Traveling to Montana and Yellowstone National Park Day 1

We recently took an end of the summer family trip to visit friends in Montana and a few national parks.  My next several posts will be about our trip.  It was amazing in every way!  

 

Leaving home headed to New Orleans to catch our flight.

 

We stopped for lunch at Chick-fil-A in Hammond, LA.

 

While waiting to board our flight in New Orleans we enjoyed some beignets and coffee from Cafe Du Monde.

 

We flew New Orleans to Denver to Missoula, Montana.

 

We arrived in Missoula around 9 that evening.  While waiting for our luggage to come out the boys did some exploring.  They loved this bear on display. 

 

The next day we made the drive to Gardiner, Montana and entered Yellowstone National Park. 

 

Our first stop was Mammoth Hot Springs.

 

 

 

 

 

We made a stop by Wraith Falls.

 

 

 

 

 

And did a short hike to see Undine Falls.

 

Undine Falls

 

One of the highlights of the whole trip for me was driving through Lamar Valley and seeing the bison.

 

 

 

It was all fun until I realized how close to my window he was. Yikes!

 

 

We stopped along the way for a supper picnic.  After eating, we used binoculars to try to spot wolves.

 

They did see a few.

 

 

 

 

We ended the day with a stop by Pebble Creek.

 

 

We then made the drive back to Gardiner where we stopped for the night.

New Orleans Monster Jam 2018

Like most all little boys my two love monster trucks.  One day recently while scrolling down my news feed on facebook I saw someone post about a Monster Jam event in New Orleans.  I knew it would be something they would enjoy so we made plans to attend.   

The weather that day was less than desirable.  There was a 90% chance of rain.  We left after lunch and took our time driving down.  Apart from the event itself we didn't plan much else to do while in town because of the rain.  The only things I really wanted to squeeze in was a visit to Cafe Du Monde and also a ride on the trolley.  We were able to do both.

The boys had never been to Cafe Du Monde and I was excited about taking them.  They did not know what a beignet was they just knew it was like a donut with powdered sugar all over it.  That was enough to convince them they needed to try one.  Needless to say, just like their mama, they loved them.

coffee and beignets in New Orleans

I have been to Cafe Du Monde many times in my life but getting to go there with my boys was a real treat. 

riding the trolley

arriving at the Superdome

That in itself was exciting.  We did not tell the boys where we were going.  It was not until after we arrived and went inside that they realized what was going on.

I wish I had taken a video of them as we walked in.  Ben kept saying "I see monster trucks! I see monster trucks!".  They also thanked us a million times before the show ever began.  They were very much in awe and beside themselves with excitement.

looking for their favorite trucks

ready for the show to begin

the show opening

The first event was the races.  Here are some videos of that-

Photos and videos from the 2 wheel and freestyle events-

one of my favorites

The grand finale was Grave Digger doing the free style.  It was fun!  He won that event.

me and my boys after the show

They loved it but I will admit that I was just as excited and giddy as they were.  I was cheering and screaming louder than anybody around.  At one point Cruz told me "mama, you are screaming like a girl."  I laughed and reminded him that I am a girl.  Seeing them enjoy it warmed my heart but enjoying it so much with them was priceless.  

We drove back home that night and didn't get to bed until 1:00 a.m.  We were tired but it was worth it.  It was an outing our family will be remembering for a long time.