Yellowstone Vacation – Chuckwagon Delight

After breakfast on Day 5, we packed up our things and prepared to move on. We were going to leave Yellowstone for a couple days to head south. But Old Faithful was scheduled to erupt soon so we asked Kai if he wanted to see it again. He gave an enthusiastic “yes.”

She gave us another good show.

And then we were off to Grand Teton National Park.

Those of you who have been there before know that I could show you dozens of photos of the gorgeous mountains. Here are just a few:

Kai enjoyed a chance to dip his feet in Jenny Lake.

We then drove on to Jackson Hole.

After we checked into our lodge and used the pool, we went to a chuckwagon dinner.

I had planned this ahead of time, booking reservations before we left home. We would ride a covered wagon into the forest where we would have an all-you-can eat chuckwagon dinner, followed by live entertainment from a country music band.

I was nervous; on one hand, Kai might enjoy the wagon ride, and we know he loves music. But on the other hand, we were committed and there would be no way out if he got upset or wanted to leave early for any reason.

I was happy when Kai eagerly boarded the wagon. He was very excited.

We had great seats right at the front of the wagon, next to the driver.

He got very excited when the wagon train was attacked by “Indians.”

When we reached our destination, we sat at the long table with other families. We got in the chow line and he came back with a full plate of fixins’.

During dinner, Kai enjoyed talking to the very outgoing six-year old boy who sat across from us. I am always a bit nervous when Kai starts interacting with strangers, fearing that he will say something inappropriate or weird, or that he will get angry. But on this evening, he had some nice conversation with the other boy.

And then when the band began to play, Kai really got excited, tapping his toes and clapping his hands.

The band was excellent, especially the fiddle player, as they played some of my favorites including Orange Blossom Special and The Devil Went Down to Georgia.

But I think Kai’s favorite part was when all of the kids were asked to come up front to help sing She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain, and Mom was picked to be the “whoa back” girl. (You can see a glimpse of Kai on the far right in the photo below).

It was a totally fun evening, with no bad moments.

And that topped off our best day yet.

Next: Yellowstone Vacation – Anxiety and Anger in the Tetons