!!"

Lightening show. A SHOW!! I have never considered thunder and lightening any more than just a storm.....and she saw it for exactly what it was--a great show. I have truly taken this to heart and have promised to look for all of nature's great "shows" that surround us each day. 

Last week we were lucky enough to travel up to Yellowstone National Park......talk about a good show. Yellowstone is unlike ANY other place on earth. It sits on top of a giant caldera, which causes the ground to bubble and brew through cracks and holes in the earth. It feels unreal--foreign almost to stand next to a pot of boiling mud and feel the warm steam on your face and smell the sulphur in the air. The colors of the ground--the sounds as it bubbles makes it feel like you have walked off the earth and onto another planet. 

We didn't have alot of time in the park--there is so much more exploring left for us to do--but here are a few pictures from along the way.......

One of my favorite parts of the park was our drive through one of the areas that had been completely burned in a huge forest fire back in 1988 (read more here). It is fascinating to me how the earth bounces back so quickly, and a healthy young forest is in the making. 

A few phone snaps from the Midway Geyser Basin area in the park.....this area was craaazzzzzzy. 

Hot, windy and just eerie feeling.....we loved it.

These next few were taken out the window as we drove across the park....

Old Faithful. 

We walked up to the boardwalk just as she was starting to blow......more craziness. 

I can't help but think of the first explorers that came through here and saw (and heard! and felt!) Old Faithful shooting thousands of gallons of boiling water into the air for the first time....

We hung around as the crowds died down and the sun sank lower, and wandered around to explore the other geysers.

Today Old Faithful erupts about every 90 minutes. The sun had set and we decided we'd stick around for the next eruption. We waited....and waited and waited. The estimated time came and went.....and we waited some more. 

And then......here it is! Cheers from the crowd!

A few spurts into the air and it quickly died back down. 

We'd thought that was it. 

It had been a long day, we grabbed our tired babes and were headed back to the car....

and then......

.....we heard it. 

We turned around as she was roaring into the sky--even higher than the eruption just an hour before.

We stood in the dark as a little family...and just enjoyed the show.