Wednesday 6/29/2011

Here is tonights post.  I am having problems with my computer and can't get the stuff I typed in word to copy to blogger from Sunday - Tuesday.  It's irritating because it is really good.  I have just resigned to get that all caught up, including pictures when we get home on Saturday.  I hope no one takes this personally but, I hate Nebraska!!

We left Cody at 6:30 this morning. We drvie through the Wind River Canyon which was a beautiful drive. The kids slept until 8 o'clock and were happy to do so.


Our fist stop was around 11:30 at the Oregon Trail Wagon Ruts west of Guernsey. This is a place where the limestone was worn away by the wagons on the trail. They also camped here to rest up for the mountain crossings. We had lunch and then hiked up to see the ruts. The kids weren't that impressed but Scott and I thought it was pretty cool.

Next stop was about 15 miles east, Fort LaRamie NHS. This was a great historic fort that had a long history in America's westward expansion. Lorelei and I did her junior ranger book while Scott and Luke enjoyed the air conditioning in the visitor center. It is so hot here. I would say it was 100 degrees while we were walking around. The problem is, you don't realize you are sweating because the constant wind dries it right off. Once we were done, we drove about an hour to Scottsbluff NHS. This was a major sight along the Oregon. California, Mormon and Pony Express Trails. People finally got off of the long boring prairie and were in "monument valley". This was where they finally had something interesting to look at. I can understand because Nebraska is BORING. This also marked the 1/3 point of their 4 - 5 month journey.

We planned to camp in Scottsbluff because our next stop, Agate Fossil Beds, is an hour away and there is no nearby camping. Unfortunately, everywhere you go in Scottsbluff smells like cow manure. I found a place called Route 26 Campground and we headed to that one. It used to be a KOA but I guess business was bad and the franchise left. It is now the scariest, saddest place I have ever been. The pool is 1/3 filled with brown water, the grass is growing up in the playground, there is a fifth wheel in the park that has been sitting so long, unused, that it has grass to its bottom and there is a guy with beer cans living in a cabin who looks like he might be permanent. Scott said the lady in the office looked like she could be running a meth lab in the back of the building and we are the only people who are in the campground. We needed to get gas so after we checked in, we drove back into town and decided to eat at Applebee's. I think we are all feeling a little tired and ready to just be home but after a good dinner with comfortable food we were feeling happy and laughing. Scott mentioned that he had Holiday Inn points and we could just stay there but I told him if we just close the curtains, we can pretend we are anywhere but here. They have Wifi but the reception is spotty and slow so I likely won't get anything posted tonight.

We have a bunch of long days ahead if we are going to make it home by Saturday and I am not looking forward to the drive. The kids have been reading books to stay entertained and I will be reading aloud a lot over the next few days.

Tuesday 6/28

The Linkels, a photo by Olivia Linkel on Flickr.

We were up and on the road through Hayden Valley trying to spot some animals by 6:30 this morning. Pam’s stuff was all packed up in the car and we had all of our stuff back in the FunV. Scott and I drove in the FunV first with Pam following behind with the kids. We saw a great herd of bison and stopped at the overlook where wolves are usually seen but they weren’t out yet and the kids were too cold tired and hungry for us to wait around. We saw no bear this morning either but I definitely cannot say the trip has been disappointing. We have averaged 3 sightings a day and that’s better than we ever expected.
We dropped the FunV off at the Marina which was slightly more central than Old Faithful for us to split up. We were heading out through the East Entrance toward Cody and Pam and Riley were heading South back to Jackson. We made the remainder of the drive in the Subearban down to Old Faithful.
We made it to the Old Faithful Inn shortly after 8 AM and enjoyed a great breakfast. We just missed the 9:15 eruption so we decided to kill some time in the gift shop where Scott and the kids bought t-shirts. We went to take our stuff back to the car and they changed into their t-shirts and I already had mine on so we all looked like real tourists. We headed over to the visitor center to save our spots and the kids played for a little while. We posed for a picture while the eruption was taking place and then headed back to the car for our ride back to the marina. On the way, we stopped at the Continental Divide, elevation 8391 to have a snowball fight. The kids were in flip flops and t-shirts and the snow was more like ice but it was a ton of fun.
We said our goodbyes and headed out through Fishing Bridge for the 81 mile drive to Cody. We have heard there are moose on this road but we were not hopeful. It was a beautiful drive over the mountains but other than a couple of bison and some birds, there were no animals. I guess we missed our shot on this trip because we skipped that road. Pam and I talked once we made it to Cody and they saw a moose in the Grand Tetons on the main road. We’ll get to see one eventually.
By the time we got into Cody around 3:00, exhaustion seems to have caught up with us. We originally planned to visit the Buffalo Bill Historical Museum and go to the rodeo tonight but we all said we would rather go to the pool and we needed to do laundry. We stopped in to Walmart to pick up a few grocery items and a hose clamp for our muffler, a bump apparently broke the bracket that was holding it to the undercarriage and we had a terrible squeak where the metal is rubbing.
We went to the pool around 4:00 and stayed in the pool and hot tub for about an hour and a half. Then we took showers and ate dinner while the laundry was going. The kids also got to watch a movie which made them really happy. For the first time ever, the rest of our trip is not rigidly planned. We have no reservations for the upcoming nights and may even spend the night in a Walmart parking lot. We have a long drive ahead tomorrow to get to Fort Laramie and Scottsbluff. I immensely enjoyed our stay in Yellowstone but I am also happy to be back on the road. The kids are ready to be home.

Monday 6/27

Grand Prismatic Spring, a photo by Olivia Linkel on Flickr.

Today was a spectacular day and our last full day in the park. We ate breakfast in the room and were on the road by about 7:30. We didn’t see any wolves or bears in the Hayden Valley between Canyon and the Lake district, other than bison and a few elk. We have become a little spoiled with the bears and pass right by the “lesser animals”. We still have yet to see a moose which I have been hoping for. Our first stop was the 9:15 scenic cruise on Yellowstone Lake. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting but it was very informative about the invasion of the Lake Trout and the battle to get rid of them in favor of the native Cutthroat Trout. This was Riley’s first boat trip and must have been very nice because she fell asleep.
On our cruise, we saw a picnic spot that we wanted to eat at that was right on the shore of the lake called Gull Point. There is a side road you can take and half of it was closed. It was not windy like our last few days have been and it was beautifully sunny. We ate an early lunch about 11 AM and walked out on the shore. It was the nicest spot we have had.
Our next stop was the Fairy Falls trail to climb the hill and have a bird’s eye view of the Grand Prismatic Spring. We drove from the marina, past Old Faithful and over to the trailhead. We didn’t really see any animals on our way but we did see two guys being arrested by park rangers. I wish I knew what they had done. Pam and Riley decided not to hike and dropped us off and went over to Old Faithful to watch the eruption while we hiked. This trail used to be a road through Yellowstone but is now only open to bicycles and hikers. We had perfect weather with the temp in the mid-60’s and a slight breeze. The bison were grazing south of the trail and we were all excited to see the spring. This spring is the largest in the park and the second largest in the world and is one of the most photographed in the park. From the boardwalk hike, which we did a few days ago, you can only get a glimpse of the array of colors through the rising steam that reflects the water below. It is truly every color in the rainbow.
The hike to the hill climb is fairly short and flat, maybe .6 of mile. Then you have a climb that goes up maybe 75 feet to a bald at the top of the hill. From here you can see the entire spring in all its grandeur. It was really beautiful and all of us agreed the climb was worth it. One thing that took the kids attention away was a man at the base of the climb who was throwing rocks into the waters of the spring on the back side to entertain two little girls who were with him. As we passed by, we scolded him for throwing rocks because it can mess up the chemistry of the spring, probably not from where he was but we felt like he was setting a bad example for these kids. I feel very strongly about protecting America’s back yard and believe that I should be able to bring my grandkids back and see the exact same thing without some idiot ruining it. We have apparently instilled this same feeling in our kids because after they looked at the beautiful scenery, all they could do from the top was watch that guy. Luke even wanted to take a picture of him and turn it into a park ranger. I guess we are THOSE people.
One the way back, the kids drew pictures in the trail for people who were passing us and we stopped and talked to a couple of different families from Chicago and Seattle. We also noticed a spring off the trail that had a bison in it. The backbone was still in the spring but the rest of the carcass had been picked over by scavengers. Pretty cool. We finished the hike in about an hour and called Pam to come pick us up.
We had dinner reservations in the Roosevelt area on the chuck wagon cookout. This was on the complete opposite side of the park and we didn’t know if we would run into any wildlife. So we drove from the Midway Geyser Basin through Madison Junction to Norris and then through Canyon on the way to Roosevelt. We saw bison, a few in the road and we saw elk. We also saw a bear jam where people were out of their cars looking at a grizzly but we used the sunroof and windows safari style to roll through the traffic. We thought the people were just a little too close. We also saw a fox on the hillside.
At the Roosevelt Corrals, we checked in to the chuck wagon dinner. They drive you out in horse drawn, covered wagons to Cookout, which is a historic area where Indians, prospectors and some of the first concessionaires had a hotel. The food is “cowboy” food. The menu is steak, cole slaw, potato salad, cornbread muffins, corn with onions and peppers and peach cobbler. There is cowboy coffee to drink along with water, lemonade and soda. If you know me, you know that I don’t like steak (un-American, I know). I am not crazy about the other stuff either but the peach cobbler was great. Luke enjoyed the steak and we luckily had packed some other stuff for Lorelei to eat. There is a cowboy who sings old cowboy songs and wranglers who cook the dinner and handle the horses from the wagons and horse trail rides that come in for dinner. On the way out, we watched the wranglers for the horseback ride run off a bison and shortly before dinner was ready, we saw a mama black bear and her two very small cubs climb the hill next to the camp and over the horse trail. It was awesome and I got some decent pictures but once again, I was wishing I had that $1200 lens. The kids had fun playing in the creek and it was a great time. On the way back, our wranglers had to run off a bison on the wagon road and he watched from a hillside as we all went by. Really, I think he was posing for pictures.
We got back to the corrals about 9 o’clock and since the sun was just setting, we thought we would see some animals. Riley was soon fast asleep in the back seat and we were beginning to get disappointed and then we came upon a bear jam. We got out and were within 100 yards of a grizzly. He was beautiful. All of us got out to have a look, take some pictures and then hop back in the car as he was slowly working his way towards us. That makes 9 grizzly sighting and 6 black bear. Simply wonderful!! We drove back to the hotel and rushed everyone to showers and bed because we hope to drive through Hayden Valley and see some wolves again in the morning before heading to Old Faithful for breakfast and one last view of the eruption before we head east to Cody and Pam and Riley head south through the Tetons to catch their flight home on Wednesday. We have had a great time and will be sad to break up this wonderful party.

Sunday 6/26

An elk telling us all what he thinks of our picture taking, a photo by Olivia Linkel on Flickr.

We were up at 6 AM and headed over to the cafeteria for breakfast again. Luke is enjoying the French toast for breakfast. We were on the road from the Canyon Lodge towards the Roosevelt-Tower area. There were supposed to be abundant animals in this part of the park. It is also through the highest point in the park. There was lots of snow on the roadside but we didn’t see any animals until Luke spotted a herd of pronghorn antelope. We stopped at the next turnout and asked a couple in an RV if that was what they were watching and they said no, they were watching WOLVES!!! All of us got out of the car and we were very happy that we bought those high powered binoculars. Of course, I was wishing again that I had that $1200 camera lens. There was a white wolf with a limp and two other brown and gray wolves that we saw. There was also an elk following the wolves, almost as if it were trying to scare them off. There were also some bison on the hill. Lorelei swears she saw a 4th wolf, which is possible. We later learned that we likely saw the Canyon pack. We were there at least 20 minutes and we also got to see 2 sand hill cranes which are birds as big as Lorelei and Luke.
Once everyone had gotten their fill of the wolves, we continued on our drive. We turned east and headed out through the Lamar valley. Unfortunately the road is closed because it is partially underwater due to the high water levels so we were only able to go about 5 miles. However, at the spot where we turned around, there were some pronghorn sunning themselves and I was able to get some good pictures.
We turned back onto the Grand Loop road and headed toward Mammoth Hot Springs. We stopped in at the Petrified Tree and took some silly pictures where we were also petrified and then continued on. When you are in Yellowstone, you watch the turnouts very carefully to see if the people are looking into the woods or out on the meadows. There was a guy with a long range lens looking up the hill and we stopped to see what was going on. It was a black bear. Imagine how excited we were. We have now seen 4 grizzlies and a black bear. What a wonderful trip. I took some pictures before the park ranger ushered us on to keep from creating a bear jam. And then…
We went not 5 minutes up the road and there was a bear right by the roadside, foraging in the grass. He was literally 5 feet out our window. I got some ok shots and then we had to move on. And then, maybe 10 more minutes up the road we saw some folks getting out of their car and up in the woods there was a third black bear. It was the most exciting morning ever!!! I am so thankful that we like to get moving early in the day. Mornings are always my favorite time in the national parks because there are less people and the wildlife is stirring.
We finally made it into the Mammoth area and stopped at the visitor center to use the bathrooms and have a look around. Next, we headed out the north entrance to Gardiner. We had three things to do. 1) Pick up some groceries. 2) Take our picture in front of the historic Roosevelt Arch that marks the entrance to Yellowstone. 3) Spot some big horn sheep. Pam has been to Yellowstone several times and has never seen the bighorns. Unfortunately, for this trip they will continue to remain elusive. However, we have seen bear and wolves today so I don’t think any of us are disappointed.
We drove back into the Mammoth area to stop at the hotel gift shop to pick up our free souvenir for the kids. The hotels all have a deal where you get stickers in an activity book and if you get 4 of the 5, you get a free prize which happens to be a stuffed moose. The kids were all very happy with those and we moved on to the travertine terraces of the Mammoth Hot Springs. These formations are really cool and we had a nice walk on the boardwalk. We also saw a mule deer in the trees in this area.
By this time we were getting hungry so we stopped to picnic at the Sheepeater Cliff picnic area but again, no sheep. Next we stopped into the National Museum of the Park Ranger in the Norris area. We explored the exhibits and Pam and Riley got to sit on the front porch and watched the bison grazing and crossing the road. We went over to the Norris area and started to go out to the geyser field but then, as Luke put it, “if you have seen one, you have seen them all and what’s the difference?” We were all kind of feeling the same way so we decided to skip Norris and head back over to Canyon to hike to the overlooks.
Pam and Riley decided to skip Uncle Tom’s trail that is a descent of about 500 feet or ¾ of the way in to the canyon to view the Lower Falls, a 308 foot waterfall. The trail was originally constructed of 500+ steps and rope ladders but today it is made of 328 steel steps (one way). Initially Luke did not want to go but we made him and in the end he said it was worth it. It was a great view of the falls and on the way up, as we turned around to view the mist, the sun was hitting at just the right angle and there was a rainbow in the spray. We have done a few of these sorts of climbs; 308 steps at the lighthouse on Point Reyes in California, 354 in the Statue of Liberty but this climb at an elevation of about 8000 feet left us very winded. I will probably be feeling that one tomorrow. I wore my flip flops all day yesterday and up until this hike today and my shoes didn’t hurt my feet at all which is good because we are planning to hike tomorrow too.
We had a view of the upper falls, which is a 109 foot drop, from the parking lot and then we headed down the road to the parking area for the short walk to Artists Point which has a canyon rim view of the lower falls. This is the view of the canyon that was made famous by Thomas Moran in the 1871 expedition to survey Yellowstone. His famous painting is on display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in DC and was one of the factors that convinced Ulysses Grant to make Yellowstone our first national park. It was a beautiful view and the canyon edges are simply gorgeous with all kinds of colors.
As we were leaving Artists Points, we were lucky to catch some pictures of a male elk that had been lying in the grass high above the parking area the whole time we were there. He had moved to within 5 feet of the road and there was a line of cars waiting to take his picture as he lay in the grass, yawning and occasionally nibbling the grass in front of him. He was massive and lovely and an elk with antlers was one of the things I wanted to see on this trip.
We drove over to the brink of the upper falls for one more overlook before we headed back to the Canyon Lodge dining room for dinner. It was an early evening for the kids because they were all showered and in their pajamas by 7:30 and we let them watch a movie on Scott’s iPad. There are no TV’s in the hotel rooms in Yellostone in case you are wondering. It was another great day and the rain we expected, never came. The weather is supposed to be nice again tomorrow and we have tickets on the Yellowstone Lake cruise and dinner reservations on the wagon cookout. Plus we are hiking part of the fairy falls trail to see the high view of the Grand Prismatic Spring. Hopefully we will see more animals in the morning too. It will be our last full day and I hope to make the most of it.

Saturday 6/25

Mama & 2 cubs, playing, a photo by Olivia Linkel on Flickr.

Originally when I started planning this trip, I did my normal amount of reading and research and found that this park is too big to plan from a thousand miles away. I had certain things in my head that I was hoping for but I let go of expectations and we decided to just wing it. So with that said, we decided the night before that since we had so much luck seeing the animals along the Hayden Valley, we would retrace that area and head towards the lake today.


We were ready to go over to the cafeteria for breakfast by about 7:20. We had picnic supplies packed in the back of the Suburban and rolled out shortly after 8 AM. I told the kids that the first person to see an animal would get a quarter and they definitely rose to the challenge. The first one they saw was a bison, followed by elk and then we pulled over to a turnout where a bunch of people and a ranger were watching the hills below. There was a grizzly feeding on an elk carcass to the left and a mother and her cubs off to the right. We stayed for a while with our crappy binoculars trying to see them and then decided to move on. We came to our first really bad stinky mud pot – Sulphur Springs. Lorelei really didn’t want to stop but we went ahead. We are so glad we did!!! As we were walking back to the car, a grizzly crossed the road right in front of a camper about 500 yards up the road and then following behind her were two cubs. These were most likely the mother and cubs from the night before and the same ones we lost sight of at the last spot.

Everyone else got in the car and I went up the road to see if they were still there. We were witnessing the start of a bear jam and it was exhilarating!!!! I went back to the car and we turned around to let the kids have a good look from the car. They loved it and as soon as we got past the jam, we turned right back around and went through again. I don’t think I could ever get tired of that. Our next stop was at Mud Volcano. We walked up to the Black Dragons Cauldron and around the rest of the boardwalk and noticed as we came down that a lot of photographers had setup their cameras aimed at the hill above Mud Volcano. They were waiting for - a bear!! The mother with the two cubs has apparently been in that parking lot before. We waited around and talked to them for about 10 minutes and then headed on towards the Lake.

We were trying to give everyone a rest from walking too much today and so we went over to the marina to see about a scenic cruise of Yellowstone Lake. They didn’t have any room in the next two rides so we headed on towards Midway Geyser Basin, past the Old Faithful area. First we made a stop in the gift shop where we bought really good binoculars, an expensive souvenir but worth every penny.

We stopped at West Thumb and realized Riley had fallen asleep. She wasn’t very happy about getting out of the car but once we started walking the geyser field, she perked right up. Next stop was Grant Village for a picnic lunch. With food in our bellies, everyone was happy to get out and walk the boardwalk up to Grand Prismatic Spring. We have plans to do a hike from Fairy Falls that will take us above the spring for even better views so expect to see that a little later. Then we drove the Firehole River road, and stopped into the Fountain Paint Pots for a walk. Next we headed toward the Madison Junction via the Firehole Canyon drive which was really pretty.

We turned toward Norris at Madison Junction and stopped to see a whole herd of bison lying in the grass. Lorelei asked why everyone was so excited to see a bison in the grass. I guess they have lost the grandeur now that she has seen so many. She did say it would be cool if some crossed the road and within 5 minutes, around Gibbon Falls, she got her wish. Three bison were lumbering down the road leading a line of cars. The first car was sort of pushing them to keep going. Pam had to stop the car pretty suddenly and a snoozing Riley woke to those three guys going right past her window.

Lorelei said she wished it would happen again and within 5 minutes we were part of a bison jam with more than 30 bison, 4 of them being calves, came down the road leading a line of cars more than a mile long. Thank god we have a sunroof on the car because I have gotten some excellent pictures out of there. The rangers, with their flashing lights, were coming the other direction as we turned at Norris and headed for Canyon. We have found wherever there is a wildlife jam, the rangers are not far behind. Coolest job EVER if you ask me.

When we got back to our lodge, we took a short bathroom break and then headed out on the north rim road to get a peak at the grand canyon of the Yellowstone. It is pretty spectacular and I can’t wait to see more on Monday.

We had dinner at the cafeteria, nothing spectacular and then headed over to the Canyon Visitor center to complete the junior ranger books and get the kids their patches. Then with everyone showered and in bed, I spend 2 hours writing the blog and downloading pictures, 159 today. My disk is nearly full with 625 pictures so far on the trip. We are expecting rain tomorrow and will be headed to the Lamar valley to look for more animals and then on to Mammoth Hot Springs.

Friday 6/24

So exciting!!!, a photo by Olivia Linkel on Flickr.

I woke up again at 5:45 and went to take a shower at the bath house. It turns out that the noise Scott heard at our door was actually a hat and two kid’s camera bags falling off of a hook by the door. Kind of funny if you ask me. The bathhouse didn’t open for showers until 7 so I walked over to Pam’s cabin and took a shower there. We were rolling out of the campground with Pam and me in her rental Suburban and Scott driving the FunV with all three kids around 7. It was a pretty drive but still no sign of the mama Grizzly who is raising 3 cubs in the area of our campground. We thought we saw one up on a hill as we drove my but it was too fast and far to see. We made good time on the Rockefeller Parkway and stopped to take a picture in front of the Yellowstone entry sign.
There is still tons of snow on the ground in certain areas of Yellowstone. We drove up from the South Entrance all the way to Old Faithful. We stopped at the Continental Divide twice. Once just to take a picture with the sign and the second to see the spot where on one side, the creek flows in one direction and on the other side it flows in the opposite direction. At this spot, the creek was still ice and the kids through rocks from the bank, trying to break the ice. We stopped at Kepler Cascades and saw the water flowing down the Spring Creek. At this point, I found that I had cell service and I checked to see what time Old Faithful was going to go off. It was 9:30 and she was supposed to go at 9:56, +/- 10 minutes. If we hurried, we could make it in time so we hopped back in the car and FunV and drove over to the parking lot. We hurried to get out of the vehicles and over to the viewing benches and within 10 minutes of getting there, it went off. It was awesome!! About the time she finished, a huge storm cloud was moving in with thunder and lightning so after talking to a few friends/family on the phone, and having them see us on the Old Faithful webcam, we headed indoors to start working on the junior ranger books. Then the rangers announced that Beehive Geyser was about to go off and so we headed back outside to view that. It was an even bigger blast than Old Faithful and much less predictable so we consider ourselves lucky to have seen it. The wind was getting stronger and it was much cooler so we went inside and saw the video about Yellowstone and then it was time for Old Faithful to erupt again so Luke, Pam and I went out to see it go off. Luke got his picture taken with the steam coming out of his head. It was pretty funny. The girls were too cold so they stayed inside and watched. Almost immediately after Old Faithful goes off, they show a video about Geysers so we went inside to watch that and Riley was so exhausted from the excitement of the flight and traveling, that she fell asleep. We decided it was time for lunch so we headed back to the FunV and made some lunch.
After lunch, the storms moved out and we headed out on a hike from Old Faithful up to Obsevation Point which rises about 200 feet in a half mile and is a great place to view Old Faithful going off. We arrived at the summit about 45 minutes before it was expected to erupt and decided not to stay and watch but we did get to see a family of about 6 or 7 Yellow Bellied Marmots scampering amongst the rocks and dead trees. They were quite fun to watch.
Next we headed to Solitary Geyser which was our first experience with a smelly, rotten egg geyser. There were lots of jokes about the smell. We stayed to see it erupt twice, about 3 feet every 5 minutes and then headed down to the boardwalk trail all the way to Morning Glory Pool. I will be honest and say that we did not check any of the mileage before we left and had no idea that we were in for such a long hike. Pam stopped at Castle Geyser and we continued on. My feet were starting to hurt and I wished like mad that I had my flip flops. I think the last two months I have spent wearing them to work and everywhere else has made real shoes nearly unbearable. After passing by geysers, fumaroles and springs too many to count, we finally made it to the bathroom just before Morning Glory. And just so you know, when I say bathroom, I really mean outhouse with a modern toilet seat and real toilet paper with a decent building around it. After a bathroom/snack break we were getting our stuff together and then noticed that there was a bison off in the woods and then we noticed that there were several more bison. That was exciting for the kids. We walked over to have a look at Morning Glory, which sadly is not as beautiful as it once was because of people. Over the years, people have thrown trash and pennies and all kinds of stuff into the pools and hot springs and this changes the chemical composition of the water and often kills the bacteria in the pools causing them to lose their colors. Even when the parks service removes the debris blocking the spring, the harm remains. It is really sad because a lady who was standing beside us said when she was a girl and used to come to Yellowstone, Morning Glory was a beautiful blue. It is still pretty but not nearly as spectacular as it once was.
Finally we were headed back towards Old Faithful and it was a long walk. All of the kids were getting worn out and at Castle Geyser we took a long time to watch as it was going off. This one erupts for about 20 minutes but apparently is not on a regular interval so I think we were pretty lucky to see that one as well. In total, we walked a little over 5 miles and we were beat. All we wanted to do was sit and when we finally made it back to the Old Faithful Inn, we were so happy to have the leather chairs to sit in to wait for dinner. The lobby of the inn is an incredible display of woodwork and old timey charm. I can see why it is such a popular place to stay. We managed to get in 30 minutes before our reservations for dinner. Pam and I had Elk burgers which tasted just like beef only much leaner. Scott had bison ravioli which he enjoyed. Lorelei and I opted for dessert. She had ice cream and I had blueberry scones topped with whipped cream and blueberry compote. It was incredibly delicious and I would highly recommend that if you ever get the chance.
We were beat so after a stop into the bookshop for our passport stamps and a stop into the gift shop where Scott got a hat, we started the drive towards the Canyon Lodge. Unlike most trips, we decided to get hotel rooms for our stay in the park. Canyon will be our base and we will use Pam’s rental car to see the areas of the park while the FunV waits for our departure.
On our drive we passed back over the continental divide and the spot where the kids have thrown rocks at the icy creek was now melted. We passed the Lake Village at Yellowstone Lake and then entered the Hayden Valley. This is well known for having animal sightings and since we were coming through close to duck we figured we might be lucky. We stopped to watch some elk grazing in a grassy area off the road and then at another spot to see some bison in the distance. Pam and I saw some people at one overlook and we asked them what they were looking at and they said a grizzly that was now gone but they also told use there were some more up the road. And indeed there were. We got caught in our first bear jam. There was a mama grizzly and her two cubs feeding in a little valley. People were pulled off all over the road and we stopped to take pictures and let the kids look through our crappy binoculars. I knew I should have bought that $1200 camera lens!!! My pictures are ok once I get them on the computer and zoom in. You can at least tell it is bears. One interesting thing to note is that, we saw some complete idiots walk out on the hill above where the grizzlies were feeding to get a closer look. All of us thought they were crazy. We finally made it through the bear jam and were all so excited. We saw a few more bison right by the road as we entered the Canyon area and then we were at the lodge. We got checked in, made our plans for the next day, showered and were asleep as our heads hit the pillows.

Thursday 6/23

Raven, a photo by Olivia Linkel on Flickr.

Today we headed into Grand Teton National Park. I was up at 5:30, my eyes just seem to pop open at that time. I showered and we left the campground around 6:45. We drove 11 miles into Jackson and stopped at the grocery store to pick up some fresh fruit and things that we would need in Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. I went in and got what we needed and came out to find the kids beginning to wake up. We had rain the night before and there were still some lingering showers but we could see blue sky coming. We also stopped to post my Wednesday blog entry at the McDonald’s . Damn BLOG!! We rode past the national elk refuge but saw no elk. We had been told to take the Gros Ventres road for our best chance to see moose but we decided not to do it (a mistake?).
I had originally hoped to be at the Jenny Lake visitor center to take the 8:30 boat but after our stops, we didn’t get on the boat until 10:00. This boat ride takes 4 miles round trip off the hike to Inspiration Point and we definitely took advantage of it. While I am sure the lakeside trail was nice, we didn’t think the kids would enjoy it. Unfortunately for us, the trail to Inspiration Point was partially closed. You could hike as far as Hidden Falls, which was a great, cold and misty, rushing waterfall that was spectacular because of the heavy snowmelt. But the bridge across had been taken out by a tree or something coming down the water and the extra half mile was closed to us. We could have hiked along the horse trail but it was partially snow covered and very muddy. Even the last 100 – 150 yards to Hidden Falls was snow covered. The kids used my hiking sticks and had fun playing with the snow and so all we did was the mile roundtrip.
After our boat ride back across Jenny Lake, we had a nice lunch in the camper and then continued up the road. We stopped at almost every turnout to marvel at the mountains. We stopped at the Jackson Lake Dam river access and played on the rocks. We also made terrible jokes using the word dam. You know, “where is the dam t-shirt shop”, “I need to stop at the dam bathroom”, “where is the dam snack bar”, etc to the point where Luke said “I wish you would dam stop”. It’s a joke that Luke got out of the Percy Jackson books and we had way too much fun using it.
After the dam, we drove out the eastern road through the Tetons to look for animals. The only thing we saw were bison at a place called Elk Ranch Flats. Most people would think we would see elk there but they would be wrong. We came back up the eastern road and headed to Colter Bay Village to check into our RV spot and finish the kids junior ranger badges. Cell service was spotty in this area but we finally hooked up with Pam and Riley. They checked into their cabin and then we headed over to the Jackson Lake Lodge for dinner. I had Coq Au Vin and Scott and Pam each had steaks. I think they enjoyed theirs more than I did but the atmosphere was really good and the company even better. We looked at the flats off the back porch of the lodge and there were some elk off in the distance but none close enough to say we had actually seen them. There was also a moose, we were told, but again, we could not see it. I knew I should have bought that $1200 camera lens.
Riley ended up staying with us in the camper and all of the kids were very excited to have new people on our trip. As we were going to sleep, Scott heard something at the camper door and we both got an adrenaline rush – is it a bear??? Scott turned on the outside light but saw nothing through the window and said he sure as hell wasn’t opening the door. We both had a little trouble going to sleep after that. It was an exciting day and the start of a different adventure with Pam and Riley in Yellowstone.

Wednesday - June 22

This is being posted from a McDonald's on the way into Grand Tetons and reflects my thoughts last night.  Expect no posts or pictures until Wednesday of next week.

Today has been a perfect day. We had to be at the campground office at 7:15 to catch our ride for out float trip on the Snake River. I must be getting use to less sleep because my eyes popped open at 5:15 and I could not go back to sleep. I laid there feeling cozy in the covers and checked my email, facebook and words with friends. Surprisingly, I have 3G service on my cell although I don’t expect that to continue after today.


We got the kids up and everyone ate breakfast and dressed for warmth because the low last night was 43 degrees. We walked over to the office, caught the bus which stopped in town to pick up a few more people and then drove us to the launch site. We noticed the whole way out that the rivers and creeks were over their banks and we heard this morning that parts of the highway in South Dakota are closed because of flooding. The Tetons and the Gros Ventres range have had 320% more snowfall than normal and many of the snowcaps that we have seen on our drive would normally be melted by now. This means that the river is high and those venturing out on the whitewater trip were sure to have an exciting ride. It also means that the river is flowing at a pretty good pace for the scenic trip. We met our guides and got our life vests. Fortunately, the four of us had a boat all to ourselves which was really wonderful.

We launched onto the river and were floating away which some great views of the Grand Tetons. The whole thing took about 2 and a half hours and it was beautiful. There were no clouds in the sky and the temperatures started to warm up. Lorelei and I put on our hats because we were cold but otherwise we were quite comfortable. Luke quickly made friends with Bryson and Morgan and they were trading jokes and stories in no time. The first animal we saw was a marmot on the back of the river. Pretty quickly after that we saw our first bald eagle. There were also many flocks of pelicans that fish by working in a group and\ trapping the fish in a cove and walking toward the shore with their mouths open. They can hold 3 gallons in their throat pouch which is pretty impressive. We saw a hawk and a western bluebird, they have light grey/blue bellies as opposed to an eastern bluebird which has a white/brown belly. Lorelei loved seeing the eagles and I was hoping for a moose but will have to wait on that one. Our guides did give us some tips for seeing some in Grand Tetons so I still have my fingers crossed. All in all, we saw 10 eagles and two nests which our guides told us was a lot for the river conditions. Usually you only see that many when the water is a little calmer. For my Hollywood loving friends, we also saw Uma Thurman’s house (she is here less than 50% of the time) and Harrison Ford’s ranch, which he grooms for the cross country ski team to practice on. He is a resident because he is here more than 50% of the time and he is apparently a snowboarder and likes to hang out at the ski resorts in the winter.

The guides told Luke that he could steer the boat and the entire trip, he kept asking was it his turn. As we neared the end, they gave him his chance. And in fact Lorelei and Scott also had the chance to steer. They use oars to steer the rafts we were on and Scott was used to paddles from his rafting adventures but he did pretty good and I had a momentary wish of us moving some place like this and him being a river guide. It would be fun. The kids seemed to enjoy themselves. We went through one bumpy spot and Lorelei really liked that. I think she is going to love a big whitewater adventure.

We landed at a little cove and the bus was there waiting to take us the 10 minutes back to the campground. It was a very nice birthday present.

It was nearly time for lunch and we were all happy to relax and warm up a little so we turned on a movie and ate lunch. Scott and I took showers and did two loads of laundry. Then we played several games of cornhole. Next we read our book aloud in the shade of our awning as the cotton from the cotton wood trees clew by. The temperature was perfect and everyone was content. I did a little yoga and meditation as the kids played some games on Scott’s iPad.

Scott made crab cakes and rice for dinner, my favorite thing to eat and we are now preparing for s’mores and a toasty fire. There’s no birthday cake but I think this great day made up for it.

Tomorrow we drive into Grand Tetons and will be hiking at Jenny Lake. I have heard it is really beautiful and I cannot wait to stretch my legs in these beautiful mountains. We will also be joined at Colter Bay in the park by my aunt Pam and Riley. We have dinner reservations at the Jackson Lake Lodge which is supposed to be great food.

On Friday we will drive into Yellowstone to stay until Tuesday. Everything I have read says that cell service is spotty in Yellowstone and I will not have access to Wifi until we reach Cody, WY so I will have abbreviated posts that are texted in at best and likely there will be none. I will be writing our adventures each night so look for a fun read mid-next week.

If you happen to be bored on Friday around lunchtime eastern time, check out the Old Faithful camera at the following link. www.yellowstone.net/ofliveoriginal.htm You might catch a glimpse of us!!

Wifi in Jackson has been down all afternoon. I have a great post all typed up on the computer but can't get it posted. I am reduced to texting an entry from my phone. Will try to get it posted in the morning.

Fossil Butte

The only picture I can actually post from Fossil Butte, a photo by Olivia Linkel on Flickr.

We left Cheyenne at 7AM this morning. This was the first day that the kids did not get up when we did. They slept an additional hour and woke up as we were pulling into the stop at the Lincoln Monument, which is the highest elevation on I-80, the first transcontinental highway in America. The wind from Monday was still blowing and it was 46 degrees at the monument. Scott and I walked up to the statue, I took a few pictures and we left.
We then drove across Wyoming with Fossil Butte National Monument as our first destination. We stopped for gas around 11:00 and since that is 1:00 EST, we were all hungry for lunch. I made quesadillas and then we were back on the road, arriving at 1:30 at Fossil Butte, near Kemmerer, Wyoming.
If you read last summer’s blog, you know that Butte, Montana became the butt of a lot of jokes for us. It was also a spot where Scott convinced the kids that they should stand next to the Butte sign and moon me. Fossil Butte has been no exception to the jokes and with some maneuvering; we have another picture, this time of fossil buttes. Once we were done with that adventure at the sign, we went into the museum to learn what fossil butte really represents. Millions of years ago, there was a lake in this area with fish and alligators, horses and all number of birds, insect and plant life. At some point that lake dried up and the species that had been there became fossilized in the limestone. They can pull up layers of rock that have multiple fossils. We got to watch and talk to someone who was cleaning the rock off of the fossil and watch the video and of course, get the junior ranger badges. It was pretty interesting.
From there, we headed north on highway 89 through several small towns. It was a beautiful 2 and ½ hour drive, paralleling the Snake River and crossing over the mountains. Many of the mountains have snow in the shady places and the highest peaks are snow capped. We arrived at our campground outside of Jackson Hole around 6:30 and immediately grilled hamburgers for dinner while the kids played at the playground. After dinner we played some competitive cornhole and then got the kids ready for bed. We will be here two nights and the goal is not to drive anywhere in the FunV tomorrow.
Wednesday is my birthday and we have plans to be floating down the Snake River to get a glimpse of the wildlife. We didn’t feel like the kids were quite ready for a big rafting adventure so we chose the 13 mile scenic float. I can’t wait, I am hoping for a moose.

Against the wind....

The prairie from our campground, a photo by Olivia Linkel on Flickr.

We left Lincoln at 6:50 central time and headed west on I-80. The temperature was about 65 and remained there or cooler for the rest of the day. One of the things that I think most people don’t think about when they come west is the constant breeze. There is no way to get away from the wind on the “prairie”. This happened last year as well. Today there was a front moving through and the wind was constantly on us for the drive across Nebraska. For most of the drive, Scott had the steering wheel angled to the right to keep the camper straight against the winds blowing 25 – 35 mph. We changed over from summer to winter clothes today as well because of the wind. It just seems to blow right into your bones.
It was another long driving day. We stopped to pick up a few things at Walmart, just as an excuse to stretch our legs around lunchtime. The kids did a good job staying busy. Luke started a new book and I read aloud from the Kane series – The Red Pyramid.
We arrived in Cheyenne around 2:15 mountain time and our first stop was the capitol building. It is a very pretty building built in 1888 and we went inside to get out of the wind and take the self guided tour. This was the first capitol building we have been in that did not require any kind of security check. I was shocked because I have gotten so used to the metal detectors and license checks we have experienced before. This was also the first capitol where you could fully explore the house and senate chambers. Most of them only allow you to step in and take a peak whereas this one allowed you full access to the balconies. The two things that stood out the most for me were the beautiful Tiffany style stained glass ceilings and the 3000 pound bison (3rd largest recorded in the books) that was stuffed and on display. Luke was amazed by that statue and said “his nose is as big as my head”.
We left the capitol and headed over to the Cheyenne Depot museum. The building was spectacular and has been restored to its grandeur from the hay days of the Union Pacific railroad. The area reminded me a lot of the restored riverfront and train museum in Sacramento. We tried on some of the period clothes before returning to the FunV about 4:45 to relax and throw a pizza in the oven. We had dinner and then walked the 4 blocks over to Gunslingers Square where the Cheyenne Gunslingers do some trick shots and put on a little show. They have been doing this for 28 years. It was kind of hokie but the kids really enjoyed it. Next we headed to The Wrangler, a western store, where the kids tried on cowboy hats and then were shocked that I wouldn’t buy them $40+ hats.
We were ready for some down time so we drove 10 minutes to the campground. Scott and the kids took their showers, had some dessert and watched a movie while I uploaded pictures. They went to bed around 10 mountain time and quickly fell right to sleep. The wind has finally let up some but the temperature is already down to 51 and our heater is running.
We are headed to Fossil Butte National Monument as our lunch time stop and then finally to Jackson, WY. I am trying to get all of the pictures so far onto FLICKR tonight for those that care to take a look.

We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto!!

We were up at 5:30 central time this morning. We all slept good except for the thunder storm that rolled through around 2:30 this morning. After Scott and I showered we headed out of St. Louis. The kids woke up earlier than I hoped they would which meant we were in for a long day. After about an hour of driving, we stopped to get gas and there happened to be a Waffle House next door so I stopped in and picked up breakfast. I think I am spoiled because I had forgotten what it was like to go into a restaurant where people are allowed to smoke. Apparently Missouri doesn't have that law and I hated the entire 10 minute wait to get our food.

We drove across Missouri, through Kansas City and then across part of Kansas until we finally turned north toward Lincoln, Nebraska. The kids played and built forts out of sleeping bags but they were also pretty bored. Lorelei took a nap while Luke played games on the iPad. When they finally came to me about being bored, I made them write in their journals for 20 minutes. Both of their entries were about how boring all of the "driving and driving and driving" was. They don't know it yet but they'll be doing more of the same tomorrow.

About an hour south of Lincoln, is the town of Beatrice which is the location of the Homestead Monument. This spot marks the first land issued under the Homestead Act of 1862 and honors both the Native Americans who were so adversely affected and the adventurous people who ventured out to settle the west. We toured the museum, walked the grounds and watched the movie while the kids did their junior ranger books. It was good to get out of the FunV but it was also getting close to dinner time so we left around 5:45 to drive to the capitol building in Lincoln.

Unfortunately, our drive took longer than we had hoped and we were too late to tour the capitol. It is the tallest building in Lincoln and quite pretty. When we take a picture with the four of us, I use my tripod and timer settings on my camera and it has become an inside joke for Scott and the kids to say "run Forrest, run" every time I rush to get into the picture. Usually we can get it done on the first try but it took 9 times today to get one where everyone looked good, had their eyes open and was smiling. At least we were getting a good laugh out of it.

The campground was 5 minutes from the capitol and we headed there next. We woofed down some homemade tacos and headed to the pool for a swim. Then we played "gurnhole", with the boys beating the girls and caught fireflies for the second night in a row. Another long driving day tomorrow to make it to Cheyenne, WY.

No pictures posted tonight, hopefully tomorrow night.

We came a long way to St. Louis...

We left Asheville around 7:30 this morning because today was a really long driving day. In our first half hour on the road, we saw 2 hot air balloons floating over the mountains. We made really good time despite the huge thunder storm that rolled through Monterey, TN around 11:00. It was so dark you would have thought the sun was setting and then the skies opened up and unleashed a ton of rain. A lot of people pulled over to the side of the road but Scott kept rolling and the worst was over by around 11:30 although we hit pockets of rain until the after 2:00 eastern time. The sun reappeared while we were in Kentucky and was with us the rest of the afternoon.

We ate lunch while we were rolling and we stopped to stretch our legs somewhere in Illinois. There was a great see saw at the rest area that all of us could get on and we had fun playing for about 15 minutes. The kids kept themselves pretty entertained all day. I taught them to play poker and blackjack and they did that for well over an hour, betting with pennies. We have seen 36 of the states in the license plate game and I let Luke win at Scrabble.

In Illinois, we were coming up on another camper hauling a suburban from NC and as we passed, we realized that it was one of Scott's co-workers who will also be in Yellowstone sometime in the next 2 weeks. It was real fun to see someone we knew on the road.

We arrived in St. Louis around 5 o'clock and had a fun time trying to find a place to park. The Mississippi is nearly 3 feet above flood stage and the river front road (Wharf St.) is under water. This is normally where oversized vehicles park and there was a Cardinals game tonight so all of the surface lots were filling up. We finally found a place and walked over to the Arch. It was after our normal dinner time so we gave the kids granola bars and went underground to tour the museum and get our tickets to the top. Luke was afraid that the ride to the top would be like a roller coaster with the uphill portion clicking and slowly rising and then a really fast descent. Obviously it wasn't at all like that but the comment Lorelei made about being in trouble if the arch fell freaked him out a little so we went back to the bottom pretty quickly.

Junior ranger badges were finished and after some photos outside, we headed back to the camper to go get checked in at the campground. By that time it was after 9 pm central time and well past the kids bedtime. We ate a dinner of cereal and fruit and put everyone to bed. We have about an 8 hour drive ahead of us tomorrow to make it to Lincoln, Nebraska.

No pictures on flickr tonight as I am just too tired. Hopefully tomorrow night.

Anyone for cornhole?

Anyone for cornhole?, a photo by Olivia Linkel on Flickr.

Last night we got a jump on our trip by driving the 2 hours to Asheville. We stayed with my aunt Pam who will be joining us in Yellowstone with my cousins daughter, Riley.

The picture in this post is our new, custom made cornhole board. Of course there is a back story. At the Lego store, you can make your own people and Scott put together these criminals that he calls the Gurn brothers. In our Lego world, they steal Harry Potters wand and the Star Wars spaceships. Scott mentioned painting him on the board and the kids liked the idea so I sewed money bags and Scott drew the guy and we worked this week to get it painted by Friday. So now we have a 'Gurnhole' game. Can't wait to play!!

We left Asheville for St. Louis, about an 11 hour drive, at 7:30 this morning. We hope to be at the Jefferson Arch shortly after dinner.