We started on the trail, which seemed easy enough at first, though there were a lot of downed trees to clamber over and under...
But the trail just got more and more ridiculous for the kids to maneuver on safely. Here's an over/under part of the trail,
And eventually it just ended in a rock field.
We figured our guidebook was out of date, and told the kids these were the falls! Then we turned around back to the car.
Just a short drive down the road was the turn-off to Wraith Falls! D'oh! It was much more family-friendly and just as the guidebook described! Note to self...
Then we pressed on to see the Roosevelt Lodge, only to discover a sign that said it was still closed for the season. Disappointed, we drove on to revisit Tower Falls. Wow - what a crowd! We couldn't even find a parking spot, so we turned around to Calcite Springs overlooking the river, which was still spectacular. Doesn't it look like a fake painting in the background? So beautiful!
Feeling a little defeated after the crowds and mis-hikes, we opted to return to the cabin for a quiet afternoon respite. It was pretty perfect just to sit on the porch, reading a book, drinking a beer, eating snacks, and watching the kids and ground squirrels play. For dinner, we headed north to Gardiner to see the famous Roosevelt Arch and get some non-park (i.e. reasonably priced) grub to fill our tummies.
The next morning we leisurely ate breakfast in our cabin and packed up to head home. Our last hike in the park was slated to be at Sheepeater Cliffs, which are pretty interesting hexagonal columns of basalt that seem to be stacked like blocks. The kids enjoyed watching the marmots and chipmunks crawling over the rocks.
Then we started a simple, flat hike next to the creek, but we hadn't gotten more than 100 feet or so down the trail when thunk! Hadley had slipped on a rock and landed on another right on her forehead! Talk about blood! It was quite a gash! Dad took off one of his shirts to staunch the bleeding, while I took off for the car to get first-aid supplies. In the commotion, a fellow hiker came forward with some medical/trauma experience and helped us to clean and assess her. We band-aided her up and headed back to the clinic at Mammoth, 20 minutes away, since we were pretty sure she needed stitches.
Of course, it was Memorial Day, and when we arrived at the clinic a large sign informed us that it was closed and to come back tomorrow! I ran to the visitor center and asked a ranger if there was anywhere else we could go. She got on the phone and handed it to me to finish giving details of the incident to a lady (without much other info to me!). At the end of the phone conversation, I realized that they were sending an ambulance! I guess that was the only option on holiday. We waited a few minutes and two guys in an ambulance arrived. They reminded us of Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee though! Looking like they were about 23 years old, shoes untied, belt radio cord caught on the seat when exiting the vehicle, referring to the manual A LOT, not knowing where pediatric medical supplies were, struggling with attaining her vitals, etc. All while blocking some of the visitor center parking. Oh boy... They did not make me feel warm and cozy that they'd be able to place successful stitches on my daughter's face! (Prayers to anyone that was more seriously injured that day!) Sure enough they wanted to ambulance us to a Livingston, Montana hospital, which was about an hour north. We pressed them that we'd prefer to head south towards home and had to sign a release to that effect, but 40 minutes later, we were on our way!
Once we were back in cell coverage, we searched for open/insured clinics and ended up in Rexburg, 30 minutes from home. What an agonizing car trip that was! But she was happily watching the iPad (to keep her awake), and we kept reminding her to keep her head up. The doctor in Rexburg seemed competent and said the stitches (7 of them!) seemed to come together well. We are crossing our fingers that she won't have an eye-catching scar there for the rest of her life. What a memory!
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