Another Day at Yellowstone

I am still trying to get caught up on blogging about our adventures. I will try to put two posts up today and then I will be up-to-date. Hooray!

Saturday we returned to Yellowstone. It was a beautiful day and we had a wonderful time. It is such an amazing park!

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scenes from Yellowstone

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Norris Geyser

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Roosevelt Arch 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elk in Mammoth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A buffalo grazing on the prairie and (picture #2) a buffalo sitting just outside a restroom. It was a bit of a shock to see a giant buffalo sitting there when we came out and turned the corner. So awesome!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A herd of buffalo and (picture #2) a long line of cars waiting for another herd to finish crossing the road. We were pretty far back in the line, as you can see, but fortunately we had my grandfather’s binoculars to watch the crossing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful Jackson Lake and one last good-bye to the Tetons

Teton and Yellowstone

This is an exciting day! My sister gave birth to a little boy this afternoon. Congratulations to John and Katie and the three big sisters!  I have now been blessed with 21 nieces and nephews! 

So… I have fallen behind in blogging. We had a wonderfully busy weekend and then Monday I had a terrible headache all day, so I will try to get a little caught up now. And I am sorry this post is so long. Friday we were back in Teton to hike a trail that skirted beautiful Jenny Lake. Saturday, Nick and George had a wonderful adventure exploring a wind cave in Targhee National Forest (hopefully he’ll blog about that tomorrow). Sunday we spent the day in Yellowstone National Park. I should say we spent *most* of the day in Yellowstone, because we were actually in two national parks, 3 states (Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho), 3 national forests and a wilderness area before the day was done. It was quite a day!

Hiking around Jenny Lake on Friday

Sunday we drove through Teton, making a few stops, to get to Yellowstone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visiting the AMAZING Yellowstone National Park

A picnic lunch at Lewis Lake (Luckily, we did not encounter Yogi Bear!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We saw Old Faithful and other geysers erupt. Very cool!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Lewis River and Nez Perce Creek

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wildlife! We saw a lot of really awesome things in Yellowstone, but the wildlife was definitely the highlight!  Most of the creatures we saw in the park were along the Nez Perce Creek (coyote, elk, and buffalo).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wish I would have gotten more pictures of Idaho, but we were all tired by the end of the day and a storm was approaching so we just wanted to get home.  In any case, the farm land was so lovely and I have never seen so many wildflowers. It was absolutely delightful! Here are a couple of pictures of the the Tetons from the Idaho side.

The Tetons have loomed up grandly against the sky. From this point it is perhaps the finest pictorial range in the United States or even North America. -Thomas Moran, while painting the Tetons from the Idaho side, 1879

Grand Teton National Park

There are no foothills to the Tetons. They rise suddenly in rugged majesty from the rock strewn plain… the soft light floods the great expanse of the valley, the winding silvery river and the resplendent deeply carved mountain walls. -Lieutenant Gustavus Cheney Doane, 1876

(As always, click on a picture to view it larger)

For most of the trip from Pinedale to the park, the road follows alongside the Hoback River.  The drive begins in the enchanting, open prairie lands of Sublette County and ends with the majestic beauty of Teton County.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grand Teton National Park was a wonderful place to celebrate the 4th of July. It is definitely America the beautiful!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cathedral Group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful Jenny Lake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The view of the valley from Signal Mountain’s summit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The wildflowers are plentiful and oh so lovely!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Snake River at Oxbow Bend Overlook

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is so awesome to see buffalo roam across the prairie. It conjures up images of another time in this place and stirs the imagination with visions of the old west.

Happy 4th of July from Wyoming

One flag, one land, one heart, one hand, One Nation evermore! -Oliver Wendell Holmes

Happy 4th of July from beautiful Pinedale, Wyoming!  We are staying in a great little rv park that borders on the Bridger-Teton National Forest. I love Wyoming! It is spacious and empty and wonderfully serene. In the midst of this crazy, busy world, I truly appreciate the peaceful solitude of this place.

Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your children’s children. Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of its beauty, its riches or its romance.  -Theodore Roosevelt

The beautiful rv park where we are staying. Most of the land you see in this picture is actually national forest.

We heard a strange squeaking sound coming from the grass just outside our rv. We discovered countless burrows and saw at least a dozen prairie dogs scampering about. Here is one of our little neighbors.

This forest is just beautiful!

We will be spending our day in the Grand Teton National Park appreciating this beautiful country and the blessing it is to live here.

On the Road Again

We had such an amazing time at Redwood National and State Parks!  It is awe inspiring, to say the least, to stand among the tallest trees in the world.  We wish we had more time to spend there, but a year isn’t as long as it seems. We just don’t have enough time to stay in all the places we’d like to linger or even enough time to visit all of the places and things we’d like to see.

Yesterday afternoon we began our journey towards Yosemite. We made a brief stop in the Six Rivers National Forest before heading on to the Shasta Trinity National Forest. Both forests were lovely. The drive, up and down mountains on twisty-turny roads, was a bit stressful and took a toll on our brakes.  Pulling a travel trailer makes traveling a whole different experience! We are staying near Shasta Lake for a day or two before moving on to Sacramento.

Six Rivers National Forest

George found a centipede

Shasta Trinity National Forest

Trinity River and a beautiful rainbow after a brief shower in Shasta Trinity National Forest

Redwood, Some REALLY Tall Trees

We have spent two chilly, wet, fabulous days in the Redwood Forest.  Redwood National and State Parks are amazing! Amazing! I am incapable of capturing the grandness, height, and beauty in my words or pictures. If you have never been to the Redwoods, you really should see these awesome trees for yourself.

“The redwoods, once seen, leave a mark or create a vision that stays with you always. No one has ever successfully painted or photographed a redwood tree. The feeling they produce is not transferable. From them comes silence and awe. It’s not only their unbelievable stature, nor the color which seems to shift and vary under your eyes, no, they are not like any trees we know, they are ambassadors from another time.” -John Steinbeck, Travels With Charley: In Search of America

(click on pictures to view them larger)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is a tree lovers paradise. And even if you are not the tree hugger type, this just might make a lover out of you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday my husband wanted to hike Fern Canyon in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. The 8 mile drive to the canyon was fantastic with tall moss covered trees and ferns all along the road. Towards the end of the drive the ocean comes into view. Just lovely!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortnately, I was having an IBD day and the bumpy ride was not helpful. I rested in the car while my family hiked. My husband said that it was one the most beautiful places he has ever visited. He brought back these pictures from Fern Canyon.

I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.  -e.e. cummings

Oh, Deer!

In Monday’s blog post I completely forgot to mention our close encounter with a mule deer on Sunday.  We had entered the park through the St. Mary’s entrance and driven up the Sun Road about 14 miles until it was closed off at the Jackson’s Glacier Overlook. From there, the road was open another three miles for hikers. We hiked up the road about a mile before returning to our truck. Just as we got to the parking lot a mule deer came leaping out of the woods. She stood there, just feet in front of Caleb and George, for quite some time, before heading off into the woods on the opposite side of the lot.

(I am sorry the picture quality is poor.)

Then as we were heading out of the park, we spotted a moose standing in the middle of the Sun Road. When we drove up closer, it moved just off to the side of the road. We were all very excited! I hadn’t seen a moose since I was in Alaska nearly 20 years ago and my kids had never seen one. I wish I had been able to snap a picture!