Jurassic Park Adventure

You remember the movie!? Well, we got to have our own little Jurassic Park adventure when Katelynn and I went on a field trip earlier this week.

Monday morning was the awards ceremony at school and Katelynn received a certificate for having all A's again. She's such a good student and loves school! Following the ceremony we had to beat feet out of school for her field trip. Course, as we are getting ready for school that morning, it is literally POURING outside and I'm doing a little kicking and screaming on the inside about that! No time for Starbucks either! Bummer!! We were supposed to be at Northwest Trek by 10:00 so we had enough time to catch the 10:30 tram. Needless to say, the class was late since the award ceremony ran long. They held the tram for us though. That was nice of them.

I think we were the first tram out. There was a park truck a way's in front of us and they were feeding the animals so the animals were all out right next to the tram. We got to see Big Horn Sheep, Bison with their new babies, Moose, Trumpeter Swans, Mountain Goats, and Blacktail Deer. It was so cool! But then...

About halfway through our ride, we heard a loud bang. The tram driver thought someone must have shut their window too hard. I thought maybe we just hit one of the Roosevelt Elk that we just past. They took off running from the noise. Another mom thought maybe the tram just back fired. Hmmm...

Shortly thereafter, the tram starts smoking and then it abruptly stops. The driver asks us to remain in the tram. More smoke starts coming from the engine and is now entering the front tram car which Katelynn and I are sitting in. The tram is now starting to smell because of all the smoke billowing inside. It's starting to get hazy inside now. A mother at the front of the tram and the children in her care are ready to get off the tram! We are thinking the same thing. We need to get out of here! The driver cannot get the doors open but is telling us to get off the tram now. One of the girls in my care says to me with wide eyes and looking a little pale, "What about the animals?!?" I can tell she is worried that we could be in danger from them. I assure her that they are more afraid of us than we are of them as I am wondering to myself, "Are there any Lynx or Bears out here?" Course, I missed that little part at the start of the tour stating that there are no meat eaters on the tram tour since it was so loud with all the chatter and excitement. Duh!? You really think they are gonna send a bunch of 3rd graders out into the forest with meat eaters!?! We'll chalk that up to a blond moment!

We finally are able to get the door open and then calmly but quickly make our way to the second and third cars of the tram while we await for another tram to transport us back. Eventually (about 20-30 minutes later!) they send out another tram to get us back to the park. Needless to say, we did not have as much time to spend seeing all of the other animals but we got to have a great adventure!