Baby and Momma Moose

BEAUTY!!!!

Old Faithful

Okay the pictures are all gackwards. The two lower pictures are Torii and Harper working on their sheet for Junior Ranger Program.
The Upper Left: Is Harper receiveing her patch and the Upper Right is the two of them looking at the differences between a wolf and coyote

Day 8: Jackson and the Alpine slide

Today was a very laid back day. You can tell everyone is getting a little tired. The girls and I slept in this morning until 9:00. Scott brought us breakfast in bed which was pretty spectacular. Both of them enjoyed it very much.
Once we got ourselves cleaned up and together we decided to walk around the town a little bit and see the gift shops. (The one thing that I have not included on daily basis is the number of gift shops we have frequented. The girls saved up about 6 months worth of allowance money and have had a blast spending it.) Any way we then went to a quaint little restaraunt called the Merry Piglet. It serves authentic Mexican food and is fantastic. We ate at a table that had a open wall to the town, so we sat and people watched the whole time. It was a lot of fun.
We then decided to drive through the Teton National Park a little bit and hit some of the highlights. This was such a great idea. We first went to an old Mormon village that is beautiful against the mountains and bison cover fields. This gave us a great chance to talk to the girls about the Mormon religion and what the differnces were in our faith. We then headed over to a little tiny church called the church of Transfiguration. It couldn't have held more than 25 people, but I am telling you God was definitely there. It was a small log building and everything inside of it was made or wood. The front window behind the alter was a huge sheet of glass and it opened up the Tetons. It was truly awesome.
Our next stop was to be a place called Jenny Park. Scott had seen it on the Discovery Channel and said it was pretty. We had to take a side trip though because certain females had to use the facilities. This important to know because Scott just happened to take a great scenic road that lead right by a marshy area and there grazing in the field was a bull moose. YEP! It had a full rack and all. It was great. As usual, we took lots of pictures and stood and watched him for about 10 minutes until he disappeared behind some tall grass and laid down.
We finally made it Jenny park and Scott was right it was very pretty. It was a huge lake that ran in front of the Teton mountains. Many people were swimming in the water and the girls wanted to go so badly. Unfortunately we did not have anything for them to change into so they had to be satisified with simply taking off their shoes and wading around for a little while. They enjoyed this a lot.
The last stop for the day was something I had never experienced before. We headed for the Alpine Slide. This is a slide that is similar to the louge race in the Olympics but without the ice and slower. Basically we rode a ski lift up to the top of a mountain; this took about 10 minutes in itself. We then rode on these little slides down; this took about 6 minutes. It was so much fun. The girls loved it. The second time up the ski lift they rode together so they could buy a key chain with their picture in it together. It was great. Scott opted not to ride because he had done it before and chose to take pictures instead. It was great. All three of the girls were disappointed when it was over. I wish there was one near us.
After such a great day, we went to dinner and then headed back to the Sundance. I came back before everyone to work on the Blog and Scott took the girls shopping. They must have had wonderful time because they couldn't calm down to go to sleep. Scott also brought me a surprise dessert which was Huckleberry Creme Brulee. Yummy!!!! I can't believe we only have two more days left.

Day 7: Last Day in Yellowstone and onto Jackson

We woke up this morning ready to move on to Jackson. We knew that this would be an exciting time because we still had several great things planned for our vacation. But the good news was, we still had things to get done here.
We had breakfast and then headed over to the ranger building to listen to a presentation on wolves and coyotes in order for the girls to complete their Junior Ranger patches. The girls were able to touch real fur from each of the animals and learn how to tell the difference between the two. This was great for both of them. The presentation itself was fascinating and really explained the importance of both of the animals in the ecosystem as well as explaining how the wolf was almost extinct and now is no longer in danger. Both of the girls did a great job of listening until it was over. We then headed inside to present their work to the ranger so they could their patch. It was great to see the Ranger really focus on the girls and hold them accountable for the work they had done. She read through their sheets carefully and asked them questions about different parts of their work. Both of the girls were able to answer all of her questions thouroughly and without help from either Scott or myself. Yeah!!!! She then gave them the option of being announced to everyone in the center or sinply getting their patch there. Torii opted to receive hers quietly whereas Harper wanted to be announced. (Shock!) It was great because everyone clapped for her and she felt great about it.
Once they had their patches, we headed straight outside where we waited for Old Faithful to erupt. We waited there for about 20 minutes and after 2 or 3 false starts, it erpted magnificently. I cannot even begin to describe it. I have seen it on TV several times, but there was something magical about being there. WOW!!!! Everyone agreed it was worth the wait.
It was now time to head onto Jackson, Wyoming. This would be our last stop on our wild adventure. Off we went. The best part about this drive was that it took us through the Grand Teton Park. If you have not been there, you must go. WOW!! I have seen the Rockies, the Appalachian mountains, and even the Alps, but I must say the Tetons are quite spectacular. They shoot up into the sky out of no where and greet the clouds like they are the best of friends. It was remarkable. You just couldn't take it in enough.
The problem was, I hadn't slept well the night before so I began to doze off on this great ride. That is when the coolest thing happened. I was just about to fall asleep when all of a sudden Scott yelled," Moose!'' I jumped out of my seat and said,"What did you say?'" He said," I just saw a Mother moose and her calf walk over that hill back there." So I demanded that he turn around right then and there. He did. We found the two moose eating grass along a small lake and swimming in the water. We must have stayed there and watched the two of them for about 10 minutes. It was so exciting. This was the only animal we hadn't seen that we were hoping to. I must say they are much darker than I had expected and their heads are huge. After that I didn't see the need to sleep any longer.
We arrived in Jackson around 3:00. This is a great western ski town and really seemed to be the most crowded place we had been. It has all of the wooden plank boardwalks throughout the entire town and it seemed to set almost inside of the Tetons. We found our little hotel that seemed to be the place that time had forgotten. It was called the Sundance Inn. It is a little Mom and Pop place that has clean rooms and free breakfasts at the most reasonable rate in Jackson. It definitely was the Ritz, but we liked it just the same.
At 4:00 we were off again for our next wild escapade. . . White water rafting. It was great. Both of the girls were a little nervous about the whole thing. Torii especially was not certain what to expect, but we reassured that everything was going to be fine, and it was. The trip started around 4:30 and we traveled down the snake river for about 8 miles. We drifted down quite a bit of calm water, but we did survive several class 2 and 3 rapids. Our family was in the front of the boat (We thought we were in the back until the guide realized we were in backwards. . . scary), and went through this one class 3 rather hard. Scott and I realized what was about to happen so we told both of the girls to take hold of our legs with both arms and to not let go. Our boat then hit the rapid and we were completely flooded with water. Both of the girls were knocked off of their seats and completely soaked, but they both loved every minute of it. It was wild. Luckily they had given us splash to wear on the trip, so they were not too uncomfortable.
At the end of the ride, we docked, changed, and then went to a cook out where we had steak and salmon on the side of the river. I do not think I have ever seen our girls eat so much. They were so pumped up and the adrenaline was flowing in them rather quickly. It was one of my favorite moments of the whole trip. The other neat thing was that there was a large family on the trip from India. The girls befriended a 9-year-old girl from their family, and the three of them ate together and road back to the main office together. It is wonderful how accepting they are.
By the time we got back to the hotel it was time for bed. I don't think anyone will have any trouble sleeping. If only we can get the girls to stop talking, that would be nice.

Old Faithful Lodge

On the way to Mystic Falls

Upper Left: The elk seen along the way to Mystic Falls.
Upper Right: Scott and the girls in front of the falls.
Lower: Mystic Falls

Artist's Pots

Upper Left: A small geyser beginning

Upper Right: This shows the mineral water running into the river near by. Take a close look at the colors. It really looks like a volcano.

Middle: All of the Geysers from a distance. It was a cool day so they seemed to steam even more.

Lower picture: The girls in the midst of mist. It was stinky and warm.

On our way to the artist's pots

BEAUTY!!!!

Elk Pictures

Early in the morning, Scott got up close and personal.

Day 6: Yellowstone Day three!!!

Today starting off a little bitter sweet for us as we left or little cabin in the woods and headed for Old Faithful Lodge. We came to like that little cabin, but I will let you know we got over that immediately once we saw the lodge, but I am getting ahead of myself. Even though we were going to Old Faithful we still had several stops to make along the way.
To begin we were heading towards a river where the water was warm enough to swim. Unfortunately the weather was bad today, so we were unable to take advantage of this. Along the way, we made several stops. The first one took place when we spotted several bull elks grazing in a pasture along the roadside. Scott pulled over on the side of the road and he and Torii trecked out a little ways to get better pictures. I really think this was a great bonding experience because Torii couldn't stop talking about it for a while. I really wanted to go, but Harper had on shorts and didn't want to get itchy.
Our next stop was to the river, but as I said it was closed to swimming. We still found several awe-inspiring waterfalls along the way and of course we had to stop. Scott and I now realize we took a lot of pictures of water, animals, geysers, and hot springs. . . boring.
We continued our trek towards Old Faithful, but first took a detour to a place called the painters pots. Once again these were hot springs and geysers, but there was a wonderful 1.2 mile hike to a waterfall called Mystic Falls. Everyone was thrilled to be out of the car and the falls took us away from the sulfur smell of the geysers. This by far was the most wonderful hike we took. It actually took us a long the side of the mountain and back into the woods a ways. Along the journey, we saw another bull elk laying in the shrubbery about 25 yards away from us. Once we got to the falls themselves, we all agreed it was worth the hike. We then returned to the hot springs where we walked around the boardwalks and marveled at the amazing colors and the fact that there was still so much volcanic activity here.
We finally reached Old Faithful Lodge and let me tell you, we quickly forgot about the little cabins. I mean, Oh My Goodness!!!!! It was gorgeous. The lodge is over 100 years old and is very rustic looking being made of wood logs. The interior foyer is over 75 feet tall and has a very impressive fireplace in the middle of the lobby. I cannot encourage everyone enough to go and spend a couple of nights at this lodge. It is wonderful. I will say there no bathrooms in the rooms, but this makes the rooms that much more endearing. I believe there are rooms in the new wings with them, but treat yourself to a new experience.
Once we got inside, the girls and I voted that we stay inside and relax for the rest of the day and watch Old Faithful go off. That is exactly what we did. We found a great little table in the terrace area of the upper floor and played cards for a couple of hours until our reservations in the dining room. It was a blast. I love my girls; they are so much fun. We laughed a lot together.
We then went to dinner and had a very nice dinner in the restaraunt. It was the most expensive place we ate. The service was not that great however. You see at the end of the meal Scott gave the waiter his credit and about 5 minutes later the waiter came and asked Scott if he had given him a card. Well, needless to say, the waiter and 2 managers were searching frantically for the card. Long story short, they never found it, Scott canceled the card and we got our meal for free. Yeah us.
After dinner, it was off to our room and to bed. Wow, had this been an amazing trip.

Our Greatest find!!!!!

These are pictures of my bears!!!!! The Upper right is one of the cubs up in a tree. The lower left is of the coyote running for its life. :)

Geysers at Norris

These are all geyers and hot springs at Norris. The upper left is steamboat geyser. The colors are all casued by different minerals in the ground.

Beauty

The two pictures of the rocks and the girls was just a picnic spot we found that gave them a chance to have a little independence as they climbed.

The other two pictures are of the hot spring geysers in mammoth. As I said before they look like burnt marshmallows.

lunchtime

This the Gate through the Roosevelt entrance








This the place where we had lunch in Gardner. Montana

Pretty water

Okay, The upper left falls is one in which we had to walk about a mile to see. The picture of the girls is of them returning from this adventure. The one in the middle is the secret water fall we hiked to get a closer look. The one on the bottom is the Tower Falls.

These are just pictures of the animals we saw in the morning.