Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Yellowstone...

After we left the Tetons, we spent 4 nights in Yellowstone National Park.
There was still snow hanging around in several places.
We drove every loop in the park and were in the car a lot, but we did take the time to get out and enjoy nature!
We saw lots of wild life including elk, buffalo, antelope, moose and bear!
Some were a little too close for comfort!
It was down to 23 degrees one night!  Needless to say we slept with lots of layers on, and kept fairly warm.



I asked Luisa what she was doing with those sticks, she just game me this look.  I finally figured out, she was 'carving' like the big boys do with their knives!  I think she thought I was going to take her 'knife' {stick} away!
Of course we waited for Old Faithful to erupt!
Spencer whacked away at this downed tree and gave us lots of firewood!



We stayed in Canyon campground which is near the middle of the park and my most favorite area, they call this the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  It is so beautiful!





We went to West Yellowstone with some friends and went shopping and out to dinner.  Jayden bought himself a Stetson hat!
The boys had elk and buffalo burgers!
How cute is this cowboy?!?

My dad the clock repair man, in front of a huge od clock in the Old Faithful Inn.
We enjoyed a picnic and decided Yellowstone needs to invest in more picnic tables and areas!


It was so great to be out west again, this time being the mom and having my parents along was just the icing on the cake!  It was so fun to see the kids faces as they experienced it!  We had so much fun, and the kids did great, even with all the riding!

Sunday, July 7, 2013

The Tetons...

After we left the Dale and Jill, we went south to the Tetons.  We camped at Colter Bay for 2 nights and just went up and down and all around the area. 

It was so absolutely beautiful!

This guy got in a TON of his required driving hours. He drove through the Teton Pass, where there are no rumble strips or guard rails and beyond the white line on the side of the road is a HUGE drop off!  He did a great job and is a very good driver!


We brought 2 tents, but forgot the tent poles to the smaller tent so we all slept in one.  Which, turned out to be a blessing, since it got so cold some most of the nights!  There was not one inch of extra space, just beds!  Nice and cozy!







They saw a moose!  The wild flowers were AMAZING!
This is at the top of Signal mountain, it was the most stunning area.


This is another moose we saw pretty close on one of our drives.  They are so huge!

Of course a camping trip would not be complete without one of Grama T.'s famous bedtime stories!  Friends from church were with us at the same campground and got to enjoy the story as well!
The boys thought maybe this was the safest place to stay, in the bear box!  We were thankful they had these things, since we couldn't keep any food or cooking supplies in the tent{not that there was room in our tent!}It saved some room in the vehicle.
I love this picture, they are both sitting the same way!  So cute!




The sunroof came in handy when trying to spot animals!
We spent a few hours in Jackson Hole window shopping.


I wasn't sure how much Lucy or Anaya would get out of this trip, lots of driving and looking at the scenery.  But, they both loved it, Lucy kept saying "it's preedy!" or "look mommy it budiful!"  She was also great at spotting and yelling "BUFFALO!"