Police Cadets at "Law Enforcement Challenge"

Once again this year Caitlyn got to travel with us to the coast with Mike's police cadets for a competition at Camp Rilea in near Astoria. We traveled to the Army Base on Friday and checked in before the kids spend all day Saturday at different scenarios they have trained in. On Sunday we finish up with lunch and an award ceremony. A tradition for Mike's post is to take the kids camping afterwords for a couple days as a "reward" for all the hard work they put in all year long. Caitlyn was trying to get a jump start on her driving career. Unfortunately for her she is not approved to drive a city car yet.

Here Caitlyn is getting maced (with training mace - not the real stuff) when she came at one of the advisers with a bat during a break in between scenarios.
Trying to be like daddy and all the big kids, Caitlyn playing with one of the police radios.

Nothing better then your first ice cream cone on a hot day!

The last days

Day 7 was traveling from West Yellowstone to Missoula, MT.

Day 8 was traveling from Missoula to Walla Walla, WA.

Day 9 was making the last bit of journey back home. We did make a stop at Maryhill Museum where Caitlyn & Mike fed some peacocks.

So Yellowstone proved to be a great vacation. I figured out it had been 28 yrs since I was there. Now I have many memories and hope they do not have to last me another 28 yrs before I get to go back.

We ended up seeing everything we wanted but a moose. We say deer, elk, buffalo, grizzly bear (we saw 3 just after our buffalo encounter), 2 bald eagles, big horn sheep and even a tiny chipmunk. Before we got to Yellowstone we saw antelope, more deer and elk, llama, horses, quail, donkey and even a three legged goat.

In the end we traveled 2500 miles, but the best part was that only 17 of the miles were traveled on a freeway. Our entire trip took us on one beautiful scenic highway after another.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures, sorry they didn't make it to you while we were there.

More of Day 6

We encountered some big horn sheep and they were so funny. This one and another both stopped on this rock peak to pose for pictures for the longest time. The pictures almost look fake.

Another critter jam was due to the biggest elk any of us had ever seen. Brad & Mike were drooling over the size of their racks.

We made our last day in Yellowstone a short one so we could do a few things in West Yellowstone. This was taken at the Grizzly& Wolf Discovery Center. It is kind of a refuge for the grizzly bears that can no longer be allowed to live in Yellowstone. Either because they were orphans or become dangerous to the park.

This picture is out of order... this was taken the first day we reached Yellowstone.

Day 6

We were told we could not miss the "Grand Canyon" What an amazing view. Caitlyn and I were bringing up the rear of the group hiking up the hill to the lookout.

Day 5 - continued

Before our trip Mike kept saying, "I want to ride with the buffalo". Well he got his wish. We were slowing down to take pitures of the buffalo along side the road with all of a sudden one decided he wanted to cross the road. I was on the bike with Mike and was able to take a few shots of just how close he was. He came to a full stop and just looked at Mike & I with a look of "hey I'm walking here" before he continued on to the other side of the road. This is what the call in Yellowstone a "Critter Jam".
We pulled off to the side of the road for some more pictures. Here you can see some other buffalo behind us. They were just off the side of the road.

Day 5 -A full day in Yellowstone

The first two pictures were at "Fountain Paint Pot". There were paths to walk around all the small geysers and mud pools.


Caitlyn was our tour guide at the "Midway Geyser Basin" pointing out an important spot of interest.
The whole group; (Caitlyn, Rebecca & Mike, Uncle Brad, Aunt Patty & Tara and Karen & Gary)

Day 4; continued

Well, there was no mistaking the Teton Mountains. They were absolutly amazing!
We stopped for a photo opp, WE MADE IT!
Riding in Yellowstone is the best place to enjoy the bike and all the wildlife the park has to offer.
This was the first large group of animals we encountered in the park. We ended up seeing so many elk.

Day 4

Day 3 took us from Stanley, ID to Alpine, WY;

and Day 4 from there to West Yellowstone, MT.

We spent a few hours in Jackson Hole, WY. This is a touristy town and we tried to see it all in a short amount of time. Caitlyn loved any opportunity to get out of the stroller, even if it meant sitting on a bear.

Caitlyn loved the feel of a fox tail, and being a moose.

She didn't think much of the Yetti however.

Of course we had to get our picture under the famous antler arch. There are actually four arches. One on each corner of the park block.

Day 2

Day 2 took us from Unity, OR to Stanley, ID. This part of the country is known for the "Sawtooth Mountains". A picture just cannot capture it's beauty.

(Sidenote-if you ever find yourself in Unity and are thinking of staying...DON'T, KEEP DRIVING. There is only one motel and you DO NOT want to stay there!!!!)

Day 1 to Yellowstone

We stopped off at Shaniko, Oregon which is a "Ghost Town" with plenty to see. We wondered around the town looking at the old buildings when Caitlyn & I were thrown into jail! But the rest of our group broke us out just in time to hit the road to continue our trip.
Here is Caitlyn in what she felt was her jail for nine days.

Playing at our friends the Gjovik's house.

Caitlyn enjoyed her first experience of a "sit 'n spin" and swinging on a regular swing.

Christmas In July (at Pelton Dam)

Caitlyn was not afraid to get right in the middle of all the "bigger" kids playing in the sand. (Josh, Maddy, Makenzie, Caitlyn, Jacob-all kids in our group)

Caitlyn got a special ride from Grandpa... who would have ever thought he would be able to carry Caitlyn like this!! Amazing what two years time can do.

Caitlyn helping hand out flyers telling of Santa's visit later in that night.

Caitlyn didn't think too much about Santa, she shed a few tears when she first saw him. (clockwise: Caitlyn, Mike, "elf" Gary, Santa, "elf" Rebecca)

Caitlyn had a great time playing in the water, even though it was cold it felt so good to cool off!

Caitlyn loves her kitties!

Caitlyn loves to give Max and Monty (in picture) lots of love. Anytime they are stretched out on the floor Caitlyn quickly lays down next to (sometimes on top of) them with her arm firmly wrapped around them. Occasionally they welcome her love long enough for a picture... usually not though.

Fourth of July

The family spent the afternoon at Grandma & Grandpa's. All the kids had fun with their "Uncle Sam" hats. (clockwise: Caitlyn, Morgan, Trent, Winston, Makayla)

One of Caitlyn's favorite things is to hold a phone (or something that looks like a phone) and pretend she is chatting away. Grandpa's special chair has a controler that doubles as a play phone when she is visiting.

Riding Quad's and Horsy

Caitlyn was showing off her new helmet for riding on the quads. We spent the day at Mike's brother Brad & wife Patty's house. They live in the country in Cook Washington so we took the quads up so we could hit the trails with Mike's nephew Nicholas. We had a great ride but just as we cleared the woods on our way back to the house the rain hit.
Caitlyn got a very special gift this day. Mike's stepsister Cyndi gave Caitlyn a rocking horse that his dad made years ago. Cyndi has not had any kids and with none in the future she thought Caitlyn might enjoy it. What an amazing gift for her to have, something made by her Grandpa Gallagher that she never got to meet. It will truely be a family treasure for many generations.

American Flag Ceremony, continued

Here are a couple pics of Caitlyn before and after the ceremony. Hopefully next year she will sit still a bit more! She sure had fun waving her flags around though. And of course she was dressed for the occasion in Red, White & Blue.