We discovered The Pizza Factory in St George for dinner. They were so good to us. If you can imagine a party of 19 arriving about an hour and a half before closing after a busy dinner hour and just wanting to have everyone leave so you can clean up. (I've been on the wait service side.) Yikes. I'd be tempted to be grumpy and fussy and pushy to get these people fed and GONE. Nope. Not that attitude at all, not even a hint. Our server was full of personality and fun. He looked directly at each of the kids as they ordered and wanted to tell him the stories of their day. He and his crew kept our drinks filled and our table cleared (some of us ordered the salad/pizza bar.) We were seated in a large dining area all by ourselves so we felt pretty pampered. Did I mention what an exuberant (loud) family I have? I'm sure the rest of the diners appreciated our separation.
They look like a nice family out for a celebration don't they. Little does anyone know what a feeding frenzy is lurking in the shadows. A really nice young woman took this picture for us. Thank you.
Our AMAZING server had the best nickname. I can't remember it just now I think it was something like "Scooter". He took good care of us.
The aftermath of the feeding frenzy of the Hogeland-Greet clan.
We tipped "Scooter" well. Especially since we lingered to visit
with each other for a long time. They locked the door and turned
off the lights as we left. lol Not really, they only turned off
the lights. The time change of an hour later than we were
used to threw each of us off our schedule. No worries we quickly
just arrived late everywhere, everyday.)
A WORD ABOUT OUR HATS ~~~
I chose to make hats for our reunion since we were traveling. I thought it would be easier to wear a hat daily instead of doing a t-shirt or several t-shirts per person for a week-long trip. There were days when a hat or two were misplaced and we went to lunch with a bare head or two. For the important stops like Yellowstone and the Buffalo Bill Museum all heads were covered and spot-able. It was all good.
All the parents had white hats. Partly because I wasn't sure my sons would wear any other color. The kids were given red. They probably would have liked any color.
It was important to me that this icon reflected our family unity. This is the first major undertaking of our family since our patriarch passed. I wanted the grandchildren to know of his testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I wanted something that they would look at years from now and remember they belong to an amazing family. That Grandpa Ron worked hard to be a good provider for the family and loved each of his children. He was a man who was full of integrity and wanted all of his children to embrace that which is good and virtuous in life. I tried to incorporate as much symbolism as I could think of.
Our theme: Hogeland-Greet- (the last name of the sons ie, Hogeland, Lowe, Payan, or Griffith) A Mighty Nation in Pursuit of Excellence. A reference to the nation of Israel of the Old Testament (Hogeland - Greet) and the house of Judah or Ephraim (Hogeland, Lowe, Payan, or Griffith.) Our family is a dynamic organization of amazingly talented and skillful persons. Each one an incredible asset and blessing to me.
The women sported three hearts on the bill of their caps. A reminder that they are "keepers of hearts" 1 -- their own heart and relationship with God; 2 -- their husbands heart is kept safe in hers; 3 -- she is the keeper of her childrens tender hearts as they grow into adult hood.
The men sported three stars on the bill of their hats. A reminder that they must constantly be "seekers of truth" as they 1 -- walk with the Lord in all they do; 2 -- lead with their sweetheart and follow that which is truth; and 3 -- always seek for, teach, and expect the truth from each of their children.
Each girl's hat had a single heart to remind them to just love their family and draw close to their Heavenly Father who loves them. They are keepers of hearts.
Each boy's hat had a single star to remind them to stay true to what is truth. Like the North Star which is a constant point by which travelers can plot their course they must seek the real truth and follow it always. They must become seekers of truth -- like Grandpa Ron who was always seeking truth.Each hat also had the owners name and motto; the girls' = keeper of hearts; the boys' = seeker of truth.
As you can see here they were very useful to put patches or pins on as souvenirs of our travels. A few of the grand-kids asked me why we had hats. I told them so we could find them in a crowd in-case they wandered away from the group and so when they found the hat when they were old they would remember the Great Family Road Trip of 2012.
There is no significance to the zebra pattern it was just the most interesting duct tape I could find. I chose to use duct tape in the sheet form because it was easiest to adhere to the cap. I didn't want to take the time to paint them or glue something on so the duct tape was quick and serviceable. We spoke of a woman's heart often while we traveled together.
Lets Keep on Truckin'
Idaho Falls, Idaho is an amazing place. I like the power of falling water, its noisy, and thrilling and energizing.
A shameless plug for The Outback in Idaho Falls. We arrived late in the dinner hour -- again. They took very good care of us. Tonight, we were a bit more subdued from St. George, Utah to Idaho Falls, Idaho was about a 10 hour drive.
We bought a few disposable cameras for the kids. We want to see what their vacation looked like. Still haven't gotten them developed yet. I really appreciate the digital cameras we use these days.
Notice the placement of his feet. I snapped this picture just as he lost his footing. I was just about to scold him when he fell onto his stomach and dropped his camera. The rocks were wet, I knew I couldn't help him and screamed for his Mom. He was frozen with fear, not crying but his face was filled with panic. Mom rescued him and his camera. It was pretty scary for a few seconds.
We have a "creeper"
I decided that this trip I would take fewer pictures of countryside without someone in it. The kids got tired of me pulling them into my pictures of the falls.
Yellowstone National Park
We found a surprise in West Yellowstone --
We saw an advertisement for this place somewhere in our travels. Some of the grandchildren are infatuated with wild animals well, all kinds of animals really and were excited to learn more about the feared grizzly bears and wolves. We were not disappointed in our visit.
They have two grizzlies in a very large compound who earn their keep by testing prototypes for new bear box designs. Occasionally they introduce a container to the bears. We didn't get to see them "play" with a new toy, either there weren't any new ones or we were there on a day that was not scheduled for testing. They are bigger and shaggier than I imagined. There is no substitute for seeing them with your own eyes. I know I do not want to ever meet one face-to-face!!
One simple and inexpensive souvenir we found was what I call the "smash penny machine." It was a favorite among most of the kids. I couldn't resist this picture of the crowd that gathered here wanting an eagle or a grizzly. Not sure if all the "smash pennies" made it home, mine did. I'm planning on drilling a hole in them and attaching them to my hat.
This was the reason I wanted to stop at the Grizzly Discover Center. Who can resist a picture with a great, big, teddy bear? What a perfect picture of the whole family. We are having fun. I'm still in awe that we could all be together for this amazing adventure. These people are wonderful. Thanks, kids.
The dads are blocking the way to a hot spring boiling at the edge of the river here. It rained on us most of the day while we were in the park. It was nice because the weather was cool and the moisture in the air revealed all the thermal activity in the area so we stopped as we saw something interesting. This particular spot was unpopulated and perfect to see an active hot spring up close.
The kids are testing how hot the water gets closer to the hot springs. It generated tons of questions about how this happens. "Exactly" how does it happen? "Exactly" was a word I heard often during this trip.
It seems they are seekers of truth.
We finally arrived at the desired destination of the day --- OLD FAITHFUL GEYSER found prime real estate on the boardwalk built to contain thousands of visitors. The Park even furnished us with benches to rest ourselves.
Here we are waiting -- waiting -- waiting -- some of us more patiently than others but with the promise of a spectacular eruption we contented ourselves to wait. Along with what seemed like 10,000 others who came to see this display of natures force.
Old Faithful didn't disappoint us. She erupted nearly as predicted and blasted her grandeur forcefully above my camera's range. It had stopped drizzilng about an hour before. How kind of nature to make it so that we didn't have to sit in the rain to see this spectacular show. The moisture still in the air made it difficult to capture the geyser on film. If you focus on the dark blue column in the center of the picture that is the fountain of water the white is the steam. Up close and personal one could see it well. 
Did we see any animals? You ask.
I was traveling in Clint's car and saw only two an elk and a buffalo.
The elk was laying along side the road and drawing quite a lot of attention. He didn't seem to mind being gawked at. It was as if he was enjoying all the attention. We often hear of an elk or buffalo becoming unruly and rushing at a vehicle or person and doing some harm but this guy was docile. We snapped a picture quickly though and moved on. The kids really wanted to get out of the car and go "pet" him.
The buffalo we encountered further down the road. He seemed a bit agitated, not aggressive, just maybe annoyed that he had to be on the slick pavement with cars coming at him and up on him from behind. He just kept on moving. I noticed that there was a steep embankment on both sides of him. One side going up and the other side going down. He kept to the middle of the road neither moved to one side or the other at the passing of cars. We just shot the camera from inside the car as we passed him. There was no pullout on that part of the road. Some of us were hoping to see bears out in one of the meadows at least. Not at all interested in a close encounter with them.