Day # 7 and 8 Wildlife and Waterfalls

We got up and got dressed and ready to leave Mammoth Hot Springs.  One of the kids' favorite animals that we saw this trip were the ground squirrels.  They were so fascinated by them.  Our cabin had them everywhere!  Under the cabins were some holes, and others were just out in the yard.  While we were waiting for Eley to pack the car, we were watching them scurry around.  I happened to get a picture of a Magpie (another new creature for us to see) fight with one.  I think it wanted to steal food.  After it ran the ground squirrel off, it stuck it's head in the squirrel's hole under one of the cabins.  Then the ground squirrel started to roll in the dirt!  It was so cute.

Our first order of business was to drive to Gardiner, Montana.  We had two reasons for doing so; so I could finally say I have been to Montana, and to get a picture at the original stone arch entrance to Yellowstone.  As we left Mammoth, there were elk all over the grounds.  They had all the babies together and some of the does were roaming around.

These were all the babies

It was only a five mile drive to Gardiner, and I am glad we went.  It was neat to see the original arch.

Notice the lovely matching sweatshirts

After we went back through the park, we headed down to Tower Falls.  Along the way, we had another small buffalo road block.

This little one didn't get to finish it's bite before the momma grunted at it to hurry across the road!  A few miles down the road, we came across another road block.  This road block was our favorite by far!  A black bear and her two cubs.  We drove right past them then stopped and turned around to watch and take pictures.  I promise we were never in danger.  The park ranger was there the whole time with his bear spray directing folks and watching out for us.  This was the day after the bear killing, so they were on high alert.  Here are a few of my favorite pictures.  They were just so cute!  They played around in the grass for awhile and then crossed the road.  Most people left then, but we stayed.  Then the cubs went to a cedar tree and climbed up in it and played until the sow grunted at them and they came down.

Up the tree

The kids loved seeing them playing around.  When we saw the grizzly and her cubs, they were so far away we really couldn't make sense of what we were seeing.  But these were close enough to really be able to see and enjoy.  The rest of the day was the waterfall part.  We saw some really pretty waterfalls and some gorgeous terrain.

This is Tower Falls

Upper Falls

This was the sign put up in the area of the bear attack.  We drove right by the parking lot where they would have parked.  It was closed with a ranger guarding it.

Lower Falls

Wyatt took this and did pretty good!

The grand canyon of Yellowstone.  The falls were on the other side of this.  After we left here we worked our way down Hayden Valley.  There are usually all kinds of wildlife here, but we saw mostly buffalo.  It was the middle of the afternoon and some of the animals hadn't started moving yet.  After Hayden Valley, we stopped at something called Mud Volcano.  It basically was a bubbling mud pit.  But there was a really neat hot spring there call the Dragon's Mouth.  It was a hole in the side of a rock formation with hot steam coming out and it would come out and make the water have waves like the ocean.  Pretty cool..

We cruised on through Yellowstone an Grand Teton until we got to Jenny Lake.  You will probably remember the picture from last year of Eley and I standing in front of it.  We stopped there and I made everyone put on their sweatshirts again (they were so happy...not) and we got someone to take our picture.  

We left the overlook and went to the boat dock to get on the shuttle boat across the lake.  There was a waterfall called Hidden Falls we wanted to hike to.  It sure was hidden and so worth the hike up the mountain!

On the shuttle boat

Hidden Falls

Photo by Grace

A very present reminder...always!

Well, so sorry this was such a long blog.  We went from the top of Yellowstone back through to Jackson and we saw a lot of stuff!  As I type now we are in Colorado headed to Hays. Kansas to spend the night.  We will be back home tomorrow after a 10 hour drive.  It sure was a great vacation with lots of good memories!

Day #6 To the north

 I was so tired last night that I didn't get to blog, so I am going to pretend today was really yesterday.  Then tomorrow I will report on all we saw today....got it?  We left Jackson, although not as early as we needed to, and headed north to Yellowstone.  We had reservations at the north end so we knew that was our destination.  We kind of stopped as we saw animals or if there was something we wanted to see, knowing we would swing by Old Faithful.  I do have to mention that we were not even on the same side of the park where the gentleman was attacked and killed by the bear.  

I just love these mountains!

We first stopped at a waterfall soon after you enter Yellowstone.  I can't remember which one it is, but it was very pretty.  

We have seen a lot of snow in our wanderings around Yellowstone.  This was a patch still on the trail to the waterfall.  We then headed on to Old Faithful.  We spend several hours here eating lunch and walking around looking at all of the pools and geysers. 

Old Faithful, of course

After the eruption

One of the pools,  Wyatt wasn't impressed with the sulfur smell!

After we left Old Faithful, we drove a short way to see the Grand Prismatic Spring.  It was really neat, and gorgeous.  Eley and I missed this last year in our fly by of Yellowstone.  

This was leading around to the big pool.  Supposedly it's bacteria growing, but whatever it is looks really cool.

The Grand Prismatic Spring!

As we continued on our way, we had a really interesting road block...a herd of buffalo were crossing the road.  We got up close and personal with them as they walked by.

It was quite a fun experience to watch them move off down the road.  We also had another road block, although not quite as dramatic.  I still don't know how he got on this bridge.  It was a pass over a smaller mountain.  He was just strolling down the middle of the road.

The picture is not the best because I took it through the windshield.  We finally made it to the Mammoth Hot Springs and checked in.  Our cabin was one room, with two double beds and a sink.  The bathroom was just across the road from us in a separate building.  I knew this when I made reservations, because for one night, we could handle it.  We made it work just fine.  Although when we walked in, Garrett did ask where the tv was!

The half of the building was ours.  We pushed the two double beds together and all slept there.  We actually had a good rest.  We slept with the windows open because there was no air (common up here) and either because it was so restful, or we were so worn out, we slept all night.  

I kinda skipped ahead.  After we got checked in, we went to the Mammoth Hot Springs.  Disappointingly, most of them were dry.  They said it is normal for them to be dry sometimes, and running others.  I will add a few pictures of the things we saw.  Quite interesting terrain....not sure I have ever seen anything like it.  Almost made me think of another planet.

This one was actually running

We are back in Jackson tonight and we start home tomorrow.  We are going back through Colorado, and aren't quite sure where we will stay yet.  I figure somewhere in Kansas.  Please pray for safe travel for us, and I will blog tomorrow about all that has happened today.  I will have lots of time in the car!  

Mammoth Hot Springs valley        

Day #5..pictures and chuckwagons

Since we put off taking pictures yesterday, that was today's main project.  We got up and ate at the hotel and got dressed and headed out.  We turned quite a few heads with our matching outfits!  I was over all pleased with the pictures.  I am still having trouble with one of my lenses and had to delete several, but I got some really good ones.  We went to three main places to take pictures.  We started off with the mountains and the flowers, which was one of my favorite places last year.  I won't post all of them because I took a ton, but I will post a few.  I do have to say that these were not my favorite.  They are good, but not my favorite!

Next, we went to the barn.  It was also one of my favorite places last year (but then what wasn't!).  These are my favorite ones, I have to say.  The kids saw the ground squirrels here for the first time.  You would have thought they discovered gold the way they carried on about them!  This barn was redone by a group of folks, but I can't remember the details from our wildlife tour last year.  But, really, the pictures speak for themselves!

I really didn't get a great one of all of us.  I was having trouble with the lens.

After the barn, there was another group of buildings right down the road.  Here is a picture I took there.  I loved this barn with the old working pens.

Next we headed to the reflective pond.  I love this place!  By this time we were tired and hot, but the pictures were still pretty good.  Just remember, you have to forget what these look like for the Christmas cards! 

This is all I am going to post here, you will have to see the rest later.


We came back to town and changed clothes.  We headed down town to a place Eley and I ate at last year, Mountain High Pizza Pie.  Eley didn't feel good today, so we went back to the hotel and I sat with the kids while they swam and he rested. We came back and got ready for our chuck wagon ride and dinner tonight.  We got dressed and headed down there.  I have to say it was a lot of fun.  We got into modernized covered wagons, and rode 2 miles up the creek to our dinner spot.

Getting ready to pull out in our new bandanas

At our table

The band

where we got our grub

Wyatt and Garrett helping out with a song

our wagon

Wyatt sitting on our guides lap helping her drive the horses

It was really a great time.  As I said before, Eley didn't feel well today, and I had a  little bit where  I  didn't either.  Tonight Garrett was feeling bad.  I think we have had a touch of altitude sickness, or something.  Hopefully all will be well tomorrow.  We have repacked and are headed to Yellowstone the next two days.  It may be possible that I have no cell service or wireless tomorrow night.  So if you don't hear from me, we haven't been eaten by bears!  Just out of technology :)   I will be talking to you soon!