The plan was to get to a 9:00am Sacrament meeting.  But after the 3rd straight post 2:00am bed time I was pretty trashed.

Jodie booked all the motels on this leg of our trip and this Best Western was a great room.  It had 3 queen sized double beds which meant we did not have to inflate the blow up mattress.  Right down the street is the Temple, which when lit at night looks majestic.

We eventually all got and made an 11:00am Church.  It took us 2.5 minutes to drive from our motel to the chapel.  We actually could have walked.

The  Motel let us check out late @ 1:00pm and we headed out to Zion's National Park and then onto Page Arizona on the shore of lake Powell.

It was quite a hot day today.  When you get to Zion's you have to park your car and then a shuttle bus drives you were you need to go.  We decided on the Emerald Pools, which when we got there I must admit feeling underwelmed it was like and creek/waterfall you would she in a National Park back home.

It clouded over which made photography pretty dull.  That seems to be how I rate places by how well I can photograph.  But it does have some magnificent canyons, colours and features.  Having only a few hours there does not do it justice.

Thomas got another souvenir penny, we went back to the base and the car and then drove through the park in daylight this time.  It was pretty spectacular.  Once again we drove through the tunnel which is in fact only 1.5 miles long.

We then drove for another 2 hours to Page Arizona on the shore of Lake Powell.  Lake Powell was formed when they built the Glen Canyon Dam.  About 7 klms from the dam wall the Colorado river does a 270 Degree turn creating 'horseshoe bend'.  A spectacular natural phenominum.  I photographed this  put i'll share that experience tomorrow.

You actually drive over a bridge which is almost directly on top of the dam.  You can walk accross the bridge and take pics.  Courtney and Genna were running and jumping and crossing the road to the other side which absolutely petrified me.  Because this big wuss of an author is terrified of heights.

JUmping back into the car we went to the motel.  The most expensive of our trip so far @ $180 per night.  It was something directly out of the seventies.  It looked like the motels on the movies like 'casino' or a Dean Martin, Sammy Davies Junior movie.

But it was a place to sleep and gave us the rest we needed.

We got into St George at midnight and it was well after 2am before we got to sleep. Some of the kids managed to get some sleep on the drive down but Jodie didn’t as she was sitting in the passenger seat eagerly spotting Deer for me. Driving through Zion’s Canyon was quite eerie last night; as soon as you enter the park all the roads are painted a terracotta color. You have to drive down tight windy roads with hair pin bends, so the drive was quite arduous.  

Jodie and Courtney found it a little off-putting driving through a tunnel cut into the mountain that was well over 2miles long. So needless to say we had a bit of a sleep in. Jodie was first up quite early; it must be the seminary teacher in her. Most of the motels we stay at have breakfast included and I think Jodie wants to take full advantage. I then awoke and went upstairs to join her. We were planning to drive to the South rim of the Grand Canyon today, stopping off in Vegas for lunch on the way and dinner on the way back. It would mean well over 10hrs driving time. So we had a chat over breakfast, looking out at the St George temple, when we decided or you could even say, felt prompted, to have a family day at the St George Temple, which Tamzyn loved. 

St George is a fascinating place, an oasis in the middle of steep, red rock canyons and arid desert plains. In summer it is unusually hot, commonly between 35-40 degrees Celsius, but it is a very dry heat so we just found it pleasant. The St George Temple was the first Temple built in Utah. President Brigham Young, who used St George as his winter home to avoid the harsh cold Salt Lake winters, commissioned it. It was completed in 1817 and is modeled on the Nauvoo Temple. 

Jodie and I drove the two blocks and attended the 11:20am session, many of the kids were still asleep in their beds. Whilst at the Temple, the kids woke up, fed themselves and had a couple of hours swimming in the motel pool. We then came back, collected all the children, had a bite to eat for lunch and went back to the Temple so that Courtney and Thomas and I could do baptisms. 

Jodie and the girls took this time to visit the Visitor’s Centre and take photos in the gardens. The people in the baptistery were very kind and accommodating and really provided for us, especially Thomas and Courtney, a lovely experience. One of the couples there, Bro and Sis Cole, actually served their missions in the Australia, Brisbane Mission Office and remembered me well, so we enjoyed reminiscing about life in Brisbane. 

Both Thomas and Courtney learnt some new and unique things about Church History, the St George Temple and about how the constitution of America was indeed a document inspired by God. It was great to do this work with them, I really felt the spirit and I know they did too, Which was an answer to the prompting that Jodie and I felt earlier when we decided not to drive to the grand canyon via Las Vegas. To me it was like Heavenly Father saying, “Jim, you don’t need to do that. Take your kids to the Temple, they’ll have a much better and long-lasting experience.” And I think they really did although I haven’t pressed them about their experiences, as I don’t want to weird them out. But I could tell by the way the family was interacting and how happy the kids seemed that they had indeed had a spiritual experience. 

We joined Jodie and the little girls in the Visitor’s Centre were one of the Brothers, Bro Tanner shared he had served his mission in Brisbane in 1958. He and his wife loved having us as he shared many mission experiences. All the children received a little shard of the mortar used to construct the St George Temple, which is a lovely keepsake. The Temple is actually the geographical center point for the city of St George. We then headed back to the Motel and rested or about 30mins before heading to a place called Tuacahn. 

This is a remarkable outdoor theatre where professional musicals are staged. It is set deep into the canyon in Ivins, which is on the outskirts of St George. We had dinner before the show; a nice buffet then watched the musical Hairspray, a really well staged production with performers recruited from all over the USA. Because it’s summer here, the show doesn’t actually start till 8:45pm so for the first half of the show the backdrop behind the stage is this magnificent red and ochre canyon. The second half of the show, it is dark, but at the end of the final number, the sky is lit up with fireworks. A really fun night that topped of a great day. 

The only low-light, it was close to midnight when we got back to St George, the temple does be lit up magnificently at night so we raced back to the Motel to get cameras and tripods, drove the few blocks to the Temple, turned the corner at the Temple and the lights shut off because it hit midnight. I drove the family to the Motel to sleep while I went to Walmart to get groceries for tomorrow and fuel up. While it was sad that my family didn’t get to see the Grand Canyon, I think they’ll remember their day in St George for different reasons and feelings, long after their memories of the Grand Canyon had they seen it would last. Enjoy the pics. Tomorrow we plan to attend a local ward and drive through Zion’s National Park on the way out to Page which is on the shore of Lake Powell. 

We woke late today and Heidi had prepared the most sumptuous breakfast.  They are such good people the Smiths.  Fancy hosting us on a few hours notice, then putting on a wonderful meal.  Amazing really.  

We left around 10:30am and headed to St. George, Southern Utah.  We stopped off at Bryce Canyon on the way.  I have been to Bryce before so was excited to show Jodie & the kids.  It is like no other place on earth and one of my favourite places to photograph.

When we arrived we had a couple of hours of sunlight the the clouds rolled in, which disappointed me for creative reasons as the sky becomes a giant white box and you lose colour and definition in your shots.

I then took the family on a hike down the Navajo loop, which is spectacular.  It covers the famous Wall street and Thor's Hammer. Walking to the bottom was o.k. but walking back up was murder on the Hammy.

We got to the bottom and it started rain, remarkable for this country.  This turned the dusty track into a clay like mud sticking to our shoes and weighing them down making the climb out a little bit harder.  The kids didn't seem to mind and were all in good spirits.

We the had dinner at Ruby Red's which was a nice buffet, before browsing in the giant gift shop there.  Thomas has started up a collection of souvenir pennies.  These are machines that flatten a penny and emboss it with the image of the landmark your visiting.  The only machine was back up in the park at the general store.  It was 8:15pm so Tom and I raced back up to get there, but they had closed at 8:00pm.

There was still a lady inside so we tapped on the window and she let us in to make the penny.  I was delighted for Tom as I think this is a good little collection for him to have to remember his trip.  I love my son.  He is growing into a fine young man.  I hope this holiday strengthens his testimony and builds his character.

We then headed off to St George which was still 2.5 hours away.  Rather then going back out to the main highway I-15  the Gps took us on an inland route along a road littered with wild deer.  This was actually a little scary as many were right on the edge of the road and I had to swerve to avoid them.  We then had to drive through Zions National Park at night through zic-zac roads and mile long tunnels.  We got into St. George at midnight and have a great room with 3 double beds.  Joey did fantastic booking this place.  Enjoy the pictures.

This was a bitter sweet day.  We had such a great time with the Killpacks it was kinda hard to say goodbye.

Drew had a late start at work 11:00am so we got to spend the morning together and have breakfast.  After the massive late night the kids all had they woke at various times but we all managed to gather for family prayer just before Drew left for work.  This was special.

We lingered around their home for a couple of hours more, packing etc. before facing the reality that we had to leave and head to Provo.

I called my boss Murray Smith and asked if we could stop the night with them.  He and his wife Heidi graciously agreed.

So with Jill and the kids standing in the drive way waving goodbye we headed off.

Reversing out of their long driveway we paused at the end for one last look back and wave, I couldn't help wonder when & if we will get the opportunity to be all together as families again.  In many ways I felt a deep appreciation for the Gospel of Jesus Christ which brought our two families together and the combined faith, belief and value systems that unite us.  We would have never had met this wonderful family and great friends if it were not for the Gospel.

The drive to Provo took 4 hours and Murray and Heidi have a lovely 2 story home in Provo.  They have a large entertainment play area upstairs with pool table, table tennis etc.  Courtney slept in a lovely loft bedroom, Jodie & I got to sleep in our own room.

Murray's family were away doing other things like YM's camp etc.  Heidi took us to Panda Express for Dinner and then shopping in Walmart.

We got to sleep in a bit this night.  We took no pictures of this day.

But one of the remarkable observations for us Aussie's was Murray & Heidi house was about 500 yards to their chapel.  There whole ward was approx. two streets, and their stake was about 10 streets surrounding the chapel.  Jodie said she could live here.

The neighbourhood looked like something similar to what you would see on Desperate Houswifes.

What better way to celebrate America’s National Day then by having a rooting, tooting, shooting, rafting day. Today is the anniversary of America’s Independence Day, and also our last day at camp. We had a breakfast of fried eggs, pancakes, sausages and hamburger patties and Drew insisted that we have these all in one pile covered in lashings of maple syrup. Now to some of us Aussies and other cultures, this might sounds quite gross, but it was in fact really, very delicious. 

We then packed up and cleaned up as best we could, to head off and do some good old American style shootin. The Killpacks have quite a few different guns and we all had fun using the different types. Mostly .22 rifles, but they also had two pistols, a .357 Magnum and a World War II Barretta Pistol. We went to this little quarry to shoot at cans and bottles and boxes. Almost immediately upon pulling up another group of people, two guys and two girls, pulled up to the quarry as well to shoot their guns. Their guns were a lot meaner, a lot nastier and a lot noisier than ours. 

This proved to be a little unsettling for Jodie, Courtney, Thomas, Tamzyn and Genna as they have never really been around guns or heard guns being fired before. The .357 Magnum Pistol was our loudest gun, and Thomas’ reaction to firing this was a classic, which I captured on video. Everybody fired all the guns and Thomas is convinced that we should buy a couple of .22 rifles when we return to Australia. 

We then drove back to camp, packed up all our stuff and the camper trailer, left the camp ground and drove several miles down river. We then left the caper trailers in a parking area and blew up a large rubber, inflatable boat and three tubes. Drew had decided he was going to take us rafting and tubing down Henry’s Fork. Blowing up this boat proved quite interesting, it had five individual sections, which we blew up with the little inflatable pump that we bought in California for our air mattress. We then had to use the hand pump to finish pumping up the five sections, even though the boat felt quite inflated, Drew explained that when the boat gets on the water which is quite cold, it cools the air, therefore lowering the pressure in the boat, so we needed the hand pump to pump up the boat to the highest possible pressure. This was a bit of hard work. 

We then tied the boat and the tubes to the back of Drew’s truck and heading up to the damn wall of the lake that we camped beside and skied in. We then all set off to raft and tube down the river. Because of my hamstring, I went in a tube by myself. I think this ma have been a mistake, as the water was freezing, and as you went through the rapids they would brake over your head right into the center of the tube and into your lap. Whereas in the boat you sat higher and dryer. 

The tubes although floating freely, were tied to the rubber raft by ropes. Everybody in the boat took grate delight in splashing the people in the tubes. Thomas then decided to join me in my tube and we floated together for about a half and hour. After much coaxing, Jodie finally decided to join me in the tube, which was funny, especially when she first got in. But it was quite fun. We felt like teenagers again. We then floated to our pick up point and our hope was to pack up and head to the 4th of July parade at West Yellowstone, but rafting the river with 16 people proved to take longer than hoped. Kayden’s work was going to have a horse carriage float that we were going to sit in and participate in the parade, but unfortunately with the drive back up to West Yellowstone we would have missed the start of the parade. So we decided to drive back to Rigby to the Killpack’s home. 

I remember feeling an overwhelming sense of gratitude and found myself in a silent prayer of thanks to my heavenly father for the blessing it has been to come on this holiday with my kids and my wife and to have great friends like the Killpacks. It’s been 6 years since they’ve lived in Brisbane with us but it seems like it was just yesterday. Everybody picked up where we left off. It’s going to be hard to say goodbye to them tomorrow. Idaho is such a beautiful state. 

Even as I was driving and looking out over the lush farmland, driving past Rexburg looking at the Temple across town on the hill in many ways it’s not hard to see why scripture refers to this great land as the modern day promised land. 

What a relief it was to get back to the Killpack’s house and all the mod cons like hot showers and indoor plumbing. Drew and I organized dinner and I took the opportunity to charge my computer, all the kids cameras and the video camera. Jodie and I then did 2 loads of washing so that we could pack up and head to Utah tomorrow. Then there was a pleasant surprise. Kayden finally worked up the guts to ask Courtney out on a date and I think the person who enjoyed this the most was Drew, cause six years ago when these kids were ten, Drew used to say to us in Brisbane, “I’d love it if Courtney and Kayden would grow up and get married.” They went to see fireworks in a nearby town , rode quad bikes and watched movies. It was a fun night and I think they both had a good time. 

In fact all of the kids, the Killpacks and the O’Reillys stayed up very late watching movies, again as if it was six years ago at our usual family gatherings in Brisbane. Drew and Jill kindly gave Jodie and I their bed while they slept in the camp trailer out the front, which I think Drew really liked because the camp trailer is air-conditioned. What a great 4th of July, here are some pics below, please enjoy.

Had a really nice long night sleep in the Killpack’s camper trailer but woke up feeling sore and sorry with my torn hamstring. Everybody was up early and excited for our trip to Yellowstone and our long da in the park. We wanted to get away early but had to drop Kauden off at a vacation ranch so he could work for the day. 

We then headed off the hours drive up to Yellowstone. We got to the park early entering through West Yellowstone, a unique period type town that still resembles what America would have looked like in the frontier years.

When you first enter the park for about ten miles the trees are only about 5 to 6 feet tall, this is because in 1988 there was a massive bush fire, which destroyed nearly 1/3 of the park. These trees are now growing back. Whilst driving along the traffic suddenly backed up, not sure what was happening, or if someone was pulling over to look at wildlife, I stuck my head out the window and looked about 5, 6 cars ahead to see a giant Buffalo walking right down the middle of the road down the double yellow lines. He walked right passed our car no more than 2 or 3 feet from my window. Some of the kids were asleep in the car and mum woke Tamzyn and Courtney woke Genna who immediately upon waking up were confronted with the head of this huge Buffalo 12inches from their window. After their initial shock they thought it was pretty cool and we all laughed. 

We then drove to look and photograph the world famous Gibbon Waterfall on the Gibbon River. The car park is located above the falls and once again I lugged all the gear, tripod, filters and camera some 600feet to the best vantage point to photograph. Walking downhill is not so bad with my injury, but walking uphill is a killer. Thankfully, Thomas, Jodie and the girls all helped and offered to carry my equipment. Drew was also a big help. We then jumped in our cars to drive to the Norris Geyser area; we couldn’t find a parking spot so crowded is the park so we decided to move on.

A short time later there was a lot of cars pulled off to the side of the road and easily 100 people standing in the field. Drew came back to our car and said, “there some be some Bull Elk up there for so many people to be stopped and looking.” So we rushed forward found a park on the opposite side of the road and looked across to see three magnificent, mature Bull Elk in the field across the stream. Two were grazing and one was sitting in the shade looking at all these people taking pictures. We all walked across to the very edge of the stream and took a few initial shots. 

Fortunately I had my 70-200 photo lens on and my 2x tele-converter, this basically means I had a 400 ml lens on the front of my camera which enabled me to zoom in really close. I bought the kids Nikon compact digital cameras and on downloading Thomas’ pictures later I was surprised by how great some of the shots he and they took with their little cameras. We then decided to follow the stream around the bend to get closer to the Elk as they were moving away from us. That is when we saw this beautiful big Bull Elk sitting in the shade chewing on his cud. He would’ve been no more than 50feet from where we were standing on the opposite side on the stream. All three of these Elk had sensationally large antlers, which you will see in the photos below. While Jodie and the kids stayed by the stream, I dodgy hamstring and all, decided to climb over some fallen trees and follow the other two Elk into a thicket of trees. 

I lost one of them so I just concentrated on photographing the one I could see as it razed and eventually made it’s way into another small stream. When to my surprise while looking at the back of my camera to check exposure, I saw out of the side of my eye some movement. I turned around to see the other Bull Elk no more than 20feet away from me. Looking at me intently through the trees. He then stood there as if fully cognizant of what I was doing, seemingly posing for my pictures. It’s hard to describe the emotion I was feeling, observing and shooting one of God’s magnificent creations in its natural habitat. It is kind of planted in me a desire to do more wildlife photography. 

It then suddenly occurred to me that if this Bull Elk decided to dislike my presence and charge me, I wouldn’t stand a chance because with my gammy hammy, there is no way I would’ve been able to side step, avoid or run away from him. 

We would have spent 30-45mins in this environment, just observing nature at its best. Back over where Jodie and the kids were, Courtney with her terrific Canon was taking some great shots of her own and took a lovely shot of mum in front of the stream with the Bull Elk sitting in the shade on the opposite side. Tamzyn came and found me and with a whispered yell told me the other Elk that was previously sitting in the shade was now on his feet and in the open sunlight. I walked back and it was as if all the elements had aligned, he was easily the largest of the three Elk with the larger antler rack. 

The sunlight was falling on him perfectly and I’m pleased to say some of the best photos I’ve ever taken were the ones I’ve taken of this magnificent creature  (some of these pics are included below.) Yellowstone is an incredible place. 

We then drove to a place known as the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, a magnificent Yellow and sandstone colored Canyon carved out by the river. From its vantage point you could look straight up the river to a magnificent set of waterfalls. Once again I had my tripod and all me gear and lenses and had set up and was photography away when a nice young man from China came and asked if he could use my lens, filters and tripod and attach his camera body to take pictures of the falls. I found myself giving him a photography lesson, his mother and grandmother were with him and they kept talking to me in Chinese like I knew what they were saying, and I could tell by there finger pointing and gesturing, they were telling me the best way to photography the falls. He took down my e-mail address and sent me later on in the afternoon a really nice e-mail, thanking me for teaching him. 

We then stopped for out lunch and had another Bull Elk walk through our picnic area and proceed across the road through traffic and into the forest on the other side. These animals seem completely at ease amongst cars, people and technology. We then left lunch and were going to drive to Mammoth Springs, Brian and Nicole, Drew’s sister and husband left first just a couple of minutes before Drew and us. AS we were driving up the road we saw Brian pull off to the side of the road, this was the beginning of an absolutely sensational experience and the highlight of our visit to Yelowstone. 

As we both pulled in behind Brian, Drew came back to my window and mentioned that there was a Black Bear seated behind a tree up on the hill approx.. 80-100 feet up the hill from the side of the road. We were standing there with just a few other people when we were confronted by the park ranger in his truck, yelling on his P.A for us to return to our vehicles, he was also telling other traffic, “DO NOT STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD!” He then spoke out his window to Drew, myself and Thomas and told us that we were within 100feet of the Bear and to return to our vehicles. Jodie jumped in the driver seat and I sat in the passenger seat with my long lens and tried to take photos. This was extremely difficult because of the angle. Courtney then came up with the great idea, and yelled out, “Dad, why don’t you take pictures from the sunroof?” which was a fantastic tip. So I was kneeling on the front seat with my head out of the sunroof clicking away when we noticed the Bear had two cubs with her. 

Then, as Jodie was reversing up very slowly, I was kneeling on my seat looking out the sunroof towards the back of the car, when the park ranger pulled up along side and through his P.A, yelled at me to put my seatbelt on. Needless to say, I was getting pretty annoyed by this stage, when to out combined delight the bear stood up and walked out from behind the tree. Of course her cubs followed her and we managed to get some fantastic shots (see below.) It was really and exhilarating experience as I guess it’s every ones dream to come to Yellowstone and see a Bear. So to see a mother and cubs was just phenomenal. Earlier, Drew came to the window and said, “Well, here’s your bear.” I had mentioned to him earlier that I wanted to see Elk, Moose and Bear, and I think the poor bloke felt a little bit of pressure to provide me with this experience. 

We then drove down the road no more then two miles and saw another bear playing in the field. He was much further away, maybe up to 200fet, but you could tell that he was a good size. A ranger had parked nearby and I was talking to him about it, he felt that this Bear was part of a mating pair, quite possibly paired up with the Sow that we had just saw. Drew was so excited to come and talked to us and tell us that he had given us two bear experiences. All of us adults and kids, it’s fair to say, were equally excited. Then we just stood and observed this bear, before heading off to Mammoth Springs. Mammoth Springs was an interesting place, a small township within the heart of Yellowstone National Park. It had a large hotel and resort, visitors center, all heritage sandstone and rock buildings. Hundreds of Elk stroll through this settlement, grazing on the lush green lawns, and you can get as close to maybe 10 or 15feet of these creatures. There was an extremely high wind here and throughout the afternoon, which made walking and photography difficult. 

The springs themselves were quite large and covered a large geographical area, in fact it would take 2hrs to walk along all the board walks to observe the whole area. The springs are caused by water, sulfur and calcium being pushed to the surface through volcanic pressure, cause the most unusual of formations when they reach the surface and cool down. Providing many interesting terrace formations and moon-like landscape. 

We then decided we would head back over to Norris, view the geysers and as it was getting quite late in the day, we decided we would eat dinner in West Yellowstone in some authentic frontier town restaurant. It was approaching 8:00pm at night and the sun was still quite high in the sky, in fact what has been really unusual for us to get used to is just how bright t is so late at night. We found a restaurant called The Three Bears and it was like eating in a large log cabin. In the foyer area they had three stuffed bears to welcome guests (see pics below.) We then headed back to the campsite after dark, tired, yet blown away by a really great day.

After a fairly long day at  Yellowstone yesterday  we all had a rest day so to speak and stayed down at the campsite, which is right next to a beautiful man made lake.  This area is like any of those Summer Camp movies you might see in the movies.  Large log cabins right on the lake with little docks or jetty's with holiday makers boats tied up to them.  Sort of like an inland Gold Coast canal estate. These are mostly holiday homes and some of them Drew tells me would be worth a $million dollars plus.

Drew organised for his dad to bring his boat up  and we had a great day tubing and water skiing.  The kids loved it.  A funny thing happened while tubing, as I have lost a little weight my board shorts (swimmers) don't fit me anymore, they are a little big.  Well when it was my turn on the tube.  (see Attached pics)  after a couple of minutes the speed of the boat & tube caused my shorts to slide off right to my ankles.  I then had to ride the rest of the ride with me knees bent so my ankles were in the air just to keep my shorts on.  Luckly I had my skins (training shorts) on so I wasn't mooning all of Northern Idaho.  But Drew's dad did do a couple of laps close to shore so everyone could see what had happened.  It was pretty funny.

Jodie peeled back the years and got straight on on the ski's and Courtney was a natural too.  She got straight up.  Both felt a little sore over the next 2 days as they had not used those muscles before too much.  Unfortunately for me I tore my hamstring while pulling myself up on the ski's.  Hamstrings injuries are no stranger to me, but this one was quite bad.  the worst I have done actually so it will make the next week or so very uncomfortable.

We cam back to camp and Drew baked and incredible Dutch Oven camp dinner with roast chicken, baked potato, cherry pie and ice cream.

I crashed out first around 10:00pm, I rubbed plenty of essential oils on my hammy and I guess the aroma knocked me out.  I can't sit in camp chairs too painful on the hammy,  so I stand mostly.  Can't move too suddenly etc.  I wonder how I'll go walking around yellowstone tomorrow.

Here are some pics of the day on the lake.  Enjoy.

After driving up to Idaho after the Young Living Farm Day.  We arrived late at our friends The Killpacks.  Their family had already left the day before to go camping at Buttermilk Camp ground in Island Park Idaho.  It is about 50 miles from Yellowstone National Park.  Drew came back down to Rigby to meet us and we stayed over night at their house

Little did we know what a great time was going to be in-store for us over the next three days.  We woke early this morning had breakfast and started the drive north, about an hour and 15mins north to the camp ground.  On the way we drove through Rexburg Idaho the home of BYU Idaho & the Rexburg Temple.  It is a really lovely town and college campus with the temple sitting prominent on the hill above the campus and town.  Courtney was so impressed she even mentioned she would like to go to college here.

We arrived at the camp ground. Which is just like you'd imaging an American campground to look like.  Lot's of R.V.'s around and camper trailers.  Not that we were complaining coz the Killpacks lets us sleep in theirs which was really comfortable.

We had a quick bite to eat then headed up to Yellowstone.  This was one of the places I wanted to visit and photograph for years.  What ever I say here will not do it justice.  It was everything I thought it would be and more!!!!

The 1st thing that hits you is the shear size.  The park is huge.  In fact the whole are is in the mouth of a large extinct volcano.  Hence all the geysers and syzemic activity.  The wildlife was spectacular and the weather was just beautiful a perfect day for photography.  Of course if you have come all this way you want to shoot it right.  I think the Killpacks were surprised when i pulled out the camera, tripod, filters etc at some of the more scenic spots.

It is 4th of July weekend here so the park was packed.  Thousands of cars and people  you could always tell if there was some wildlife ahead as there would be heaps of cars parked off the side of the road.

Our 1st wild life interaction was with some female Elk, frolicking in the river.  When them went and photo'd some natural wonders geysers and pools etc.  The smell of sulphur was a bit on the nose, but everyone seemed to cope.  We came across a herd of Bison and their pic are included here too.  On the drive out of the park we saw some more female elk up close this time and I snapped a couple.

We drove back to camp earlyish and Drew cooked and awesome evening meal.

Here are some of the pics enjoy.  I have so much to write I just can't get enough time.

Please note that I have compressed these files really small to fit this site so some of the colour and image quality has been compromised.

Today is officially the last day of The Young Living International Convention."  This involved over 3,000 people converging on our Lavendar Farm in Mono Utah which is approximately 50 miles south of Salt Lake City.

Our owner Gary Young is passionate about his farms and has managed to mix his hobbies in with this farm.  The is a Medieval Village a wild west country town.  Today he put on shows for both genres and them finished with a Sawyer Brown Concert  against a stunning sunset back drop.

We left and drove to Rigby Idaho to visit the Kilpacks some friends who lived in our ward in Australia 6 years ago.  Tomorrow we head up to Yellowstone national Park to camp for 3 days.

Tamzyn has a life long dream fulfilled by getting to ride the Kilpacks horse.  She loves horses and her enthusiasm and delight was contagious so all the family had to have a turn.  Here are some pics.

This was a fun and fulling day.  We all woke a little late at 9:00am, I guess we just needed the sleep as it has been a flat out week.

I had some free time so the family took a tour of the new conference centre here in SLC and went to the top of the Church Administration Building.  This was my 1st time to tour the conference centre and it was quite spectacular.  I had done the top of the administration building before but today was the weather was great for photos.

Back for Convention proper and the afternoon session was with Bob Proctor "Author of the Secret"  he also produced the movie.  This was one of if not the best self help sessions I have ever attended.  The company graciously arranged a photo op for all the International G.M's which was great.

We put the kids into Kid's camp for 3 hours.  I think Genna and Tammy loved it.  Thomas and Courtney not so much.  But they got to mingle with some of the kids of the other distributors from the USA and made some friends.

We came back to the hotel to get all frocked up for D.Gary Young Foundation dinner and auction.  This was a fun night with items auctioned to raise funds for the Foundation in Ecuador where Young Living has built a school close to it's farm.

The Simpsons (Diamond Leaders from Aust)  and me representing corporate office Australia started bidding on a 1 hour conference call with Gary for some distributors.
I got Genna to stand up on her chair and be the bidder  she had a blast!!!!!  I have included some photo's here of that.  We won the bid with $7000.  We will then use this as a promotion in Australia and hopefully raise more money for the foundation.

We then left and came back to the hotel to pack as tomorrow we have the farm day and then we drive to Rigby Idaho to meet our friends the Kilpacks and go camping in Yellowstone.