Wow…What A Weekend

Kate and Greg were to arrive on Thursday, but could not get a flight out of Dallas for love nor money! So, they took an early morning flight on Friday to Phoenix, had a 2 hour layover and then boarded a plane for Salt Lake City. Upon arrival in Salt Lake, they rented a car and drove to West Yellowstone. They arrived here around 5:30 pm.

After dinner, we went into town to find their hotel, checked in, and the kids wanted to take a swim. We confirmed our plan for Saturday, which Zachary had already laid out as to how and what he wanted them to see. We made our way back to the RV Park for a quick night’s sleep….

Wow…it is 5:30 am. already? I was up, showered, and dressed so Mark and the kids could get up, get ready, have breakfast, and be back in town to pick up Kate, Greg, and Zachary by 8:00 am. Then we were off for a day in the park!

Of, course, Zachary had to show his parents the one spot that always hangs us up every time we go into the park…and sure enough,

there she was…watching out

for that baby in the nest. Wow…look how much he has grown in a couple of weeks.

Now, that we are past the eagle, we make good time getting through the construction zone and we are on our way.

Next stop was

for Kate to jump out of the car, go across the street, and try to get a picture of the elk that was hiding in the trees. She got the picture of the elk. I got the picture of her.

A little ways down the road, we introduced Kate and Greg to their first

geyser and steam vents. This morning, they were really showing off and

it was stinky deluxe!

And, if we didn’t have enough there…we went on to

show them

the bubbly paint pots. Lauren and Zachary wonder

why they have to be quite so smelly! They say….time to move on.

On, our way back down the trail we saw

these pretty little blue flowers growing out of this log. Looks like something my mom would have in her backyard. We also enjoyed

this view from the top of the paint pots.

Now, with everyone loaded back in the “Tour Jeep”, we were off to theVirginia Cascades. This was just a short drive off of the main road…and a first time for all of us.

Greg thought he

would try to get a better look! Then the kids thought that looked like fun, but

they stopped on the edge for their picture.

All of the water falls we have seen here in the park are beautiful, but to me there is none that compares to our next stop at the

Upper and

Lower Falls, as they tumble into what is known as the

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. This view is from the lookout at Artist Point. Well, I wish I could just spend the afternoon here, but we must be on our way, but not before one last picture for Zachary to remember this day with

with his parents.

Lunch was next on the agenda. We drove around to our favorite spot by the Upper Falls. We enjoyed our picnic as usual. After lunch, the kids took Kate

on a hike

down to the river, where again

Greg thought he would get a better look and

Lauren and Zachary thought they would do a little climbing.

Old Faithful is next on our list, but first we were stopped by

this buffalo. Picture time….then,

this Bull Elk and a

White Tail Buck were in the same field.

Now, maybe we can get to Old Faithful…once we arrived, we learned that it had just gone off, so we treated ourselves to cold drinks and ice cream in the lodge while we waited for the next eruption time. About 5 minutes before, we

all went outside to get the perfect spot and wait for

Old Faithful to once again live up to her name.

The next attraction on Zachary’s list was the

Mid Level Geyer Basin, which never seems to amaze me with the colors you can see.

Well, this it getting late afternoon and we still have another stop to make. Zachary has left this one to last. It is at

the falls off of Firehole Canyon Drive. This is were the kids needed to show Kate and Greg how they can

hike down the rocks. Of course, Greg was right behind them and

he thought he would get a little closer look at the falls.

Then, the kids

decided they wanted a a closer look too. Okay, you guys, Moppa says it is time to

come back up to the top.

This was our last stop in the park…and it was time to head back to town. We had dinner in town and did a little shopping before dropping Kate, Greg, and Zachary off at the hotel.

Zachary, Poppa and I loved spending time with you. I hope you had a great time, and I hope you enjoyed sharing the day in Yellowstone showing your mom and dad through the park!

This morning, Kate, Greg, and Zachary stopped by the RV Park on their way back to Salt Lake City to catch a flight back to DFW.

Today, has been a do nothing day for the rest of us. Jim grilled out at lunch time and then later in the afternoon we decided to take a drive into town where we did a little shopping. A rain with a little hail in it came through so we took shelter in the ice cream parlor. LOL When the rain let up, we took a ride out to Beaver Pond to look for moose, but no luck.

Tomorrow will be Jim and Ellie’s last day in West Yellowstone, so we are going to make one more trip into the park with them. They will be traveling to Idaho Falls on Tuesday. We are staying here in West Yellowstone, as Scott and Jennifer will be flying in on Tuesday to spend the rest of the week with us. Then we will join Jim and Ellie on August 1.

So, see you all tomorrow for another adventure from the park.