Saturday, August 1, 2009

A Fast Last Two Days

After Scott and Jennifer’s arrival and quick tour of the North Loop on Wednesday, we had only two days left to work in everything they wanted to do. Besides seeing Yellowstone, one of the main things Jennifer wanted to do was go to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. So, she had Thursday planned. We decided that we would go through the park and out the South entrance of Yellowstone and into Jackson instead of going all the way around to Ashton and across the pass. Wrong decision…we just thought there was no

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construction. It was this way for 8 miles. And, every time we thought we were on the way…

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there was more. Finally, we got out of Yellowstone

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and we just knew we were on our way, but over this hill

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was yes…more construction. We just thought that going this way was the better choice…but we will surely not come back this way. I guess that when you only have a short window of summer these guys have to work during tourist season…so we won’t blame them too much for the inconvenience.

Besides we were quit entertained by

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Jennifer, Andrew, and Lauren. And, I think

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these two have lost it.

But, finally, no more construction and we were on our way and soon we rounded a corner to find

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Jackson Lake and The Grand Tetons, which meant that Jackson Hole was not far away.

We stopped

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to get a good picture of the Tetons and were able to catch a glimpse of

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this moose close to the lake. We did get that picture

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of the mountains as well.

We all loaded back in the car and no stopping until Jackson Hole. We have things to do like finding a place for lunch. Jennifer wanted to eat some place she doesn’t get to eat at home….so we chose this

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deli. We all place our order, and

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waited for them to call our name, which didn’t take too long. This is what

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Poppa ordered. He is busy eating the other half!

When we finished lunch, we were off for the highlight of the day. Jennifer had planned for all of us to take a little boat ride…or

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should I say an exciting boat ride. Yes, she had booked us for a white water rafting trip that would take us down the Snake River. So, we all dressed in our wet suits, jumped on the bus for the 45 minute trip to the river. There we got our life vest, our paddles, and a little instruction. And, we are off with our guide, Owen for our 8 mile trip down the Snake River. Of, course, no camera…I am too busy paddling the boat along with the 7 others in our raft. But, never fear, there was a cameraman along side the river that took our picture and as soon as I get it, I will scan it and post it.

However, just let me say this in the absence of the picture….WOW, what a ride.

Thanks Scott and Jennifer for a fun adventure.

Once we were back to town, it was time for dinner and we choose Billy’s Burgers. Once again, with our tummy’s full, we were off for a little more adventure. We headed to the alpine slide, where Pop decided he would just be the photographer…He got us

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going up the ski lift, and

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getting off the ski lift. And then, he got us

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coming

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down

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as our carts

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would get us drive!

Okay, it is time to go back to town for a little

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window shopping and a little

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shirt shopping. I mean, you can’t come on vacation without taking home a shirt or two. And, of course all that shopping makes one hungry…so

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ice cream was in order.

As we continued to make our way around the town square….we came upon this group in the park advertising a new way to exercise. With the help of Scott and Andrew,

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Jennifer and

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Lauren tried it out.

And, with the day drawing to a close, we made our way out of the park, but not before one last

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family pose before leaving

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a really fun place.

It was almost midnight when we returned to West Yellowstone. And, as we said our good nights, the kids said, don’t call us…we’ll call you!

Even though this was going to be our last day, we just took it easy. After a late breakfast, we did a little last minute shopping in town, grabbed a light lunch and headed to the park to take Scott and Jennifer to see the Upper and Lower Falls. This was our third trip to see the falls, but, we had to take them to see what has become one of our favorite areas. And, how beautiful it was today. On the way down, we were stopped by a park ranger who was watching

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this sleeping bear just up on the hillside from the walkway. We stopped for a quick photo and then were on our way on down to the overlook of the

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falls. And, today, as they fell to the canyon floor, they made this

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beautiful rainbow on the canyon walls. What a great last view of the area. And, soon, it was time to head back to the top as…

Scott and Jennifer had one last treat for the weekend. They made reservations to stay at

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Old Faithful Inn.

This morning, which is Saturday, they will be coming by the RV Park to pick up Andrew and Lauren before heading to Salt Lake City to catch a flight back home.

We will then be loading up and leaving West Yellowstone. Our destination is Idaho Falls where we will catch back up with Jim and Ellie to continue on with our big Pacific Northwest Adventure.

What a great last few weeks this has been. We have enjoyed being able to have the kids and grandkids with us to share in this great time we have had in Yellowstone. We hope you have all enjoyed it as much as we have.

Thanks to Kate who made it possible for everyone to get to fly to meet up with Mop and Pop, even as trying as it was on you all. LOL….next summer, we will pick a place with a major hub!

Thanks Scott, Jennifer, Greg, and Kate for sharing your children with us. We have loved every minute of the time we have spent with them.

And, to each of you that read our blog, we hope that we have shared just a little bit of Yellowstone with you.

7 comments:

  1. We are ready for our trip back to Yellowstone. Thanks for the great pictures, did you wake the bear up on your way out? I know the kids had a great time, well the grand kids too.

    Stay Safe

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  2. We are so glad you guys enjoyed Yellowstone Park so much! See you soon.

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  3. What a wonderful time we've all had...Many more to come...See you soon....Jim & Ellie

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  4. Looks like so much fun. Tell everyone we said Hi

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  5. Looks like you had a great time with your family! I'm sure the memories will last a lifetime! Stay Safe :-)

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  6. It was just great following along with you. We were at the Tetons a few summers ago and also had a little trip down the Snake River. It is so beautiful. Havent toured Yellowstone yet, so that is something to look forward to. Now we know all the places not to miss. Thanks..

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  7. Thanks for giving us such a great tour of the area. We know what we'll be doing when we finally get there.

    Take care, friend.

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