It's been a little quiet...

...because we've just come back from a family camping trip to Yellowstone National Park!

It was our first time RV camping (we rented one for the week) and what a great experience that was. SO much easier and more convenient than tent camping, especially with a toddler!

After all those geysers, mud pots, fumaroles and springs, we are a little "geo-thermaled out", as my husband puts it. I think a week was about right.

Mia had a fantastic time spotting "animohs" like bison, elk, deer, pronghorn, wolves and bears (at a rehab centre for those - we only saw two black bears in the wild), coyotes, bald eagles, hawks, grouse, mountain bluebirds, and ravens (everywhere). There were NO bugs at all and the weather was just about perfect - sunny and 22 degrees or thereabouts each day, but for one cloudy day. The nights were cold, but the RV kept us fairly snug.

I definitely recommend RV camping for families. It was so nice to be able to come back from a hike and cook a hot meal right there in the parking lot if we wanted - or stop at a pull-out beside a beautiful outlook for a snack.

Here are some of my favourite pictures from our trip: 

There is never a bad place to nurse, according to bison.

This was a common sight. It looks like a postcard, doesn't it?!

We hiked, Mia rode in the carrier. I loved the contrast of her sparkly shoes to our dusty hiking boots!

Having a meal by the lake - watching Daddy feed the dog after our dinner.

A beautiful spot for me to breastfeed - watching Old Faithful erupt!

Our family at one of the most beautiful of the geysers, Imperial Geyser. Worth the 6 mile (9.7 km) round trip hike!

While we were away, the contractors have nearly completed the drywall sanding, and installed hardwood in the office, living and dining rooms, feathering it into the existing hardwood in the rest of the main floor. There is still much to be done, but it's starting to seem possible that we will be able to live in a real house again rather than a construction site. They've threatened me with the prospect of moving the fridge onto the back upstairs deck (even more inconvenient than now, upstairs in the office while our kitchen and eating area are in the basement), and the washer and dryer into the garage, where they will be unuseable. I sure hope we can work around that.