Saturday, April 2, 2016

Summer 2015 Yellowstone/Grand Tetons

I have to back track a little since about a year has flown by and I have not kept up on things. After our engagement everything became a whirlwind. 

Two of my great friends flew out to Utah for a visit. Another old friend that lives in Utah joined us in the festivities as we celebrated and made a few plans. 


Needless to say girls weekend was a blast. I showed the ladies around Utah visiting lakes, waterfalls and antelope island. 

Not long after the girls left Shane and I got serious about planning our trip to Yellowstone. We decided to meet up with my cousin, her husband and four children. They all live in Montana so it was a good way to visit with family and explore the great outdoors. My younger brother Evan decided to join in on the fun and flew out from Florida to take the road trip with us. 


In route to Yellowstone. 



First stop: Upper Mesa Falls


Short walk to beautiful views!


Worth the drive! We even had a beautiful rainbow!


Peaceful!


Next Stop: West Enterance KOA! Shane and I used his brothers old tent and poor Evan (my brother) got the mini tent. Home for the next 3 nights.


Big Evan and Little Evan! My cousin and her children met us at the KOA! 


At the KOA


Next we loaded everyone in vehicles and headed out to Yellowstone Lake!


Following the paths around the West Thumb Geyser Basin


A little wild life


Family Photo!



Taking in this strange new view



Warning.. Don't try this at home (or around geysers)


Geysers everywhere!


And into the lake they go.


Next stop: Old Faithful


We arrived at the perfect time. Looks like some people had to wait for almost an hour.. this was us after 5 minutes. It erupted shortly after. 


Getting ready...


There she goes!


We decided on the scenic tour of geysers near old faithful after watching it erupt. First we got our ducks in a row!


The kids were loving all the critters


And off we march.. 



One last stop on the way back to camp. Midway Geyser Basin


Beautiful! 


So many people were stopping here to take pictures. I wonder why.. :) 


And that wraps up day #1! 
We hit Upper Mesa Falls, Yellowstone Lake, Old Faithful and Midway Geyser Basin! 
The kids were troopers because I was beat by the ed of the day myself!
We headed back to camp to make dinner and eat s'mores!




First Stop on Day 2: DOWN.. I Mean Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River!


The walk to get here was a steep downhill one. The while time down a carried one of the kids.. the only thing I was thinking was.. NOW WE HAVE TO WALK BACK UP THIS THING! By the time we got to the bottom that was the last thought on my mind. the Falls were breathtaking and worth the journey. 


Another Family Photo



One last look down before we hiked back up to the top


Short stop on the way to our net adventure. I did't catch which geysers these were. In Yellowstone you will find that there are geysers pretty much everywhere!


Another pretty view


Spotted a friend near the Albright Visitor Center. Looks like these guys hang out here all the time because we saw a few every time we passed through. 


Taking our brief walk (well one of us was carried) to the Boiling River Hot Springs


The refreshing springs... within a few feet you could be in freezing cold, warm or really hot water! SO much fun and very enjoyable after all of the walking/hiking we had been doing. 


Kids with their new toys

And that wraps up Day #2! Once again our day was full of adventure and fun!


Day 3 started out with a sweet goodbye! The kids headed home and Shane, Evan and I continued on our adventure.

We booked a rafting tour and drove up to Montana to enjoy the ride. 
Pit stop on the way. North Entrance

SO MUCH FUN!
It was a first for all of us and I think we were all ready to book another tour by the end of it!


Day 4- *Last Touristy Stop* Grand Tetons (side note * It was my 27th birthday! Good way to spend the day)
Moose Sighting!

Jackson Lake

Taking a ride up the mountain

Cooling down in the sky

Enjoying the view. We saw some wildlife and some daring hang gliders!

It was a Happy Birthday

Time to go and head back to Utah. We made a pit stop in Idaho to sleep and were home the next morning. What a wonderful trip to remember and reminisce on. 

The next few months we laid low since we had a wedding (or two) to plan. I will try to get our wedding post on here ASAP so I can get my blog up to date.



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