10 months old

Emme turned ten months old during our vacation, so her update is a little late. She's definitely the third child and doesn't want to be lost in the crowd. When the other two start yelling, she yells louder. She is standing up and steady on her feet. She loves to make motorboat sounds with her mouth by raking her fingers over lips and she's discovered her tongue. Her and Daddy play a silly game where they move their tongues from side to side while humming. Things she's been interested in lately: dog water, toilet paper and stairs. A very mischievous little girl. I think her and Finn are going to be double trouble!

Yellowstone to Grand Tetons National Park

Today we headed south past Yellowstone Lake and into Grand Tetons National.  As we headed into the park there was a dramatic change in the landscape. Snow capped mountains and beautiful green meadows. Our first stop was Jackson Lake lodge. We went out to the back deck to enjoy the panoramic views. Then we had a picnic lunch on the lawn while the kids ran around playing games and working on their cartwheels.

view from the lodge

 Our next stop was to the visitors center. There we got to learn about the history of the park and play with antlers from different mammals that live in the park. The one animal we had not seen yet was a moose. So I decided to ask the rangers where the best place to find them was. She pointed us to a boggy marsh area and told us to come back around dusk. So after we checked into our hotel and had dinner we went on a moose hunt. They were cleverly hidden but luckily there were other people out doing the same thing. So we just followed the tourists. We were able to find two Mom's both with their babies. They seemed to have no fear of everyone and we were able to get really close. Probably too close! Well unfortunately this was our last night of vacation and it was time to start the long drive home. It was a great two weeks!

big horn sheep

Yellowstone National Park: Day 3

Today we took the road from Norris to Mammoth country. We stopped along the way to see the Sheepeater Cliff, Obsidian Cliff and the upper and lower terraces.  Then we headed into Mammoth for a picnic lunch and walk through the visitors center. 

We spent the afternoon walking around West Yellowstone. We took Finn to the Yellowstone Museum to learn about choo choos, yellow buses and teddy bears. He was so excited to see all the taxidermy.

Yellowstone National Park: Day 2

Today was Geyser Day. So we headed to the Old Faithful section of the park. Some of the places we stopped were lower geyser basin, Firehole lake drive, and course old faithful.

Yellow bus Beep Beep!

Celestine Pool

mud pots

stinky mud!

White Dome Geyser

waiting for the geyser to erupt

double trouble

Old Faithful Geyser

 

After an ice cream stop at the Old Faithful general store we headed back to Canyon village to see Artist point. We took the walking path to a scenic overlook. Here we found panoramic views of The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and lower falls of the Yellowstone River. On our way out we pulled over to watch a family of Elks eating on the side of the road. 

  After we finished at the falls we decided to have dinner in a picnic area along the Yellowstone River. Well as we started to cook a storm rolled in. First a sprinkle, then steady rain, then lightening and hale! Jim and Mike were troopers, They used and umbrella and the tablecloth to cover themselves and the grill and kept cooking. Luckily the storm passed quickly and it was probably the best tasting meal we ate the whole trip. Sorry no pics of the event, didn't think hale would be good for the camera. I did get a nice reflection shot from our picnic site.

After dinner we made a stop in Hayden Valley. This was supposed to be a great place for animal sitings later in the evening. As luck would have it no animals appeared here. But on our way back to the hotel we were greeted by a few buffalo and a large family of elk hanging out by a stream.

my favorite sign

Yellowstone National Park: Day 1

This morning we headed into the north entrance of the park. Our first stop was Mammoth. We've all been excited to see the wildlife of Yellowstone and this morning we were not disappointed. On the green in Mammoth were a family of Elk lounging in the sun and eating the grass. Apparently they are regulars here because there were signs saying "Danger Do not approach ELK".

Elk on the lawn

Our next stop was to take a hike to see Wraith Falls. Due to little navigational miscalculation we actually hiked Undite Falls. It was still beautiful and an easy hike for the kids. Unfortunately Finn was not in the hiking mood. He gave his best two year old protest all the way back to the car. I spent this time enjoying the scenery and taking pictures of the beautiful sage brush and local flowers.

After a picnic on the water we headed to the Roosevelt section of the park. We stopped to see the petrified tree, Roosevelt lodge and the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. We stopped at the overlook to see Yellowstone Falls. Mackenzie and I decided to take the trail down to the lower falls for a closer look. It was amazing to see the falls up close. 

Roosevelt Lodge

view from the top of the falls

next to the falls

As we headed out of the park we stopped to view a family of elks playing by the side of the road. Then it was on to our hotel for some pool time.