Friends and Family

This morning we finished up routine chores.  Ellie was scheduled to have some blood work done, so she left early to get to the lab before breakfast.  She was back almost before we got our eyes open!

Mark worked on some left over laundry from yesterday, while I took care of some things here in the motor home.  With all of these chores done, the four of us decided to go grab some lunch.  We then made a stop by a restaurant supply store where we found a few items we thought we couldn’t live without.  Then it was off to Wal Mart for groceries.

Once we were back to the motor homes, groceries put away, it was time to think about the plan for the evening.  We loaded up the

jeep with the ice chest, watermelon, chips, dips, and

lawn chairs.  We were headed over to Ellie’s nephew and niece’s

house.  We had been invited over this evening for a cookout.  Ellie’s sister, Ann, and her husband, Bob, and other family members were to arrive today from Colorado Springs for a visit.  They arrived shortly after we did.  Glad you guys had a safe trip.

We all gathered in the

back yard where Bill was busy cooking brats and hamburgers.  We were enjoying the food and the outdoors when a big wind came up and caused us

to have to quickly put away the tents and take the food inside.  It looked as if we were going to get

wet as well, but the rain stayed away.  We continued our visit outside until it was time to say good night.

Thanks, Bill and Rhonda for the invitation to dinner and for opening up your lovely home.  Thanks Ellie and Jim for including us in your family time.  It was a real treat to get to meet everyone.

Big City Business

You know after you have been in the wilderness from South Dakota to Montana to Wyoming, it is nice to be in the big city for a few days.

So today, Ellie and I left Mark and Jim at the RV Park to do the laundry and we headed out for big city business.  We headed straight to the mall where we both got pedicures.  I found a place to get a haircut and we did a little shopping at JC Penney’s and Macy’s.

When we got back home, the guys headed out to Home Depot for a few items.  Ellie and I put together a late lunch and then we all decided to make a run to Sam’s for things we will be needing along the way.

Tomorrow we will be making a trip to Wal Mart to stock up on all the things we didn’t get at Sam’s. We wanted to get all of our shopping behind us since Ellie’s sister and family will be in town for the next few days.  In addition to all the visiting, we will also be getting things together for our departure on Thursday to Glacier National Park and no more big cities for a couple of weeks. LOL

Round Two In Jackson Hole, WY

Yesterday we made the move to Idaho Falls to the

Snake River RV Park without any problem.  We were soon settled into our

site.  Jim was worried that we couldn’t get out with the satellite, but there was no problem.  We are set to go for the next several days.

It wasn’t long before

Jim had lunch under control.  He was grilling chicken and mushrooms, while Ellie had made salad, rice with hoppin john, and berry shortcake for dessert.  YUMMY…

After a great lunch, we all decided to take a ride down to the

river walk here in town.  We enjoyed the view and had fun

watching all the ducks and geese.

Then it was back to the RV Park were we just enjoyed sitting out in the cool of the evening.  We talked about what we were going to do today.  The decision was made that we would go to Jackson Hole.

So…here we are to Sunday morning, and we are all up and ready to go by about 8:00.  We got to Jackson Hole which is about 100 miles from here.  Yes, I know, we were just there last week….but,  Jim and Ellie had not been there and I needed to go back there to pick up that famous picture of

our rafting trip from last week.  Wow…it just made me want to go do it again!

We then headed on out to Jenny Lake.  As we were arriving, the traffic was all stopped up ahead of us…which means that everyone is looking a something.  And, today, that something was

a cow moose cooling off in the river.  And downstream a little ways was

this big guy making his way across the river.  After watching them and getting some great pictures, we were off to take a look at

Jenny Lake.  How beautiful.  Mark

wanted to get a closer look and I took off my shoes to try out the cool waters, while

Bobo and Jazz just took a seat on this old log.

In a little while, we decided to head back into town for a lunch, but not before getting a couple of pictures of

the Grand Tetons.  They are just awesome and when you see them, you understand that they clearly live up to their name!

For lunch we choose a Chinese Buffet and then made the rounds through a few T-Shirt shops before heading back to Idaho Falls.

Wow…once again another great day and another great adventure.

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

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

there was more. Finally, we got out of Yellowstone

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

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

Jennifer, Andrew, and Lauren. And, I think

these two have lost it.

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

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

We stopped

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

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

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

deli. We all place our order, and

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

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

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

going up the ski lift, and

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

coming

down

the hill, as fast

as our carts

would get us drive!

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

window shopping and a little

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

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,

Jennifer and

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

family pose before leaving

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

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

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

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

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.