Busy Days In Yellowstone

Sorry it has taken me a few days to journal, but we have been busy around here, plus the wifi has been a little slow to post. So, let’s try to catch up…it is a little long, but I hope you enjoy our last several days…

After going non-stop on Tuesday and Wednesday making both the North and South Loop through the park...I needed a little catch up time so…

Thursday, we hung out at the RV for most of the morning and actually finished getting everything set up and organized. After lunch, we headed to downtown West Yellowstone for a little shopping spree. Later, we grilled out…a great dinner and then I made my way to the laundry with all the dirty clothes! And before bedtime, I made the grocery list.

Friday was going to be a big day. Mark and I headed to Idaho Falls, about 100 miles from here. We made stops at Sam’s Club, Wal Mart, and several other small stores. We also stopped in at the Snake River RV Park to alter and confirm our reservations for our next stop in a couple of weeks. We had a great lunch and then it was time to make connections with Greg and Kate, who were flying into Jackson Hole, WY with Andrew, Lauren, and Zachary, our three travelers. This would be a turn around flight for Greg and Kate, so we decided to drive half way from Rexburg to Jackson Hole to meet them and pick up the kids. On the way over, we were able to get this

late evening shot of the Grand Tetons.

We met up with the kids in the little town of Driggs, loaded up the grand kids and luggage…said our good-byes to Greg and Kate, so they could head back to Jackson Hole for the return trip to Fort Worth. And, we started our trek back to Lions Head. We arrived here at the RV Park around 11 pm. Needless to say, none of us had a hard time going to sleep.

This morning after a good nights sleep we were up and ready to make a plan for the day. Even though this was a free weekend in the park (Yellowstone), and we didn’t know how crowded it would be, the kids were still ready to go. So, we loaded the cooler with water, bagged up our snacks, and headed out.

Of course, we had to stop

for the official picture. Welcome to Yellowstone!

Since today was a free admissions day, we found that

lots of others wanted to enjoy the park as well.

Our first stop was to check on the

baby eagle, who seems to be growing everyday.

Next, we traveled around the road to the meadow where the

elk hang out. And, there they were trying to cool off on this warm day.

Laruen and Zachary thought

they could get a better look with the binoculars.

After this stop, we decided to make our way on around to the

geysers at Firehole River. The colors on the geyser beds

were just beautiful today. We stopped along the way

for a science lesson to learn about geysers. We saw some people walking on far side of the geyser beds and made note so we could come back to this area for a day of hiking.

Next stop…

We were just in time to get to see the eruption, which wasn’t a very big one. Better luck next time. We took a little time to shop in the gift store, but it was way too crowded and we were hungry, so we decided to make our way back to town.

While on our way back to town, we talked about hiking and walking and climbing rocks, and Andrew and Lauren decided they would need some different shoes, while Zachary said his shoes would work just great. So we made a stop in town to do a little hiking shoe shopping!

Andrew’s new shoes…just like Poppa’s and

Lauren’s new shoes, almost like Moppa’s.

Wow…now we are all ready for that hike!

After our shopping spree, we settled in back at the RV Park where we are planning to cook out this evening. Doug and Joann are here for a couple of days and are joining us for dinner. In fact, everyone is starting to gather so I think I will conclude my writing for today and join the festivities out by the campfire, where I found Jim offering Andrew

a taste of buffalo meat. He took it, but a little hesitant. He then had two burgers, so I guess he liked it.

I really like it and it is more lean than chicken. Not sure how long we will be able to get buffalo meat, so we are going to enjoy it while we can.

We had a really enjoyable evening and…

What a pleasure it was to get to meet Doug and Joann yet another couple that we have followed along as they travel. Safe travels to you both and we hope to see you again along the way.

It is now Sunday, and we decided to take a drive up the the Lamar Valley where we hoped to find some wildlife. We started out and as usual we had to check in on the

baby eagle. And, yes there he was sitting out watching all of us watch him. LOL

Then we were off for our planned adventure. We made our first stop atop Mount Washburn where

kids stopped for this picture.

We wanted to hike on up to the Ranger Fire Lookout Tower, but it started to rain, so we will make that trip another day. We were on about our way, when we saw

this big guy making his way across the road. And, yes he does have the right away! Once we were passed the buffalo, we

looked across the valley and we looked

way up high, but we weren’t having much luck finding too much wildlife. So, we decided to find the next picnic park and stop for lunch…So, Poppa found

just the spot...right by the river.

Lauren said

lunch tastes better when you are eating outside! And,

Andrew and Zachary just wanted to hurry and eat so they could walk on the trail beside the river. They had a really good time...but, what little boys and girls

don’t like to skip rocks on the water.

We also would like to thank the little ground squirrels

for letting us share their home with us for lunch.

As we were leaving the picnic area, someone told us they had seen a black bear back down the road a little ways. So we were all in the car and off to find the bear. We drove back down the road and soon found several cars parked beside the road. We asked, and yes the bear had been spotted, but had gone off into the brush. However, we decided to take

a look for ourselves…but we couldn’t find him. But, we looked and looked and looked and finally spotted him way across the meadow. Too small for my camera to catch, but Ellie could see him

with the binoculars.

He finally came out enough that

Poppa and Zachary tried to see him through the camera lens. Not really much luck this time.

So, it was

back in the car to see what else we could find. And, it

was a Petrified Tree. Here is a little description, just in case you don’t really know what a Petrified Tree is…and

here is the tree.

From here, it began to

rain…so we decided to head home. But, what another great day this has been.

Once we were back at the RV Park, Ellie and I put together a little bit of this and little bit of that and fed the multitudes. The kids went out to run and play around the RV Park while I cleaned up the dishes and picked up around the RV. Now, it is time for me to round them up for showers and to to settle in for the evening. I am sure we will be up early in the morning and off for a new adventure.