Buehler Family Updates and Photo Gallery

July 6th – Rexburg, ID

Today was 7 hours of driving that took us to Rexburg, where we had planned to stay the night.  Along the way, we had some car trouble, as our “Check Engine” light came on.  This really freaked us out, and after a few calls later, we decided to stop in at a Auto Zone we found along the way thanks to our GPS.  It was some sort of oxygen leak, so we bought a new gas cap, and he reset the sensor, and we continued along our way, though a little more gingerly.

Once we arrived in Rexburg, about 45 minutes later, on our way to food, we decided to drive through Main Street, and was surprised to find that Brittany had a boutique in this city!  We had to find parking and take a picture in front of the store.  I think the person inside, probably thought we were nuts taking pictures, but Brittany loved that she found a store with her same name!  The kids spent the evening swimming, before heading to bed, for a day of hiking in Yellowstone the next day.

Brittany found a store with her same name!

July 7th – Yellowstone Hiking – Day 1

Our “Check Engine” light hadn’t come back on since it had been reset, so we decided to drive the hour and a half to Yellowstone, since that is where we had a cabin for the next 2 nights.  We made these reservations back in January, since I wanted to spend my birthday in a Yellowstone cabin with the family.   We ran into tons of road construction being on Highway 20, with lots of 30 minute delays, so it took much longer to get to Yellowstone than we had anticipated.  We finally arrived in Yellowstone, and was greeted with more construction in the park.  They had road construction and pavement projects going on all over the park, and of course, we just had to hit them.

The last time we were in Yellowstone, June 2 years ago, some of the trails we wanted to do were closed because of snow, so we were really wanting to do those hikes this time, since it was later in the summer.  The first hike we wanted to do was the Artists Paintpots trail, which, of course, meant going through construction delays, twice.  But we did it anyway.  It was a short 1.2 mile hike, with a variety of colored hot pools and pots.  Climbing to the top of Paintpot hill, gave you a nice overlook of all the paintpots below, and watching the large boiling mud pot at the top was very cool, although a few times, we almost got hit with mud!

Artists Paintpots Overlook

Next we headed to the Fountain Paint Pot area.  Silex spring was really pretty to see, and we saw a few fumaroles as well.  The hiss and roar of a fumarole comes from gases – steam, carbon dioxide, and a little hydrogen sulfide – rushing from the earth through the vent with very little water.  The kids love watching the steam come rushing out of these vents.  We also witnessed the Spasm Geyser going off, which was completely unplanned.  It was a small geyser only reaching about 3 feet, but we happened to be walking by when it erupted.

Silex Spring

No trip to Yellowstone is complete without visiting Old Faithful.  The kids wanted to watch it erupt again, so we decided to do some hiking in the area while we waited for it erupt.  As we were walking up to the area, Old Faithful was erupting, which was pretty neat, since it erupts about every 92 minutes now.  We still decided to do some hiking in the area, and check out the Upper Geyser Basin.  We did a small hike to Solitary Geyser, where we found a sign that says it erupts about 4 feet every 5 to 7 minutes.  As we waited for more than that time, we got excited when we saw a rush of steam coming out of the hole, and then a very small spurt of water..not even long enough to catch on camera.  It was definitely a bit disappointing.

Old Faithful Observation Point

So we headed back to the Upper Geyser area, and to the trailhead of  Old Faithful Observation Point.  Climbing the hill to the Observation Point allows you to take in one of the best views of the Upper Geyser Basin. From this vantage point 250 ft above Old Faithful, the panorama was spectacular.  It was still another 40 minutes until Old Faithful was going to erupt, and we were getting eaten alive by bugs, we decided to head down from the Observation Point to watch Old Faithful from below.  The kids enjoyed watching this geyser erupt again.

Kids watching Old Faithful erupt

We decided to try to find where our cabin was, somewhere by Yellowstone Lake.  After mistakenly thinking we were in the Lake Yellowstone Hotel Cabins, we headed over to the Lake Lodge Cabins which is where our reservations were at.  We had a Western Cabin (G-10) which was basically a rustic motel room in a building with 3 other rooms. Section G was located furthest up the hill from the Lodge and was nice and quiet and still a short walk to the Lodge. The exterior is nothing to look at, but inside was perfectly fine. Our room had 2 queen beds, table, desk fan, a nice new bathroom and a heater that worked like a charm, not that we needed it.  There is no TV, internet or phone (or cell signal) which adds to the whole outdoor experience.  After seeing what the Lake Yellowstone Hotel was like, very fancy and upper class, I was glad we were at the comfortable, laid-back Lake Lodge, which is in a truly serene and beautiful spot.  The main Lodge faces the lake with a stunning mountain backdrop.  The lodge had a gift shop, an overpriced cafeteria and a little bar in the lobby with beers on tap and the cozy fires lit each night made it very warm and cozy while you watched the sunset over the lake.

Lake Lodge Western Cabin

I was very surprised to find that I had a Birthday gift left in our room for me.  Some Huckleberry BonBons in a nice wood box.  I had told them we were staying here for my birthday when I made reservations, but did not expect anything, since it was just mere conversation.  That was a nice surprise, for sure.  Scott barbecued hamburgers on our new Paul Jr. Designs Coleman RoadTrip Grill.  We decided to bring our own food, instead of eating out in the park which can be very expensive.   After eating, we took a walk down to the Lake, and saw 3 bison in the field grazing.  The kids had fun skipping rocks at the lake, and watching the sunset.  It was truly beautiful.

To see more pictures from our Yellowstone adventures, there are 2 albums.
July 7th Album and July 8th Album.  Enjoy!

Lake Yellowstone at twilight

Just got back from my 19 week ultrasound, and we are having a girl!!  We are so excited, this is what we were hoping for!!  Yay!!!

The 3D pictures didn’t come out really great, because she kept burying herself against other stuff in the womb, but you can make out the lips pretty clearly, nose, and eyes!  The other 3D picture is the arms   Her heartbeat was nice and strong at 152 beats per minute!

We can’t wait to meet her for real, sometime around Thanksgiving!

It’s taken over a week of work, but I finally have the blog updated.  The gallery has new albums in it with tons of pictures, and there are 21 new blog posts for your reading pleasure.  The blog post links below are in order from oldest to newest, including our recent trip (last month) to Yosemite National Park!  Each blog post has links to the corresponding album with pictures!  Happy reading!

Family Thanksgiving 2008

Christmas 2008

Our Trip To Disneyland

March 2009 – Brittany’s Birthday & Chill on the Hill

April 1-15th, 2009: Hiking & Easter

April 22-24th, 2009: I Found Billy

May 2009 – Quail Creek Dam, Wax Museum & 1st Grade Fun

June 11th, 2009 – Universal Studios

July 7-8th, 2009 – Alien Fresh Jerky & Legoland

July 9-24th, 2009 – Aquarium, Oceanside & River Trip

August 8-11th, 2009 – Spokane & Seattle, WA

Port Angeles, Forks & LaPush Twilight Tour

Twilight Movie Tour of “Forks”

August 12-15th, 2009 – Twilight, Hikes & Waterfalls

September & October 2009 – Football, School and Halloween

November & December 2009 – New Moon & Christmas

March & April, 2010 – Birthday, Easter & Other Stuff

May – June 7th, 2009 – Baby, Mother’s Day, Birthday, etc.

June 9th, 2010 – Yosemite National Park – East

June 10th, 2010 – Yosemite National Park – North and Valley

June 11th, 2010 – Yosemite National Park – Valley & Grove

We started out today in the valley again, as we wanted to see Yosemite Falls.  It’s a waterfall so high it has to take a break and rest twice in the course of its descent. It’s a 2,425 foot tumbler, tallest in North America and fifth tallest in the solar system. Ten times taller than Niagara or Shoshone Falls, nearly twice as tall as the Empire State Building, it’s about the height a 200-story building would be, if somebody ever built one.  Seeing  all the waterfalls at full flow was one of the reasons we wanted to come to Yosemite in spring.  This waterfall is often dry in late July through October.

Yosemite Falls from the Valley

We parked in Yosemite Village, and was going to take a free shuttle bus to the Lower Yosemite Falls trail head, but after getting on one, and it dropping us off somewhere way far away, and then getting on another one that ended up dropping us off back where we started from, we just decided to walk to the trail head.  It only ended up being 1 1/2 miles round-trip from the village.  It was a nice walk through the valley, where you could see the falls at the beginning and the end, with nothing too spectacular in the middle.  When we got to the footbridge, Scott had to hold on to his hat, as the spray was so forceful, it would have blown it off!

Kids in front of Lower Yosemite Falls

Next we drove on Glacier Point Road, which had only opened a week prior to our visit, because of being covered in snow.  One of the hikes I really wanted to do at Taft Point, was still so snow-covered that we ended up turning back, and just going to Glacier Point.  The views there were awesome.  Seeing Half Dome from the other side, and Vernal and Nevada Falls all in one shot was just gorgeous.  It was a crowded place, but we still spent a bit of time here, just soaking in the view, before heading back down the 16 mile Glacier Point Road to head to Mariposa Grove.

Half Dome, Nevada & Vernal Falls from Glacier Point

Mariposa Grove was what the kids had been waiting for, for days.  Scott had told them about the huge sequoia trees that he remembered seeing when he was a kid, and the kids were excited to see them for themselves.  Mariposa Grove is the park’s largest stand of giant sequoias, with about 500 large mature sequoias.   We visited the lower grove, and some of the upper grove before heading back to the car.

Some of the highlights of this trail:
The Fallen Monarch, was the first mind-blowing giant we passed on the trail, it is massive and dead.  The Monarch remains available for viewing on the spot where it fell, and hundreds of people each day are photographed in front of its upturned base, which reaches some 15 feet across.

Fallen Monarch

The Bachelor and Three Graces are a quartet of sequoias you’ll pass just after crossing the tram road. The roots of giant sequoias are shallow, usually less than six feet deep, but spread over a large area – half an acre or more for a mature tree.

The Grizzly Giant is the grand patriarch of Yosemite sequoias and the clear star of the Mariposa Grove. It’s 30 feet in diameter at the base, more than 90 feet in circumference, and has a single limb a hundred feet up that’s bigger around by itself than the trunk of nearly any other species of tree.  The Grizzly Giant, at an age of 2,700 years, was first casting its shadow at about the same time the ancient Greek and Roman states were founded. It was already hundreds of years old when, among others, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Plato were born.

Grizzly Giant

The California Tunnel Tree is about a hundred meters past the Grizzly Giant. It’s the only living sequoia in Yosemite with a man-made tunnel drilled through it. The tunnel is 6 feet wide, and 8 feet high, which was carved out for the benefit of tourist-bearing stagecoaches in 1895.  The kids had fun walking through the tunnel.

California Tunnel Tree

The Faithful Couple are two large trees have fused together at their bases, but remain clearly separated above.

The last tree we visited was the Clothespin Tree.  Numerous fires have excavated a natural tunnel wider than a car through this tree.  Our kids looked itty-bitty standing in front of the opening.

Can you see the kids standing in front of Clothespin Tree?

This concluded our trip to Yosemite.  In the 3 days, we spent at Yosemite, we hiked about 20 miles of trails in the park, and had a most wonderful time seeing all the waterfalls at their peak flow, and seeing all that Yosemite has to offer.

We have 3 albums in the gallery from Yosemite, split up into each day we hiked.  There are also 3 blog posts, one for each day we spent in Yosemite National Park.

June 9th blog post – Yosemite East
June 10th blog post – Yosemite North & Valley
Yosemite National Park – East album
Yosemite National Park – North & Valley album
Yosemite National Park – Valley & Mariposa Grove album

Thursday, June 10th – Lots of Hiking

We wanted to see all of Yosemite, so we decided to take the drive up to the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, in Northern Yosemite.  To get there, you actually leave the park, and then re-enter again, so make sure you hold on to your $20 park pass, as they check it leaving and entering at any entrance.

When we got to the Reservoir and Dam, we were “supposed” to just look at the area, take in the beauty and then continue on our way.  Scott decided he wanted to take the 5 1/2  mile round trip hike to Wapama Falls  We could see the top 1,400 feet of Wapama Falls from the reservoir.  The longest hike I had planned was only 3 miles round-trip but the kids were excited about doing the hike, so off we went.  We had no idea how close we would get to the falls, but we hiked anyways.

Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and Wapama Falls

After a while, we could tell we were getting closer as the loud rush of water kept getting louder and louder, and after a few stairs to climb down, we were at the bridge at the base of the falls.  It was so loud you had to scream to talk to each other, and the water was pouring on the bridge.  It was hard to get pictures because the camera lens would keep getting wet from the spray.  Cole donned his poncho, and walked across the bridge.  The falls were so powerful, it blew his poncho  and his legs and shoes ended up getting soaked during the short time he was on the bridge.  Brittany finally donned her poncho, and went across the bridge as well, and her fate was the same.  Scott and I were in heavy jeans, (it was supposed to only be 60 degrees, but it ended up being much warmer) and decided not to brave the bridge.  When we got back to the car, the kids changed out their clothes for dry shorts, and dry socks.

Kids on the footbridge of Wapama Falls - getting soaked!

Next we headed to Bridalveil Falls.  This fall flows year round, and the trail to the base was a short .25 mile hike. Scott and the kids went all the way to the end, but I couldn’t even get close to that, as there was so much spray whipping off the falls, the camera was getting soaked.  I did get a picture of them coming back down the trail, and Brittany looked wet and cold, and the trail was just covered with water washing over it.

Bridalveil Fall

We headed to see Tunnel View next.  They say you haven’t been to Yosemite, if you don’t have your picture taken at Tunnel View, so we had to make sure we did that.  Tunnel View was amazing.  Very touristy spot, and it was hard to get pictures with no people in them when you are practically bumping elbows with everyone else there.

Us at Tunnel View

The Tunnel View is probably Yosemite’s most famous vista. Lots of famous landmarks are visible here, including, from left to right, El Capitan, Clouds Rest, Half Dome, Sentinel Rock, Sentinel Dome, and Bridalveil Falls.  El Capitan, which is world-famous for rock climbing, BASE jumping, and other crazy activities, is the tallest cliff in the valley.  Horsetail Falls was in the shadow when we were there, but we did end up seeing it from another viewpoint the next day. Half Dome is one of the most famous sights in the valley, it’s unique shape soars over 1300 feet from the valley floor.  There is a nice 8.5 mile (one way) trail and cable climb to Half Dome’s top that we chose not to do.  Bridalveil Fall is one of the most photographed waterfalls, primarily because of Tunnel View.

2 bears before they jumped up on the bridge where we were

The last trail of the day was Vernal Falls.  As we were on our way to the trailhead, we saw bears.  Yes, bears with an “s”.  A mama bear and a baby bear.  We were up on a bridge, and they were down below us, and all was good, until baby bear decided to jump up onto the bridge about 3 feet away from Scott and Brittany.  Brittany hid behind Scott, and Scott made sure to let the bears have the right-of-way.  Cole and I were further behind, but the bears walked right by us, paying us no mind.  I looked down at Cole’s face, and his eyes were just bulging out of his head, as he has never seen a bear that close before.  He sure didn’t let go of my hand, that’s for sure!  Now we were going on the same trail that the bears just came off from!

Kids in front of Vernal Falls

Vernal Falls trail was a .75 mile hike to the footbridge, and another 1.25 miles up a steep granite stairway of over 600 steps.  It was not an easy hike to the footbridge at all for me.  It was a steady climb up, and I was completely out of breath..I really think the pregnancy had a lot to do with that, as I don’t feel I’m that out of shape, and Scott was doing just fine.  I decided to stop at the footbridge, while Scott and the kids went on, and he took some awesome pictures of the falls as they got closer to it.  They didn’t make it to the top either, as the stairs were slippery wet, and there were no guardrails, and sheer cliffs, Cole started freaking out a little, and wanted to turn back.  Vernal Falls slows down to very little flow in the fall, so it was a gorgeous site to see it so full and powerful.  I was glad to see them come back down the trail, as I was a little worried about seeing more bears while they were gone.  Thankfully, there were no more bear sightings, and we all made it back to our hotel room, safe and sound.

We have 3 albums in the gallery from Yosemite, split up into each day we hiked.  There are also 3 blog posts, one for each day we spent in Yosemite National Park.

June 9th blog post – Yosemite East
June 11th blog post – Yosemite Valley & Mariposa Grove
Yosemite National Park – East album
Yosemite National Park – North & Valley album
Yosemite National Park – Valley & Mariposa Grove album

June 9th – Day of driving which turned into hiking in snow!

We decided to go to Yosemite National Park, since Scott hadn’t been there since he was about Brittany’s age.  We took all 2 lane roads to get there instead of the freeway, so that we could go a different way to California.  I had no idea that going out SR 56 (and then taking other highways along the way) would lead us through Nevada, and to California!  It took us about 7 1/2 hours and we were supposed to just go to the hotel.  But, we left too early from Utah, that we got there in early afternoon, so Scott decided to go into Yosemite today!

Still half-frozen Tenaya Lake

Well, we went in on Tioga Road, which had just opened 4 days before we started our trip. The Tioga Road is the highest auto pass in the Sierras, peaking at just under 10,000 feet, and is usually closed from sometime in November until May or early June.  Along Tioga Road, we were going to visit Tuolumne Meadows, but it was still melting out with huge puddles everywhere, and no grass or pretty flowers anywhere.  So we continued on, and stopped at Tenaya Lake, which was still mostly frozen.  We found the whole east side of Yosemite was still melting from snow, so there was snow piled up on the side of the road, and runoffs into the road everywhere on this side of the park.

Gorgeous views from Olmsted Point - Half Dome in the distance

We stopped at Olmsted Point, and found that there was a hike here.  We weren’t supposed to be hiking today, so the kids and I were in flip-flops, not exactly hiking gear.  It was supposed to a short trail, but it ended up being covered in snow.  We definitely got some weird looks along the hike, as we saw people in snow boots with ski poles, and bundled up like it was the middle of winter, and we were in shorts, short-sleeve shirts, and flip-flops.  Scott went hiking ahead of us, I think he was embarrassed to be seen with us, but Brittany kept right up with him, and Cole was sweet and stayed back with the slow pregnant lady who was afraid of falling in the slippery melting snow.  We all made it to the lookout point, and it was a beautiful sight to see.  We saw Half Dome, Clouds Rest and Tenaya Lake all from this point.

Hiking in the snow with flip-flops!

After Olmsted Point, we visited Lembert Dome, but didn’t do the hike, we just walked a bit up the mountain, sat down, and took in the views.  It was very serene and peaceful, that is, until the kids and dad started throwing small pieces of sticks at each other.  Before heading to our hotel, we stopped in at the gas station right outside Yosemite East, but this wasn’t just any gas station, it’s known for the quality of the food served at its Whoa Nellie Deli, which serves everything from grilled salmon to fish tacos and hamburgers.

We have 3 albums in the gallery from Yosemite, split up into each day we hiked.  There are also 3 blog posts, one for each day we spent in Yosemite National Park.

June 10th blog post – Yosemite North & Valley
June 11th blog post – Yosemite Valley & Mariposa Grove
Yosemite National Park – East album
Yosemite National Park – North & Valley album
Yosemite National Park – Valley & Mariposa Grove album

in blogging.  I don’t know why really…just seems like time escapes me, and I didn’t get on here to post.  Even after gentle urgings from family that there hasn’t been any updates on the blog, I still didn’t get on here to post.

As you can tell from Scott’s post, we have done a lot of work on the site, upgrading it, making it faster, bigger pictures, etc.  I can now say, that I LOVE the blog, and the fact that I can customize it now, makes it even better for me!!

It doesn’t seem right to just skip ahead a year, so I’m now working on uploading pictures to the gallery, and will post a summary about our last year, before moving on to current news and vacations.