jellystone

we were up early this morning to get a head start into the park. my alarm went off at 0500 and we were on the road by 0600.

we had animals to find and geysers to watch.

before we even got into the park this morning we spotted a small herd of elk. complete with baby elk!

we were entering the park by 0700.

there was a slight chill this morning and even some frost on the ground. but the sun was shining and it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day!

in no time we ran into these big guys.

buffalo are the norm in the park, so we only stopped briefly before we hit the road again.

we paid $25.00 to get into the park and it also got us into Grand Teton NP; I was itching to see those gorgeous mountains. so we made the quick trip south to see one of the prettiest mountain ranges in all of north america.

there they are. we just need to get around to the front.

we stopped at one of my favorite spots to see moose. the park calls it willow flats….I call it moose flats because you are ALMOST always guaranteed to see a moose. apparently another 4 legged creature has made this place home because we weren’t able to get down farther into the flats.

don’t worry dad. we were very bear aware the whole time we were out. we didn’t spot any bears in the flats…sadly.

but I did get to see my mountains!

I don’t go into Grand Teton for animals….I go for the mountains. call me weird. my husband does all the time!

we headed back into Yellowstone NP and our next stop was old faithful. I feel like if you’ve see it blow once….its going to look the same the next time she blows. so we usually don’t hang around too much. when we pulled into the parking lot we could see her going off. oh darn. oh well. my favorite spot in this geyser basin is morning glory pool. its totally worth the mile walk out to the end!

totally worth it, right?

some of these pools with the colors are incredible!

unfortunately I got a nice forehead sunburn. we were only out in the sun for an hour….but we’re also about 4000 feet higher in elevation. doink!

we let the dogs out (don’t worry dad…they were on leashes and again we were very bear aware) to go potty and then grab a quick drink.

3 noses in one bowl…

the next little animal jam we came to was a canine…..just a coyote. no wolves seen today.

we even ended up seeing a mountain goat. there was a nice little traffic jam at this slide/boulder area and I thought for sure we were looking for a bear. and then I looked higher and saw a flash of white! I was pretty excited. I have never seen a mountain goat in the wild. it was incredible to see him hopping around on the side of these rocks. he was only out for a brief couple of seconds and then he disappeared behind the rocks.

on we went. apparently we found the most real thing to do when you visit wyoming.

trail rides!

our next big traffic jam involved buffalo….just like any good traffic jam in yellowstone.

this time though we had babies! that’s the whole reason we go to yellowstone in the spring time!

we kept our eyes peeled all the way through lamar valley, but no such luck but a bunch of buffalo.

we had a fantastic day in both parks and outside the park.

we came out through sunlight basin and had one more very special stop to make.

my uncle’s memorial. always nice to stop by and see this special place.

we’re exhausted. hubby is trying to keep his eyes open laying in the recliner next to me and all 3 dogs are passed out on the floor. we’ve got more exciting adventures ahead of us tomorrow. time to get some sleep. even though its still super light outside.