Last Thursday through Sunday, June 5th thru the 8th, Nat and I had the opportunity to accompany almost 80 youth to Yellowstone. Our Stake YM and YW leaders wanted to do a big trip and got permission from our Area 70 and General YM president to go ahead and do the trip. The idea was pitched to the Bishops and then the planning began. The trip was opened up to any incoming Juniors and Seniors and outgoing Seniors. They did this so next year, if we are able to do another activity, they will only take the incoming Juniors and they won't miss anyone. They also invited all of the bishops and their wives to come on the trip. Thanks to Lara Leigh and Ren's and Grandma and Grandpa Curtis' generosity Natalie and I were able to go while they watched our kids. When people asked me at work where I was going and I explained it to them they all thought I was crazy traveling all that way with 80 teens. It was a blast. We stayed in Island Park at a bed and breakfast owned by the sister of a member of my ward. The boys stayed at the Sawtelle inn down the road. Nat and I went to bed Wednesday night and I set the alarm to go off at 3:30am as we were to be at the church at 5am. We woke up at 5:15 am and realized either the alarm didn't go off or I had turned it off in my stupor and went back to sleep. Needless to say the adrenaline kicked in and we were off and running. I was proud of Nat. We were up, showered and to the church at 5:45. The crew was supposed to leave at 5:30, but,we got there just as they were loading vans. We never heard the end of it though throughout the trip. Thursday night we went to the Playmill Theatre in West Yellowstone. We saw "See How They Run" It was hilarious and very entertaining. After the performance they let us stay and had the entire cast come out and we had a question answer session. On Friday we went to West Yellowstone to do about 6 hours of service projects. The group of 100 of us were split in two and we were sent to two different locations to pick up trash. One group cleaned the west entrance to Yellowstone and the other (our group) cleaned about 40 acres of open field where they have flea markets and snowmobile races. We spent about 2 hours cleaning and then the skies opened up and began snowing/raining/hailing/snowing on us. This ended the service projects, but we were able to get the field and entrance cleaned. We went to plan B and watched the Lewis and Clark movie at the IMAX theatre in West Yellowstone. After that, we went into the park and headed for Mammoth Springs. The snow started flying again and then there was an accident on the road that held up traffic, so we went back to Island Park. That night we went to the church building in Island Park for a fireside and dodge ball. We had a CES speaker come and speak to us. His name is Brother Satterfield and he spoke on Celestial Relationships. It was quite good. 2 minutes before he finished speaking I was asked to be the concluding speaker. I said a silent prayer and walked to the front. It went well. The spirit was strong. We then played dodge ball for 2 hours or so. Saturday we went into the park again and were snowed on for most of the day. It was beautiful. The Buffalo had calves as well as the elk. The snow covered the trees and the park was beautiful. Saturday night we went back to the church for another fireside and then a talent show. It was a good night. Sunday we had church at the old A frame chapel in Island Park. That is a beautiful building. The spirit was strong and I feel like the meeting went well. We went back to camp, packed up and drove home. We had the same kids in our van the entire trip. We had a blast and the kids were very good, well behaved and got along great with each other. We got to know them better and they got to know us also. My first counselor was able to go also and he and I traded off driving duties throughout the trip. Below are some pictures from the trip. It was a blast. I told Nat that even with 80 teens, it was relaxing and felt like a vacation. I hope they all felt the same.
Nat at Yellowstone Falls (yes, she is cold)
A buffalo walking beside the Madison River
This is me passing the time while we sat in the van during a snow storm.
This is the field we cleaned up. You can't tell, but it is snowing.
This is our van of kids and Nat. We had a blast.
Just a picture of the trees covered in snow. We saw alot of that.
Here is the group of youth with the bed and breakfast in the background.
