Yellowstone, Day 3 with Grand Teton Exit

On our last day, we headed south to drive back through Grand Teton NP and Jackson on the way home.  Our only stop in Yellowstone that morning was at the West Thumb Geyser Basin, which had some more interesting geothermal features on the edge of beautiful Lake Yellowstone.

Our trip around the boardwalks was pretty uneventful, except for a stubborn toddler who refused to stay in the hiking backpack for longer than 3 minutes.  She also didn't want to be carried or even walk much, so our result was this (much to the delight of the group of Asian tourists who all snapped her picture):

She wasn't fussing or crying, just hanging out on the boardwalk and causing a bit of a traffic jam.  She didn't respond to our pleas, bribes, threats, or even our leaving (that speck in the middle is her).  If we touched her though, it set off much screaming.  In the end, we just had to carry her off and run.

The rest of the drive was filled with placating snacks and amazing views on the way back home.

Yellowstone, Day 2

On the second day, we breakfasted in our room, enjoyed the room's view of snow falling in the forest, and then hopped in the car to check out new areas in the north/east section of the park.  It was a very overcast day with intermittent clouds, rain/sleet/snow, and sunshine, which provided an interesting, changing backdrop to the scenery.  It was still winter through Dunraven Pass, and we made our hoodies and windbreakers work in the 40-degree temperatures.

Tower Fall
Our first major stop was to hike around Tower Fall, which apparently was no competition for the puddle that Hadley found at the overlook. 

Though the trail to the base of the falls was closed, we were able to hike all the way down to the Yellowstone River.  It was a nice, wide trail with lots of trees and pretty views.

The descent to the water was a little steep and slippery, but once we got down there, Owen couldn't wait to toss more sticks into the river.  But we didn't stay too long, as you can see the next storm headed in from the canyon below.  Made it back to the car just in time!

We continued the scenic drive west toward Mammoth Hot Springs.  On the way, we saw a Petrified Tree, 

had some lunch,

And spotted two black bears.  The dark blob in the middle is a bear!  We didn't stop with the rest of the bear jam to take a decent picture.

 Mammoth Hot Springs

This was a popular place, so we had to park on the upper terraces and walk down some stairs to see the lower ones.  

Owen liked leading on the boardwalks again, though he was getting tired.  Hadley loved running after him, only after she had dawdled enough to lose sight of them.

Hadley also enjoyed trying to block other families from proceeding.  I think she starts getting pretty weird when she's tired.  She would stand like this until they noticed her, and then she would run back toward me and wrap around my leg like she was scared. Then repeat a dozen times.

By the end of the terrace loop, she was pretending she was a dog and crawling on the boardwalk.  Sigh...  I think this ended with me carrying her off kicking and screaming because it was taking so long.

Overdue naps were had by kids in the car on the way back to the lodge, and a family nap may have occurred in the parking lot when we got there.  

Grand Canyon Hike
After some down time in the room, we took a trail from the lodge area to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.  

It wasn't really the best view point along the canyon, but at least the hike was pretty.  

 (A view of the upper canyon we had seen on our drive.)

We were getting hungry for dinner, so we didn't venture down the canyon for more vistas.  We turned around and headed back to the cafeteria.  After dinner, we had some more "quiet time", and all slept pretty well!  We learned that bedtimes can be adjusted on vacation to better align with sunset.  :)

Yellowstone, Revisited, Day 1

We recently returned to Yellowstone NP.  This time we tried a visit earlier in the season, and we got snow!  We got to wander around some parts of the park that we hadn't seen before.  We also played some park bingo (marking off sites/animals) and nearly got a blackout board!  I think we just missed seeing a moose.  Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself.  I think I'll take it in small chunks.

On Friday, we left home and decided to detour to the Old Faithful area on our way to the Canyon Lodge, since we were a little early for check-in. We saw lots of bison along the way, which was great, until they decided to cross the road and we got stuck in a bison jam!  (complete with bison babies!) The herd actually tromped down the road for a while, so we were puttering at a bison's pace down the main road...

Then we finally reached Old Faithful and had about an hour before the next eruption was supposed to occur.  

So instead of waiting in one place,

We opted to cruise the geyser loop and see the sights. Hadley was in the stroller, since it's mostly boardwalked, and Owen was pushing her for a while.  He likes to do that.  But, we brought along the backpack too, just in case.  And she did prove to be rather finicky about her mode of transportation.

Old Faithful actually ended up being a little behind schedule even with the 20-minute expected window, so we did some more waiting.

But when it finally erupted, we had an interesting view away from the crowd.

Owen may have been most excited about the hotel.  Seriously.  Unfortunately, I forgot to pack books and several forms of entertainment for them, and there is no TV.  So, this is how we finally got a few minutes of quiet before bed time.

Summer is in Full Swing!

And I already miss school!  Ha ha!  It does make me realize that little things like running errands or getting stuff done around the house is much more easily done with one kid underfoot rather than two.  At what age do they play together nicely rather than require more constant supervision?  Does it really ever happen?  Is it just a myth?  Anyway, enjoy our peonies in bloom while I segue to our activities as of late...

We did a trip to Mesa Falls, which we hadn't seen for nearly 3 years.  It was still very pretty.  We caught sight of the rainbow at the Upper Falls.

And did some picture-posing.  (Owen's buddy, Brady, and his family joined us for the excursion.)

Then we hiked down a mile to the Lower Falls, which is pretty much an unprotected cliff. The kids had a great time throwing little things over, but Hadley made me nervous in seeming to want to go over herself.

This was our view on the way home.  The clouds were clearing for a view of the backside of the Tetons.  I love those mountains!

I just had to share this picture of Hadley from Bear World.  One of Owen's school buddies has a little brother a few months older than Hadley, and they like to be around each other, so much that the brothers call them boyfriend-girlfriend.  If they weren't ~2 years old, I'd be more worried, but they are so cute together!  She bosses him around, he giggles, she hugs him.  :)

We've also been to the splash park though it ended up being a cloudy, windy day, a little too chilly for water play.  Owen would do a few rounds through the water and then head blue-lipped and shivering back for the towel.  Hadley preferred to snack and meander through a puddle or two at her leisure, making her ducky face if anyone splashed her.

But the carousel was a hit!  And the cotton candy afterwards blew my kids' minds.  (First time for that much pure sugar.  When in Rome...)

Finally, some more pictures of Hadley's firsts.  First time in a helicopter. (A friend's birthday party was a tour of the hospital's rescue helicopter, given by the pilot.)  Hadley was nearly giddy once she was within reach of all of those buttons!

First pigtails.  Cindy-Lou-Who?

First spin on the ol' Strider bike.  She hopped right on excitedly, but wasn't overly mobile on it.  That's okay.  I recall Owen being the same way early on.  No rush!