Grand Tetons NP, Wyoming

Since we're short on time until we need to be in Kentucky, we decided to squeeze in the Grand Teton National Park while camping in West Yellowstone instead of making a separate stay down there.  We almost didn't go because it was a 3 hour drive to get there, since the south entrance of Yellowstone and the north entrance road to Grand Tetons were still closed for "the season".  We're SO glad that we made the long drive and that we didn't miss this park.  It is amazingly gorgeous!

To get there, we had to drive through east Idaho... early in the morning we saw this and it made me giggle:

Arnold Seed Potatoes

We finally found Idaho potatoes!

Jackson Hole, Wyoming:

Love, love this town!

Monty and I are coming back someday to ski the slopes of Jackson Hole, WY!!!!!
Those runs look amazing!

Jackson Hole city green

Grand Tetons:

http://www.nps.gov/grte

You know our routine...first stop is always the visitor center for maps and Jr. Ranger booklets.

We've had the most spectacular views out of our windshield the last few weeks!

We were getting hungry, so we picked a spot for a picnic lunch.  

Nice spot, eh?

Picnic on the banks of String Lake.

The only other people there was a couple... and the husband is a photographer.  He took this photo of us.  He actually sat down in the sand to get the angle right!

We played along the banks for a little while, but then we needed to move on.  The couple that we ran into suggested hiking the Jenny Lake south trail.

Jenny Lake with my blessings :)

The kids were more excited about rocks to climb and jump on than the view behind them :)

The whole time we were in these two parks, I wanted to see moose.  Well...this is the closest I came to my dream :)

Fresh moose scat

 At least there were a lot of chipmunks and other critters to enjoy...

One of my favorite critters on the trail:

Thankful we got the scoop about the trail...

 After we completed the hike, the kids had finished their requirements for their junior ranger badges.

Exploring a new road through the park and we found these guys:

This is how I spent much of my time!

Oxbow and the Tetons

These elk were swimming in the creek.

We found a new bird!

A Yellowheaded blackbird...

Our last trail to explore this day:

Lakeshore Trail on Colter Bay

We had this trail and area of the park totally to ourselves!  

View from the trail

B-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l:

Another rock walking challenge

Success!

Um...how do we get back?
They had to jump really far to reach the island from the last rock.  The jump wasn't possible in the reverse.
So we spent time throwing large rocks to them from the shore :)
Eventually, they had a pile and a plan.

Teamwork!

Good-bye Grand Tetons, we loved you!

 Sunset on the Idaho side of the Grand Tetons

I love this building...with the sunsetting through the little window.

The west side of this building as the sun was setting...

Saying good-bye to West Yellowstone, as it's time to head east.

We're thankful for all our experiences here this week, as well as so thankful for the ones not experienced:

like a run-in with a grizzly on a trail!

God is always Faithful,
even in Grizzly country.

Yellowstone National Park, WY (Day Two)

We started Day Two at the West Yellowstone visitor center so the kids could turn in their Jr. Ranger workbooks and become Yellowstone Junior Rangers:

Well done kids!

The bison welcoming committee was out again this morning and really showing off!  These two were butting heads.  They must be brothers :)

Then we were blessed with an extra special treat... a momma and her brand new calf!  We were there very early in the season and we didn't think we'd see any calves yet.  The Lord was so sweet to let us see this one!

The bison continue to charm us throughout the day, as they joined us on the road...

Surprises are around every corner in Yellowstone!  You just never know who is going to be
meandering down the road :)

Monty, are you eyeing me????

Sometimes they come in herds and they block the whole road!  We followed these guys for quite awhile before we finally got around them.  I can't imagine how bad traffic must be in the middle of summer when the bison take over the roads!  The traffic jams must be terrible!

Um...this is *MY* park!

More friends around the park...

Our male grizzly bear from yesterday was up walking around today!  

Our lunch time Elk companions...hanging out next to our picnic table!
(There are 5 or so in the shade, too!)

Our first stop for the day was Mammoth Hot Springs at the north end of the park.  We hiked around the terrace trails...It was interesting, but not our favorite spot.  Yellowstone NP the world's largest collection of geysers and thermal activity.  This means that there are lots of interesting features and lots of smelly sections. :) 

Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces

I think the sulfur smells were going to our heads :)

This was the most exciting find in the Mammoth area:

Any guesses as to the animal these bones belong?

We headed back down into the park to explore a new area...the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone!  Since we didn't make it to the real Grand Canyon on this journey, we enjoyed this area.  The view from the North Rim...

I love seeing a rainbow over my kids...ALL of God's promises are yes and amen!

The kids loved throwing snowballs over the rail...it's amazing how far they fly when they also have a HUGE vertical drop!

We have more park to explore, so we started heading to Yellowstone Lake.  However, we had a HUGE distraction on our way:

A momma grizzly and her two cubs!  What an amazing surprise treat!!!

We stopped and enjoyed watching this little group walk across the hillside:

Yes mom, we were a safe distance away ;)

They went from snow patch to snow patch.

They were so fun to watch.  Just before I took the picture below, the bear on the bottom of the snowbank slid down it, just like in nature movies.  :)

Can you see where the bear on the bottom slid down?  :)  The other two bears learned from him
and they walked around.

See all the bear tracks in the snow?  We set out to find some where they started near the road.   And the kids found some!

Fresh tracks!

What other exciting things await?

Mud volcano:

Yellowstone Lake from Fishing Bridge:

I think this is so funny...Fishing Bridge:  Closed to fishing!

There are little geysers or hot springs at the edges of this lake that keep that area from freezing.

We had a great two days in Yellowstone.  It was a treat seeing all the wild animals.  It was fun finding them!   The park wore us out, so we took the next day off and rejuvenated at the camper.  We needed our rest to get ready for our jaunt down to the Grand Tetons!