Summer Vacay: Three Lakes, Wisconsin

We left North Carolina early Saturday morning to make the most of the first part of our vacation: Northern Wisconsin. After renting a car at the Central Wisconsin Airport we drove directly to Nueskes to pick up huge packages of bacon, sausage, cheese, and beer. After a quick stop for dinner at my grandparents house we drove on up to Three Lakes.

After a restful night's sleep I was up early excited to get the boat in the water. I really wanted to teach Ben to water-ski! But he did not seem to share my excitement....
After rousing him out of bed I strapped him in to a tiny life-jacket:
And got the boat ready:


He was nervous so I showed him how easy it it (obviously not disclosing the fact that I hadlearned when I was 7.)
It was now Ben's turn so into the water he went.
"I'm readyyyyy"
Front view of the cottage from the lakeBen actually did get up after a few tries and even skied for a good 8 seconds but I have no evidence because I was so excited I forgot to take a picture.

Anyway, we decided enough was enough so we pulled out the bright yellow tube which turned out to be wayyyyy more fun:

And with that we were done for the day!

Back from Vacation

Before I dive into the stories of Three Lakes, Madison, and Louisville, I had to show these pictures Ben took of Maggie and I napping on each other (her head is on my legs and my head is on her side) on a four hour drive from Ohio to Louisville.

Beach Weekend!

Due to the insane heat and humidity we are experiencing in North Carolina this summer I have avoided being outside in the sun too much. I am totally missing the cool and dry summers of northern Wisconsin (even Madison was pretty nice), but at least my skin is thanking me for not being subjected to too much sun abuse.

However, this weekend we are braving the heat and heading down to Ocean Isle Beach. My family used to go there every summer when I was little so it will be fun to see it again many, many, (many) years later!

Rafting the Yellowstone River

Day 3: On the morning of our third day I awoke to a massive thunder and lighting storm. We were now back in Montana at the Chico Hot Springs Resort which is just north of Yellowstone National Park. Normally on vacation I would just roll over and go back to sleep if it was raining like this, but that morning we had plans to go whitewater rafting. We weren't about to let a little thunder and lighting get in the way, I mean those rafts are made out of rubber! What could possibly go wrong?

However, I was a bit worried about what the "rules" would be and if our trip would actually happen. When I worked at camp we had to wait at least thirty minutes after the last thunder/lighting before we could go on the water. Well, Montana ain't camp and there were no rules, so we suited up in wet suits, splash jackets, helmets, and paddles and hit the river!

Lauren and I are the two people in the back on the left (me) and right (Lauren) . Between us is the rafting guide in-training and behind us the experienced guide. My mom is in the front middle and my aunt in the middle middle.






The rapids weren't too crazy because the water levels were high, but everyone still ended up getting splashed, especially my mom who was in the very front. The rain went away and the sun came out so Lauren and I jumped in the river near the end of the run. Sue thought we were insane (it was absolutely freezing water) but the wetsuits kept us warm.

Afterwards Lauren and I headed straight to the Day Spa to enjoy our well earned massages. ;)

Wolves

Our second day in Yellowstone was also the day of the England vs. Germany World Cup game. My mom and I really wanted to watch but of course there are absolutely NO TV's in the park. None in the hotels, none in the restaurants, none in the bars. This, of course, is part of why Yellowstone is so amazing. However, in this instance we were forced to leave the park and go to West Yellowstone, WY in search of civilization and television.

We carefully planned our day around making it to West Yellowstone on time. We woke up early and got out of our AC-free luxury cabin:


Then we drove all the way to Old Faithful to make sure it still lived up to it's name (give or take 10 minutes)

And then we hurried on our way.

I was so sure the game started at 2pm.

Turns out it was at 9am.

Disappointed we went to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center instead where we saw rehabilitating grizzly bears and gray wolves. Wolves are almost impossible to see just driving around the park because there are only ~100 of them and they like to stay out of sight. So watching them up close was amazing.....Well, actually they just lay around sleeping the whole time and looked like large dogs. BUT then this one salvaged our day because he got up, walked around, gave us a yawn, and went back to bed. So that was neat.

Sometimes Maggie just doesn't get it.....

Day 2 in Yellowstone: Buffalo Stampede

On our way from Old Faithful to West Yellowstone we hit a bison traffic jam! These bison were just strolling casually down the two-lane road like they had all the time in the world and weren't backing cars up for miles. We were lucky enough to be near the front of the "stampede" and got these great pictures as they came towards us, passed us, and continued on their way.

A few of them walked right up to the driver's seat window and the passenger seat window. These animals are very strong (they weigh up to 2,000 pounds) and can easily toss a person up into the air. Luckily they don't know how to open car doors.
Here they come......
Getting closer....
Mommy buffalo and baby buffalo!
A few of them decided to go back onto the grass
(Hours Later)* Oh no! They are getting closer! *exaggeration
Eeeeeeee Bison close enough to touch!
Somehow I resisted the temptation to touch the lovely molting fur
Look at the babies while they are still adorable
And away they go, we survived the slowest stampede on earth.