Yellowstone-/JH-Day 4

The boys got an early start the next morning. They headed out with a guide to do some river trout fishing.

Anthony had the biggest catch!

While the boys were fishing, we went into town to do some shopping and bakery perusing. 

 

Jackpot!

The boys came home and we spent the rest of the evening hanging around the house. We were so blessed to get to stay in such a beautiful home!

Preparing the fish for dinner

We ended the day with a great dinner and a game of "Farkle."

Yellowstone/JH- Day 3

On our last day in the park, we saw some of Yellowstone's most famous hydrothermal features. The morning was cool, so everywhere you looked there was steam rising up from underground hot water.

There are so many amazing sights in the Lower and Upper Geyer Basins. The colors in these "paint pots" are so vivid. It is like nothing you will ever see anywhere else! These pots contain water and minerals that can be above boiling.  We kept a tight hand on Coop as we walked on the narrow boardwalks.

Even the steam rising above the paint pots was beautiful!

The last stop in our Yellowstone adventure was at Old Faithful. It is certainly the most famous of the park's attractions. It wasn't too crowded or hot, so we stopped and ate a quick lunch while we waited for it to "go off."

The Old Faithful Inn is the most majestic of Yellowstone's man-made structures- but it couldn't compare to the workmanship of the Almighty in the park.

Inside Old Faithful Inn

Inside Old Faithful Inn

We had such a memorable, even spiritual, time in Yellowstone, but we were ready to settle down and be in one place for a few days. We made our way back into the mountain oasis of Jackson. Aside from the Tetons themselves, the town's most interesting features are the elk horn arches placed at each corner of the town sqaure. These arches are made of horns collected by Boy Scouts on the nearby Elk Refuge. 

The town has a great square and numerous art galleries, boutiques and souvenir shops. Plenty of shopping for anyone, no matter your interests, budget or taste.

Yellowstone/JH- Day 2

We started Day 2 with one of the more ambitious hikes in the park. Yellowstone has a Grand Canyon that very few know about. The walls have a yellow tint to them, which led to the naming of the park by some of its first American explorers. There are several different places to look out over the canyon, river and its beautiful waterfalls. Even mother-to-be, Allison, and 3 year old Cooper kept up!

Coop wasn't as happy as we were. He knew we were going to have to go back up all 328 of the steps we'd just come down.

After our trek back up to the car, we encountered this big guy on the road. He had two large friends with him, and they weren't the least bit concerned about us. 

We got to another lookout location and caught this beautiful rainbow.

We made our way around to the north entrance to the park in a little town called Gardner, Montana. I love this entrance gate. There are pictures of Teddy Roosevelt in front of this spectacular site and not far from here is a lodge named after the former president.

As we headed around to the west entrance, we got stuck in a terrible traffic jam. In Yellowstone that normally means there's something great to see! Chris, Anthony and I decided get out of the car and walk until we saw what was holding everyone up. We got just about a third of a mile when we saw this large herd of bison making their way down both sides of the highway. We decided to wait on the side of the hill until they passed- we didn't much like the idea of turning our backs on these large animals. Thankfully, they all moved to the other side of the road and we were able to drive along next to them. The poor people behind them were stuck for 3 and a half hours!

In the town of West Yellowstone, we found a quaint cafe with homemade pie. It was exactly what we all needed after a long day!

 

Our last stop of the day was at a reserve that housed grizzlies and wolves that had been rescued from the park. This bear was saved after his mother had to be euthanized by Park Rangers after she killed two hikers.

Yellowstone/JH- Day 1

For about a year, we have been planning our trip to Yellowstone and Jackson Hole. Chris and I made this trip 9 years ago on our honeymoon, and Allison and Anthony experienced it a few years back also. I will really excited for my parents to spend an extended time here for the first time. 

We got to the airport at 4:15 am....

Coop wasn't so sure what to think about this early morning. 

Dad couldn't pass up the airport chapel on this Sunday morning. 

Two peas in a pod

We flew into Jackson Airport, which has to be one of the most beautiful in the world. It is right at the base of the Grand Tetons. After getting our luggage and stopping for a few photo ops, we headed on to Yellowstone.

It's a short drive from Jackson to Yellowstone. We got there by early afternoon. We saw some wonderful waterfalls and spent some time exploring Lake Yellowstone before heading to our cabins for the night.

Just after we got unpacked, we looked up and saw this very large visitor roaming behind our cabin. 

After dinner, we went out to watch for wolves (we didn't see any) at one of their favorite feeding spots.

I just love these two.

Our first day was long and so wonderful.