Happy Fourth of July! Mammoth, Yellowstone - Wildlife!! Up close and Personal!

What a great little boat we were on for our tour of Lake Yellowstone at Fishing Bridge! We had a great Ranger who was from CA and this was her first "season" as a Ranger. Alexander (left) and Bobby (right) are SOOO happy that it isn't so cold anymore after the boat trip on Lake Yellowstone!!! (Bobby's actually happy he could buy a heater for Rubio!!)

 

 Mugs and Kendall are enjoying lettuce wraps for lunch RIGHT before icecream (from Grandpa) at the oldest General Store in Yellowstone. Kendall is trying a new food with every meal thanks to JJ and Alexander's encouragement.

This is the most beautiful view from Artist's Point at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. The yellow rock is what gives Yellowstone its name. Moran is a painter/artist whose sketches and paintings helped convince Congress to make Yellowstone a National Park. Alexander shared his insight after waiting for awhile for the rest of the crew to arrive with the following quote, "Same falls, different water."                       

One of the MANY times we crossed the Continental Divide in Yellowstone. This is on our way headed north to Mammoth on our last day. CC was surprised the Continental Divide wasn't straight! :)

HOLY BUFFALO!!! This was on our way to Mammoth and there was a Bison walking down the yellow line....He actually was about 3 feet from our truck window! Kendall thought he really looked like two people inside a costume. What a treat!! Soooo cute!!!         

Mammoth terraces....beautiful! So many colors...so little water....

Bobby got this picture of an elk walking down on to the Mammoth Terraces to get a drink. There was a herd of elk, about 20 or so, next to the Visitor Center lounging about in the shade and nibbling the grass.

Here are the 4 "kids" getting their Bear Junior Ranger Patch from Mammoth, Yellowstone. Yeah!! Hooray!!

The Roosevelt Arch, North Entry into Yellowstone....Very inspirational...

What GREAT kids at the arch!! Right after these pictures we had a fabulous picnic of Deviled Ham, fruit and veggies overlooking the arch then headed north to Great Falls, MT!!

This is the Montessori School Alexander and Jordan attended while in Great Falls...so cute!

Aha! The Great Falls!...cool dam breakers...

Alex, Alex, Andrew... aka Duck, Duck, Goose!

On the Great Tour of Great Falls!

Camped in the Erpenbach's Driveway :) Great showers, food, fireworks! "Best Dam Fireworks Ever!"

Yellowstone Geysers, Grand Tetons, Boat Cruise Yellowstone Lake

Andrew and Kendall at Prismatic Spring. This is so colorful with bright turquoise and orange...unfortunately it smells like rotten eggs!! This day we saw so many colorful pools and geysers, hot springs and fumaroles....Yellowstone sits on top of an active volcano! This is new news to most of us on the trip and what makes Yellowstone so geologically amazing! It is wild to think that the magma is just below our camper! One HOT Rubio!

Grant Village....appropriate sign! We didn't see a bear until later in Yellowstone...but they were nearby!!

What a great campsite!

Old Faithful! 

Ranger Talks were awesome...

Here she goes!

and goes....

 ...and goes!!! every 94 minutes, give or take a few...

Beautiful old Lodge....

...and an awesome new one!

"We are sooo cool!" (Alex has his Free Lines on..I am sure!)

warm water, beautiful blue!

Hey! Are you lookin at me???

ICU

Smyl

This is the oldest General Store in Yellowstone. It sits right on the edge of Lake Yellowstone and has the most fabulous view of the snow-capped mountains. The ice cream here was delicious and we had a picnic on the bench out front. The "Parkitecture" (aka architecture common to the National Parks) is rustic with large log beams overhead. Reems is one of the architects. 

Kendall is happy at the campsite at Yellowstone as she just bought this hat and it looks sensational!

This is a fabulous view of mount Sheridan after leaving the boat tour on Lake Yellowstone...

Who is that behind those Foster Grants??

The next day, we headed to Jackson, WY for White Water Rafting on the Snake River. The drive was gorgeous with sunrise on the Tetons.

.....finally...The Tetons!!!!

Jackson is so cute...Snow King Resort is ahead, where we saw Clair's Mom and Dad!

Yes, those are antlers!

Pooped after rafting and headed back to Yellowstone....but, what did we happen to see????

A BEAR!! "Hey Kids! Hop out and get some photos!" said Bobby....hmmmm....

Kinda sleepy by Jenny Lake and the Tetons

pretty grumpy

pretty happy

Yellowstone Falls

Yellowstone River

"Same falls, different water."

Up close to an elk!

Yellowstone Geysers, Grand Tetons, Boat Cruise Yellowstone Lake

They geysers blew their tops regularly for us to see...bubbling underground and bringing amazing color to the surface. Prismatic Basin was Kendall's favorite with its turquoise blue center and orange-yellow rings flaming out. It is hard to see the full picture since it is very steamy on top of it and also pretty big. Clair's favorite is the Silica Pool, smaller but with equally brilliant blues and oranges.

7/2/11 Was a big day for us all. We woke early and left camp by 7:30am to head to Jackson, WY 2 hours away from Grant Village. The drive was a feast for the eyes. This is the part of the trip Clair had looked forward to ever since Bobby had described it 28 years ago when they met.  The drive was a spectacular sunrise on the Grand Teton Mountains. Amazingly coarse mountains jut up into their own cloud cover. They are occasionally reflected in Jenny Lake and have scattered Bison.

We then procede to arrive in Jackson to don full body wet suits and splash suits and go white water rafting. Our guide, Jim Stackhouse, was calm, kind and confident. This was very helpful when we had to help rescue another boat. Kendall was asked after the first rapid, "How're you doing?!!" and her smiling reply was..."NOT VERY WELL!!" At the end of the rafting trip from Mad River Boat Co. she wondered when she could do it again! :) She was very brave and had a great time...We ALL jumped in and swam, even Kendall! Lunch at the Snake River Brewery was delicious along w/a beer to our new friends from rafting.

A surprise followed when Clair's mom called to let us know they had arrived in Jackson! We were actually only 4 minutes from them and went to their hotel the Snowking Lodge and visited with them for a little in the lobby. Amazing we could hook up w/them after all!! Dinner was at the Lakeside Restaurant after driving back by the Tetons. It was on this drive just outside of Yellowstone we saw our first BEAR! A black bear walking in the woods!

7/2/11 - Lake Yellowstone - After a ccccold night we finally warmed up as we headed to Fishing Bridge. There, the first thing we did was buy a heater for the camper! A wonderful indoor boat tour from a ranger informed us of Lake Yellowstone being the largest Pine Lake in the lower 48 states - Larger than Tahoe. Surrounded by beautiful Mount Sheridan and the Absoroca Mountains, still quite covered in snow, we enjoyed vistas of the Yellowstone Hotel and cabins, Yellowstone Lodge and the oldest General Store in the Park. After the tour, we saw them all up close, complete with a picnic and icecream and a tremendous view! After dinner that night we had fabulous campsite popcorn and off to bed to try our new heater! Another wonderful day in our great adventure!

Kolob Canyon Zion. Provo. Yellowstone Days 1-3

Very nice Visitor Center at Zion...

Grandpa making dinner...yum!

Eric, Alexander and Jordan with Kolob Canyon rising behind them

Three Vanagons at the Overlook of Kolob! (Rubio is the furthest to the left)

This part of Kolob Canyon was breathtaking! The guidebook had said that many people actually catch their breath when they see this canyon. Here are Andrew, Kendall and Rubio catching their breath!

Provo and BYU were beautiful...

"hmmmm....says JJ

Bobby can find a bike shop in any town! Provo has a "Classic." :)

Are we lost??? This sign is on the way north from Provo, heading to Yellowstone! :)

The double rainbow as we entered Yellowstone...

A herd of wild buffalo with babies and grownups met us as we drove into Yellowstone!

A wonderful day of Hot Springs...Standing by Silica Pond...CC's favorite!

Andrew and Kendall by a Cone Geyser..no, no, Grandpa...NOT and ice cream cone!

Grandpa and Andrew by a continuous geyser near the Paint Pots...

Provo to Yellowstone National Park

Provo was a beautiful suprise. We drove north following the mountains of Utah to find our very windy spot near Utah Lake at the quaint and convienient Lakeside Campground where the showers were long and free and the walk by the lake was serene and elegant. The snow was still on the mountains rising sharply from the crystal blue lake. We had a spaghetti dinner as the wind calmed down and rose early the next day to head to Yellowstone.

The drive from Provo took us by the campus of BYU and then through 4 states (NOT just the "state of confusion")...starting in Utah, then north to Idaho, into Montana for the Continental Divide and up into the snowline into Wyoming. Yellowstone is the first National Park and it is now obvious why. The drive up and into the park through snowfields and forests of lodgepole (aka telephone pole) pines was breathtaking. We were greated within a few miles by herds of Bison, a complete double rainbow (ending in a Yellowstone meadow), a drive by multiple Geysers and a brief rainstorm.

Our campground borders Yellowstone Lake, the largest pine lake in the Lower 48. Snow nearby on the ground made for a COLD night! We have since bought a mini heater at the Yellowstone General Store! Classic camping dinner of dogs and beans hit the spot. The first full day at Yellowstone was full of adventure, starting with Old Faithful and the many hot spot geyesers and exquisitely colored pools and mud pots. So many unique geological features! Dinner of flank steak and smores left us very satisfied.

The walk along the lakeshore in the morning is beautiful and breathtaking with the surface as glass. We can't stray far from camp alone due to grizzlies nearby. In the evening we encountered 10 or so momma elk and their babies, grazing near the road.

A morning of pancakes and a scenic boat trip on Lake Yellowstone with a visit to the Historic Lakeside Hotel - yellow to match Yellowstone! as well as the Historic Lodge and General Store at Fishing Bridge. The water level is near its all time high due to a long winter and heavy snowmelt. Bison for dinner at Grant Lakeside Restaurant and now with a fire by the campsite. Andrew and Alexander are playing badminton. Grammy is reading on the architecture of the National Parks. Bobby posting pictures on Facebook. Jordan writing in her journal and Kendall organizing the van.

Tomorrow is an early day with a 2 h drive south by the Grand Tetons for whitewater rafting and an afternoon in Jackson, WY. It's gonna be chilly! We will be supplied with wetsuits and boots. Two more days still here in Yellowstone after that! So much to see - waiting to see a bear and a moose!