20 June 2013

Final Yellowstone Post

We had a great trip.  There were moments of stress with my own children and moments of stress trying to coordinate with lots of adults and lots of kids in a big group.  We missed having Alicia there.  She was the only sibling who couldn't make it.  Overall, though, we really appreciate Mary and LaRon giving us the opportunity to go and have a great time.  We don't see James' family as often as we see my family and it was fun hanging out with them all for a week.  We especially enjoyed getting to know Annie's kids a little better and had fun with each of them taking turns riding in our car.  So long Yellowstone  . . . until the next time!

LAST DAY'S PICTURES:

Fun at the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center.  The wolves weren't very active, but the bears were.  The wolves, however, howled every morning at around 6:30 when Jack woke up. We could hear them across the street where we were staying.








MOLLY'S PICTURES

Molly took the camera and wanted to take pictures a few times.  These are some of the photographs she took.  She has an interesting perspective.  

She documented the sock saga.  These are the socks Jack got as souvenirs.


"Dad, stand by the bear so I can take your picture."



Nothing to say about this one except that people's rear ends (and mine too if it were in the picture) look bigger from this angle.


"Mom, let me take a picture of the _______ (insert any word here except fire hydrant)"


19 June 2013

Grand Tetons & Jackson Hole

Where are we going today?
The Grand Tetons (with your worst french accent).




FRIDAY'S PICTURES

Brief stop at the Firehole River Falls in Yellowstone



The Grand Tetons


Lunch break - Grandma and Molly sharing some cheese.


Grandpa and Elizza enjoying their lunch


Amber and Colton waiting for the rest of us to finish


Jenny Lake 



2 Moose near the edge of Jenny Lake


Jack finally had a safe moment to get out of his stroller and wander around on the sidewalk.


Jackson Hole - Notice Jack doesn't have any socks on.  Not only did he lose a shoe, but he lost 2 socks (1 each from 2 separate pair).  We actually bought him some souvenir socks in Jackson Hole, but at the risk of him losing those, we just took them off when he started pulling on them.



Instead of going through Yellowstone, we headed back to the condo via the Teton Pass and back up through Idaho.  We stopped in Ashton, where Mary is from.  We made a brief visit to the cemetery.  This is Mary's parents and Wilford is Jack's middle name.


18 June 2013

Yellowstone Trip - Part 3

THURSDAY'S PICTURES - OLD FAITHFUL DAY!

Thank goodness the sun came out and the blue sky was back.


Water logged dead trees at the lower geyser basin


Celestine Pool where a guy once ran in after his great dane.  He died (and the dog), but not after 2 days of excruciating pain and his skin falling off from jumping into a 200 degree pool (Annie heard about this story from a guide on the boardwalk and then I read it in a book at a bookstore.  Totally weird.)


More geysers on the boardwalk


James' vantage point when he wandered off while we were waiting for Old Faithful to go off.  He came back to down to earth and we found him . . .  eventually.


Old Faithful did eventually go off (actually 3 times during the course of our stay at this stop).


Here is what the rest of us were doing while Old Faithful was going off.




This made me laugh out loud (not in a rude way, just in an oh-my-goodness-is-that-for-real way).  The best part was when they started to go up a slight incline.  The man started pushing the device up the hill with his legs and the woman finally got off.  I thought, "they had to have made this themselves," until I googled "motorized cooler."  Check it out for yourself!


We finally found James, ate lunch, then took a group photo.



Jarrell and Whytnee having a special photo-op moment in front of the Old Faithful store. 


Jack having a special photo-op moment asleep in the backpack.  The sad thing is that he fell asleep in the stroller, but his sister was melting and needed to go in the stroller next.  We took him out of the stroller, put him in the backpack, and up on James' back and he never budged.  Molly fell asleep soon after in the stroller (see family group picture above).


We made one more stop to the smokey, stinky geysers after leaving Old Faithful.  As a little kid, I remember being terrified that I might die in Yellowstone.  I think it may have been because of something like this.  You're out on a boardwalk in the middle of nowhere.  It is starting to rain.  The wind is blowing.  The steam gusts take away your vision.  You are little. You are frightened.  Etc.  Etc.  You get then idea.  


Yellowstone Trip - Part 2

Inventory - Animals Spotted in Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, and surrounding areas . . . .

  • Bison (lots of course)
  • Elk (just a handful, and then one particular one jumping in front of our car at dusk)
  • Black Bear
  • Badger (1)
  • Mountain goats
  • Geese
  • Swan (1)
  • Coyote
  • Bald Eagle (1)
  • Osprey
  • Moose (2)
  • Chipmunks & Squirrels
  • Grizzly Bears, Wolves, Bald Eagles, Golden Eagles, and an Owl at the Grizzly Discovery Center
Let's be honest, Molly can be an absolute angel sometimes and then other times . . .  well she screams. She was a stinker for a good portion of the trip.  I don't know what to do.  I tried to be nice.  I tried to be mean.  She got spanked.  She got pinched.  She got compromises.  She got praise.  She got things taken away from her.  She got bribes.  It's hard to find what will work when she is in a strange place and doesn't get her afternoon beauty rest.  I think she's a little bit crazy, but more than likely, I think she 1) has a hard time dealing with things out of the ordinary and 2) had a big audience to be a stinker in front of.  Sigh.  Oh well.  To her credit, she was an angel the entire ride home and has been the last 2 days.  I don't think she's been in timeout once since we got home.  C'est la vie.

Jack, on the other hand, except for a few moments when I think his mouth was hurting and tylenol seemed to help, was really good.  He lost one of his shoes on the second day, so we were even less likely to let him walk around.  He was mostly stuck in his car seat, the stroller, or the baby backpack we borrowed from my aunt and uncle.  As long as we were moving, he was a pretty happy camper.  I tried to let him run down the long hallway of the condo every night when we got back, just to let his legs get worn out.


TUESDAY'S PICTURES

Trying to find ways to kill time in the rain.  I had fully intended to take Jack in the baby backpack and Molly as far as I thought she'd go when everyone went on the Uncle Tom's steps to the big falls, but that changed when the rains came.  I didn't want to add misery on top of potential misery.  The kids, Annie, and Mary, and I all stayed behind.

Jack hanging out in the front seat and Molly asleep in the driver's seat.


Issac and RyAnn read every book in the car.


Elizza and Annie getting their picture taken in a brief break from the rain.



Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone


The Uncle Tom's stairs.  


The Lower Falls from the bottom of the stairs.


The Grand Canyon from another vantage point


Rain!!





Yellowstone Trip - Part 1

We went to Yellowstone for a week with the Binggeli Family.  Mary and LaRon let us all stay in their timeshare in West Yellowstone.  We drove up Monday afternoon and stayed clear 'til Sunday afternoon. Here is our basic agenda of the whole trip.
  • Monday - travel day
  • Tuesday - Yellowstone upper loop - spent time at Gibbon Falls, Mammoth, looking for a bear, road construction, then back to West Yellowstone
  • Wednesday - Yellowstone Grand Canyon and lower loop -  Pouring rain! Most of the group walked to see the lower falls along the north rim and then did the Uncle Tom's stairs on the south rim.  The kids and I stuck around to hang out in the car instead of getting rained on.  We drove back through Hayden Valley and over to Yellowstone Lake and back around to West Yellowstone.  It was just raining really hard, so we didn't stop anymore.
  • Thursday was Old Faithful day - We met up with Amber and Colton there.  We explored the visitor center, Old Faithful Inn, and the gift shops.  James ran away from us and got lost up on the mountain.  He had the keys to the car which included the keys to some of the lunch.
  • Friday - Tetons and Jackson Hole - one way through Yellowstone and return way over Teton Pass and up through Ashton
  • Saturday - West Yellowstone - Grizzly/Wolf Discovery Center, West Yellowstone shops
  • Sunday - travel day, head back home

TUESDAY'S PICTURES

Morriah and Jack ready to get moving on our first morning.


The first buffalo (yes, I know they're bison) spotted along the Madison River.


Mamma and baby elk in the Madison River (We didn't actually see too many elk this trip).



Molly staring out the window looking at the elk.



 Uncle Jason, the garden gnome (or leprechaun, whichever you prefer)


Jack just chillin' in the stroller.


Grandma and Grandpa


Gibbon Falls


Issac walking along the wall at Gibbon Falls


Following the leader - Whytnee, Jarrell, and Aunt Ina's grandsons Sean and Max.


James taking pictures



Uncle Jason and his devoted fan club


Mammoth Falls


Molly and RyAnn taking a break at Mammoth.



The bear!! (near Petrified Tree, real close to Roosevelt)


 Mamma, Molly, and Jack heading back to the car after walking to look at the bear.