Road Trip, Part III (Wyoming -- Sub-Part A)

This was, my goodness, six years ago, so I should get on this:

• So we left this gorgeous, palatial room after one day.  I wish we could have stayed longer, but Yellowstone was big enough whereby we wanted to get from the eastern side of the park to the western, just to make the next leg of our journey that much closer to get to.  Besides, there were only two beds and my parents took one and my sister took the other.  I guess I could have slept in the same bed as my sis, but I think it was less icky that I slept on the floor in between the two beds.  Just a day before I typed this particular bullet point I looked up whether sleeping on the floor is bad for you, and it turns out (at least according to the two websites I looked at) it actually is good for you.  Go figure.
• Since it's been so long I think I'm going to be skimpy on the details because they're not clear in my mind.  What I do remember, however, is that we spent two days at Yellowstone.  I think -- I think -- we went to see Yellowstone Falls on this first day, which was cool.  Did a lot of hiking.  Does a body good.
• Since the next day we were on our way out of Yellowstone some time in the afternoon, I'm almost certain this was the day we saw Old Faithful.  The reliability of the geyser -- at least in terms of location -- allowed the area to frame it as if it were a fountain.  There were seats around the mouth of Old Faithful, and there was an office with park rangers staffed to assist.  There was also a made-up sign estimating the next time it was going to blow.  Now I learned in school that the geyser would erupt strictly at every, like 48 minutes.  Guess Mother Nature is on her own timetable.  In fact, Old Faithful was not faithful; not only did it not go off at the estimated time, but I think we had to wait another half-hour before she blew.  Interesting to watch, but I'm glad I didn't get sprayed like we were at a dolphin show.  I am glad to cross that off my bucket list.
• In the early evening we had a picnic dinner.  The five of us were able to find a table next to a bluff, and we ate stuff Mother bought from the store -- baguette sandwiches with deli meats and cheese and pate, too, maybe?  No fighting amongst the family, thankfully.  But I had to break away for a bit anyway; the view of the reddening, setting sun from our vantage point was breathtaking.  I was filled with peace, I kid you not.
• I think that was it for our first day at Yellowstone.  After we got done eating, we drove to the most rustic of the hotels we would be staying at for our road trip.  It was an actual dude ranch with a horse in a pen in the middle of it.  (Wished I had enough time to ride it.  Wish that horse is being treated well.)  Since the area was mostly grassland, the gnats and flies were out in force.  They swarmed us as soon as we opened our doors, and everybody, especially Mother and my sister, were screaming as they fled to the building where check-in was.  I, I must say, did not run, nor did I have to.  I had the foresight, just before we got into the car to leave Yellowstone, to drench myself in bug spray.  Those damn insects came after the rest of my family, but not me.  Score one for me.
• Once we got into the front office, we stepped forward in time from the, like, 1800's to the modern day.  The inside looked like a small hotel.  There were even computers for guests to use.  Unfortunately I could not use them after a certain time; I wanted to slip back in to check my e-mail at, oh, 10 at night, and as I opened the door I saw the staff had a meeting.  And they were closed for the night.  Whoops.
• The rooms were cabins.  My parents stayed in one, my sister and I in the other.  First, though, we had an, uh, extra dinner at their cabin.  There wasn't much when it came to tables, so we sat on the floor.  There were no TVs either -- made me gasp at first, but hey, this is a ranch.
• Otherwise, the cabins were modern.  The bathroom looked like a modern bathroom, and we had running water and stuff, don't get me wrong.  My sister and I had bunk beds.  My sister is afraid of heights, so she took the bottom one.  The ladder was a little shaky as I climbed it, but even though I don't remember the last time I slept in a bunk bed, if ever, it was a most refreshing rest.  The bed, the big sky night, the exhausting but fulfilling day, the communing with nature, spending positive time with my family ... I slept with happiness and gratitude.