Monday, June 30, 2014
Only Scott slept in the tent last night since the girls were afraid of getting eaten by bears. However, all woke up well. We took a bunch of pictures of the lake and Teton mountains before leaving our campsite. We then started our drive to Salt Lake City. We went up the teton pass to Idaho. We had a "world famous" square ice cream in Swan Valley, ID...it was good. We grabbed lunch in Idaho Falls and bought an atlas so we could trace our route. Eventually we entered Utah and found a hotel in Salt Lake City. At the hotel we did laundry, swam, and ordered tasty mexican food for dinner. Time to catch up on some rest.
Monday, June 30, 2014
Sunday, June 29, 2014 Tetons
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Scott and Attie woke up in the tent while mom and Audra woke up on the van. We had to rush but made some oatmeal for the drive. We made it to Jenny Lake in time for the ranger hike to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. We took a boat ride across the lake to the hiking trail. At the dock a grey fox ran across the trail...it was a good start to the hike. We climbed up the trail to see the lower falls and climbed some more to see the hidden falls. The falls were awesome! We then climbed some more to inspiration point. We saw ground squirrels and marmots but we didn't see the black bear people warned us about. The ranger talked to us about how the mountains formed and how the park became protected.
Once at the top we could go our own way. We hiked back down from inspiration point and then hiked the whole way back to the Jenny Lake ranger station. It was 3 miles but felt like forever even though it was beautiful hiking between the lake and the mountains. After our hike, we went into Jackson to have lunch at Genevive's. The food was really good and we could sit on the patio.
After lunch we looked for a place to ride horses. We ended up going to Teton Village (where the Jackson Hole ski lodge is located). We did a 2 hour horseback ride in the hills and around a prairie. Audra looked forward to this for a long time and was quite happy...although silent during the ride. The horses sure liked to stop and eat grass, but this was good practice for us to guide the horses. Once we got off the horses our knees were a bit sore. I guess we weren't used to horseback riding.
On the way back to Summit campground we stopped to pick up steaks at the Dornan store (a popular and nice place...and reasonable prices). We went back to our campground and checked out the picnic area on the lake, but it was full. We cooked back at our own site. The charcoal took a while so we added twigs until we could get a good fire going. The steaks liked the additional help and tasted great. We then went to check out the sunset again, but it wasn't as cloudy this night. It was still beautiful though. It was then time to get some sleep for the next day.
Scott and Attie woke up in the tent while mom and Audra woke up on the van. We had to rush but made some oatmeal for the drive. We made it to Jenny Lake in time for the ranger hike to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. We took a boat ride across the lake to the hiking trail. At the dock a grey fox ran across the trail...it was a good start to the hike. We climbed up the trail to see the lower falls and climbed some more to see the hidden falls. The falls were awesome! We then climbed some more to inspiration point. We saw ground squirrels and marmots but we didn't see the black bear people warned us about. The ranger talked to us about how the mountains formed and how the park became protected.
Once at the top we could go our own way. We hiked back down from inspiration point and then hiked the whole way back to the Jenny Lake ranger station. It was 3 miles but felt like forever even though it was beautiful hiking between the lake and the mountains. After our hike, we went into Jackson to have lunch at Genevive's. The food was really good and we could sit on the patio.
After lunch we looked for a place to ride horses. We ended up going to Teton Village (where the Jackson Hole ski lodge is located). We did a 2 hour horseback ride in the hills and around a prairie. Audra looked forward to this for a long time and was quite happy...although silent during the ride. The horses sure liked to stop and eat grass, but this was good practice for us to guide the horses. Once we got off the horses our knees were a bit sore. I guess we weren't used to horseback riding.
On the way back to Summit campground we stopped to pick up steaks at the Dornan store (a popular and nice place...and reasonable prices). We went back to our campground and checked out the picnic area on the lake, but it was full. We cooked back at our own site. The charcoal took a while so we added twigs until we could get a good fire going. The steaks liked the additional help and tasted great. We then went to check out the sunset again, but it wasn't as cloudy this night. It was still beautiful though. It was then time to get some sleep for the next day.
Saturday, June 28, 2014 - Yellowstone to Grand Teton
Saturday, June 28, 2014
We woke up in West Yellowstone bright and early so that we could pack our bags to leave. We wanted to get an early start to our day to save our self a camp site. Then we drove through the park and saw lots cool things like a waterfall, geysers, and a bald Eagle
Then we drove to Grand Teton National Park. When we got out we were at a nature preserve. We got a junior ranger booklet to become junior rangers at this park as well. It didn’t take us too long to find a campsite about 20 minutes away from Jackson, WY. After setting the tent up in the rain, we headed into Jackson for an early dinner. We ate at a place called Thai Me Up and had yummy Pad Thai and Curry. We walked around town a little and watched a reenactment of a shoot out out on the street by a theatre company. We found a park near Snow King with a climbing wall that we climbed and then went back to our campsite.
Attie and Scott found a trail to the lake and watched the sunset on the Teton mountains. We took LOTS of pictures because the clouds lit up super bright pink and orange around the mountains. We went back to get mom and Audra but the sky show was ending.
We are going to bed early because we have a hike we want to do in the morning and we plan to horseback ride in the afternoon.
We woke up in West Yellowstone bright and early so that we could pack our bags to leave. We wanted to get an early start to our day to save our self a camp site. Then we drove through the park and saw lots cool things like a waterfall, geysers, and a bald Eagle
Then we drove to Grand Teton National Park. When we got out we were at a nature preserve. We got a junior ranger booklet to become junior rangers at this park as well. It didn’t take us too long to find a campsite about 20 minutes away from Jackson, WY. After setting the tent up in the rain, we headed into Jackson for an early dinner. We ate at a place called Thai Me Up and had yummy Pad Thai and Curry. We walked around town a little and watched a reenactment of a shoot out out on the street by a theatre company. We found a park near Snow King with a climbing wall that we climbed and then went back to our campsite.
Attie and Scott found a trail to the lake and watched the sunset on the Teton mountains. We took LOTS of pictures because the clouds lit up super bright pink and orange around the mountains. We went back to get mom and Audra but the sky show was ending.
We are going to bed early because we have a hike we want to do in the morning and we plan to horseback ride in the afternoon.
Friday, June 27, 2014
6/27 - Zipline and Yellowstone
Friday, June 27, 2014.
Today we had breakfast in West Yellowstone. It was raining so we decided to find some rain jackets for the girls, including mom. We were directed to a variety store and found full rain suits for the girls. They looked like the twins in The Great Outdoors :-)
After breakfast, Scott, Audra, and Attie headed towards Big Sky, Montana to do a zipline in the Gallatin mountains. Angela stayed in West Yellowstone to do some shopping and relaxing (and avoid scary ladders high off the ground). The girls were very brave and had a great time on the zip lines. Only one bridge was a bit scare, but the girls did great on that too.
Angela picked up subs so we could head back into Yellowstone for the evening. We headed to Old Faithful and had just over an hour before the next eruption. We hiked through the geyser valley and saw lots of cool thermal features. Some of our favorites were Castle Geyser, Beehive Geyser, and lots of colorful pools. We then returned to Old Faithful and saw an amazing eruption. We continued on to Biscuit Basin and Firehole Drive to check out other awesome features. One was a beautiful blue pool with lava lamp-like bubbles coming up and eventually erupting a bit.
Today we had breakfast in West Yellowstone. It was raining so we decided to find some rain jackets for the girls, including mom. We were directed to a variety store and found full rain suits for the girls. They looked like the twins in The Great Outdoors :-)
After breakfast, Scott, Audra, and Attie headed towards Big Sky, Montana to do a zipline in the Gallatin mountains. Angela stayed in West Yellowstone to do some shopping and relaxing (and avoid scary ladders high off the ground). The girls were very brave and had a great time on the zip lines. Only one bridge was a bit scare, but the girls did great on that too.
Angela picked up subs so we could head back into Yellowstone for the evening. We headed to Old Faithful and had just over an hour before the next eruption. We hiked through the geyser valley and saw lots of cool thermal features. Some of our favorites were Castle Geyser, Beehive Geyser, and lots of colorful pools. We then returned to Old Faithful and saw an amazing eruption. We continued on to Biscuit Basin and Firehole Drive to check out other awesome features. One was a beautiful blue pool with lava lamp-like bubbles coming up and eventually erupting a bit.
Just when we thought we were done, we saw a moose on the way out...one of the last animals we hoped to see in the park. Then we saw a rainbow that practically touched the ground in front of us. The evening proved to be a wonderful time to check out Yellowstone. Now it is late and we are preparing for an early start tomorrow. We hope to check out a few more things in Yellowstone, get Junior Ranger badges that the girls earned, and then work our way towards Jackson Hole, WY.
6/25 - Cody to Yellowstone
Wednesday, June 25, 2014.
Today the girls went for a swim while mom went for a jog and then Scott went for a mountain bike ride. The bike trails were a bit muddy so Scott spent lots of time by the water cleaning his bike, but he loved the one fast downhill with lots of cool rocks.
Today the girls went for a swim while mom went for a jog and then Scott went for a mountain bike ride. The bike trails were a bit muddy so Scott spent lots of time by the water cleaning his bike, but he loved the one fast downhill with lots of cool rocks.
Leaving Cody we decided to take the scenic route to Yellowstone. We drove through Beartooth Pass which winds into the sky. There were still walls of snow by the highway over 10 ft tall in some areas (see picture) and one area on the top had a tow rope and people skiing. Mom didn’t like the road-side cliffs, but we all enjoyed the views. Lots of neat icy lakes too. Hard to believe it was almost July.
Once we started to come down the mountain we saw a cool waterfall. We soon arrived at the NE entrance of Yellowstone. We stopped where a bunch of cars were parked and were able to see several mountain goats on the cliffs across the field. We saw a bunch of buffalo close to the road too. Near Roosevelt Tower we saw a bunch more cars stopped, so we got out too. We saw three black bear cubs playing on a tree stump with their mom nearby. We started to get hungry and it was getting late, so we mostly drove through the rest of the park to get to our motel in West Yellowstone. We ate at a spanish restaurant where the girls tried tapas style meal for the first time. We ordered a bunch of small plates of food that we shared. We even shared a few desserts. Then it was time to get rest for a full day of Yellowstone.
6/26 - Yellowstone
Thursday, June 26, 2014.
Today we went to the grocery store so we would have food while spending the day in Yellowstone. We entered the park and within minutes noticed people stopped, so we got out and saw two bald eagles perched on a tree. After watching them for a few minutes, we went and had breakfast by a river and then spent the rest of the day in Yellowstone. The highlights today were the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, an elk with HUGE antlers in the park that we could have touched, and dozens of awesome geologic geysers and pools. Attie had a hard time with the really sulfuric ones. She is very smell sensitive. We did do some souvenir shopping. Audra picked out a stuffed animal today...a wolf which we’ve heard are active in the park this year. Attie got a neckace this time. We were back in town after a full day (8 hours) in the park and ate at a local pizza place.
We decided to keep our hotel room here for one more night. We are going to do a day trip to Big Sky tomorrow to do a zipline tour. Ang is not sure that she will participate because there are lots of heights, but the girls and Scott seem excited. If we have the energy we will try to do some of the route towards Old Faithful so we can head out of the park at a reasonable time on Friday morning for Jackson Hole. We hope to find camping there and ride horses (the event the girls are most excited about).
Today we went to the grocery store so we would have food while spending the day in Yellowstone. We entered the park and within minutes noticed people stopped, so we got out and saw two bald eagles perched on a tree. After watching them for a few minutes, we went and had breakfast by a river and then spent the rest of the day in Yellowstone. The highlights today were the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, an elk with HUGE antlers in the park that we could have touched, and dozens of awesome geologic geysers and pools. Attie had a hard time with the really sulfuric ones. She is very smell sensitive. We did do some souvenir shopping. Audra picked out a stuffed animal today...a wolf which we’ve heard are active in the park this year. Attie got a neckace this time. We were back in town after a full day (8 hours) in the park and ate at a local pizza place.
We decided to keep our hotel room here for one more night. We are going to do a day trip to Big Sky tomorrow to do a zipline tour. Ang is not sure that she will participate because there are lots of heights, but the girls and Scott seem excited. If we have the energy we will try to do some of the route towards Old Faithful so we can head out of the park at a reasonable time on Friday morning for Jackson Hole. We hope to find camping there and ride horses (the event the girls are most excited about).
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
MN --> SD --> WY
We've had a busy couple of days. We left Alexandria on Sunday morning to head towards South Dakota. This was a long day of driving...nearly 9 hours including our stops. Our main stop was the Corn Palace which was covered in artwork made out of corn. The theme this year was remembering the past. The girls got to do some shopping and even picked up a chocolate and peanut butter popcorn ball for a snack. Our destination was the Cedar Pass campground in the badlands, and we all agreed that we had never camped anywhere quite as unique as this place. We got our camp set up just before dark and didn't have much time to explore, so that is what we did most of Monday morning.
Monday we hiked a number of paths through the badlands. Attie and Scott even hiked the steep Summit Pass trail to look from the top of a peak. We left around lunch time and our next actual touristy stop was Wall Drug where the girls did some souvenir shopping. Attie ended up with a stuffed fox (we saw one cross the road the night before) and Audra picked out a necklace made out of some local rock. We then made our way towards Mt. Rushmore and decided to tour Wind Cave on the way. We took scenic route 16a which had lots of twists and tunnels and bridges. There were lots of surprise views of Mt. Rushmore in the distance framed by the tunnels. The girls did their first official cave tour which took us down several stories underground in the longest set of underground caves anywhere in the world. We got to see Mt. Rushmore so many times during the scenic drive to the cave that we decided to put some miles on instead of actually going to the monument. We ended up in Gilette Wyoming last night at about 10:00 and had trouble finding a hotel so we set up camp at a local campground. Scott loved this. Ang and the girls were really looking forward to a real bed and shower.
Today [Tuesday] we made our way from Gillette to Cody Wy. The drive here was beautiful and we stopped several times to just view our surroundings. We are planning on a traditional Rodeo tonight, and the girls are swimming in the hotel pool as I type this. I will have them each add their favorite thing before I post this.
My favorite part was climbing on the Badlands because I love seeing rocks. -- Audra
My favorite part was climbing [in the Badlands] --Attie
So I guess it is unanimous...hiking in the badlands was definitely one of the highlights of our trip so far.
Tomorrow, it is off to Yellowstone...
[We'll update this with photos later]
Monday we hiked a number of paths through the badlands. Attie and Scott even hiked the steep Summit Pass trail to look from the top of a peak. We left around lunch time and our next actual touristy stop was Wall Drug where the girls did some souvenir shopping. Attie ended up with a stuffed fox (we saw one cross the road the night before) and Audra picked out a necklace made out of some local rock. We then made our way towards Mt. Rushmore and decided to tour Wind Cave on the way. We took scenic route 16a which had lots of twists and tunnels and bridges. There were lots of surprise views of Mt. Rushmore in the distance framed by the tunnels. The girls did their first official cave tour which took us down several stories underground in the longest set of underground caves anywhere in the world. We got to see Mt. Rushmore so many times during the scenic drive to the cave that we decided to put some miles on instead of actually going to the monument. We ended up in Gilette Wyoming last night at about 10:00 and had trouble finding a hotel so we set up camp at a local campground. Scott loved this. Ang and the girls were really looking forward to a real bed and shower.
Today [Tuesday] we made our way from Gillette to Cody Wy. The drive here was beautiful and we stopped several times to just view our surroundings. We are planning on a traditional Rodeo tonight, and the girls are swimming in the hotel pool as I type this. I will have them each add their favorite thing before I post this.
My favorite part was climbing on the Badlands because I love seeing rocks. -- Audra
My favorite part was climbing [in the Badlands] --Attie
So I guess it is unanimous...hiking in the badlands was definitely one of the highlights of our trip so far.
Tomorrow, it is off to Yellowstone...
[We'll update this with photos later]
Sunday, June 22, 2014
MN for Alex and Keri's Wedding
Yesterday we began our day with a trip to the Mall of America. We have never been there and thought it was cool that it had Lego Land with huge lego statues. We also got to go through a mirror maze which made us a little dizzy.
After the Mall of America, we went to our hotel in Alexandria MN to get ready for Alex and Keri's wedding. The weather was beautiful and we really enjoyed watching the ceremony on hay bales covered in quilts. We had a small scare with some fireworks that had a mind of their own, but ended the evening with cake and dancing.
Today we are off to the corn palace, Wall Drug and camping in the Badlands!!
After the Mall of America, we went to our hotel in Alexandria MN to get ready for Alex and Keri's wedding. The weather was beautiful and we really enjoyed watching the ceremony on hay bales covered in quilts. We had a small scare with some fireworks that had a mind of their own, but ended the evening with cake and dancing.
Today we are off to the corn palace, Wall Drug and camping in the Badlands!!
Friday, June 20, 2014
We are off!
Today we went to a motel. It took a while. We stopped in Wausau and had sushi and then made it to a Motel 6 in Menomonie. Our hotel room smells like smoke. --Attie
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Welcome to our blog!
Over the next few weeks, we will try to update our blog with pictures and explanations of some of our adventures. We thought you might want to follow it:)
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