Explore WY & MT {West Yellowstone}
From our campsite in Colter Bay we weren’t far from the south entrance to Yellowstone. We took a day to drive up and explore the southwest part of the park – mainly the geysers. The weather was bitterly cold, but it didn’t slow the boys down. The girls…well it slowed them down a bit, but they did great. I was too busy watching my kids react to Old Faithful to get a picture. Their faces and shouts were pretty awesome to witness.
Our youngest daughter completely shuts down when she gets cold. Literally, she falls asleep and doesn’t eat. She was born in warm southern China, so we joke that she goes into hibernation in the cold. She slept through the geysers. Yellowstone is an incredible trip for kids for so many reasons, but the vast diversity of nature all in that one park is one of the best parts. History and science come alive in such a fascinating way. I loved it!
I did place a bit of fear in my kids regarding staying on the path and not falling into a boiling hot spring. Of course, we ended up behind two teenage boys goofing off like they were falling in. 
We then took the road into the town of West Yellowstone. We don’t eat out really at all, but we made an exception for dinner that night. Chris ‘urban-spooned’ West Yellowstone and found great reviews on a restaurant called Las Palmitas. He wanted to try it, but I saw a Taco Bus and wanted to try it. We couldn’t find his restaurant so we headed to the taco bus and realized they were one and the same. Las Palmitas Taco Bus – so worth eating out. We took up half the bus, but it was awesome food. If you are ever in West Yellowstone, I highly recommend it. 
We finished our day at the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center. The center houses rescued grizzly bears. We learned so much about these incredible animals and how human actions can really harm the bears. We took our time there and really tried to learn as much as we could. A big part of this trip for us is education, this was a great place for that to happen.
The boys also got to hide food for the grizzlies and watch them come out to find it. So much fun even in sleet, hail and rain.
Part of the fun of the center was hearing the stories about the bears and why they were rescued or relocated. I’m sure I will get the details of this wrong, but here is the gist. One of the bears got a taste of a donut and was relocated 1,000 miles away across two mountain ranges. He must have really liked that donut because he made the trip all the way back to that yard for another one! It reminded me of my sister. She really likes donuts too.
