Yellowstone Scenery

While we were in Yellowstone National Park, we saw some really amazing scenery... majestic mountains, tall cliffs, deep canyons, cascading waterfalls, forests recovering from fires, and vast plains with grazing animals. Here are just a few of the photos...

:) Connie

Yellowstone Geysers and Hot Springs

We spent June 25th through June 27th exploring Yellowstone National Park. The most interesting features on the south and west sides of the park were the geysers, steam vents, mud pots, and hot springs. There is a very large caldera (sunken-in volcano) in Yellowstone. As a result, the earth's crust is thin in this region and the magma is close to the surface. Water in crevices beneath the earth's surface becomes super-heated and bubbles or sprays up to the surface through vents, geysers, or into hot pools of mud or water.
The famous Old Faithful geyser:

Hot springs in the Norris Basin:

The high sulfur content causes a bit of an odor, but we still enjoyed exploring some of these interesting and colorful features... :) Connie

No Training Wheels!

While we were staying in the Flagg Ranch campground, Anna and Jamie made friends with some kids in a nearby campsite. Their 5-year-old girl, Reagan, had just learned to ride her bike without training wheels. This was a great inspiration for Anna, and over the three days in the campground, she learned how to ride without her training wheels!

Grant, Kennedy, Anna, Jamie, and Reagan:

In return, Anna taught Reagan how to jump rope. :) Connie

Inspiration Point Hike

We hiked up to Inspiration Point in the Grand Tetons. At the beginning of the hike, a boat ferries the hikers across Jenny Lake. Then the trail goes along a rushing river to a waterfall and then up to a point with a beautiful view of the lake and valley below.

While we were near the waterfall, we saw a marmot:

Whew, this one was a challenging hike for the whole family, especially at the high altitude. :) Connie

Junior Rangers

The National Park Service has a Junior Ranger Program. At each park, participating kids are given a workbook to complete. To complete the workbook, the kids need to do things like: learn the park rules, complete a scavenger hunt checklist, go on a hike, go to a ranger talk, watch an educational video, pick up litter (gloves provided) complete some puzzles or draw pictures of their park experiences, etc.

Once the workbook is complete, they make the Junior Ranger Pledge (with a park ranger present), which usually goes something like this: "As a Junior Ranger, I promise to learn all I can about this park and to teach others to love and respect its beauty, its plants, and its animals". Then they are awarded a badge or patch.

We promised the girls that we would buy them each a Junior Ranger vest (for sale in the visitor centers) after they had each earned 10 badges. Here are the badges they earned (in order):

1. Carlsbad Caverns National Park
2. White Sands National Monument
3. Saguaro National Park
4. Montezuma Castle National Monument
5. Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
6. Walnut Canyon National Monument
7. Grand Canyon National Park
8. Bryce Canyon National Park
9. Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
10. Dinosaur National Monument

:) Connie

Snake River

The Snake River was about a mile from our campground; James did a bit of fishing and the girls threw rocks into the river.

We found lots of big stoneflies on the bottoms of the rocks, and Anna found a snake under one of the rocks (thus the name "Snake River"???). James didn't catch any fish, but he lost a few lures. ;) Connie

Grand Tetons

On June 22, we drove to Grand Teton National Park. The views of the jagged snowy mountains were spectacular.

After the long drive, we were ready for our three nights in the Flagg Ranch campground (situated between Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park). :) Connie

In the wilderness

We're going to be out of touch for at least the next 3 days as there is no cell service and really bad Internet here in the Grand Teton national park. We'll try and get a blog post or two in, but no promises! :)

Dinosaur Fossils

Today we visited Dinosaur National Monument. The vast park has many archeological dig sites where scientists have discovered thousands of dinosaur fossils from a wide range of species. We went to the visitor center and the quarry exhibit hall. In the quarry exhibit hall, they've basically just put a roof over an exposed cliff where hundreds of dinosaur fossils are partially exposed. We were even allowed to touch a few of the fossils. Also on display were nearly-complete fossil skeletons of Allosaurus (like a small t-rex) and a juvenile Camarasaurus.



Femur of an adult Camarasaurus:

Juvenile Camarasaurus:

Allosaurus:

:) Connie

Durango, CO to Vernal, UT

The drive from Durango up through Colorado and back into Utah at the north end of the state was supposed to take about 6 hours (according to Google Maps). However, the drive through the mountains was at times steep, narrow, treacherous, and bumpy. We were on the road from 9:15 am until 6:15 pm. We did see some beautiful snow-topped mountains, but didn't stop for photos... the only shots I have are from the car window (mostly video).

After such a long drive, I didn't have the energy to cook dinner, so we stopped at a local restaurant in Vernal, Utah (a few miles from our campground). When we came out of the restaurant we saw... FLAT TIRE NUMBER TWO! Ack! Time to call AAA (again!).

This tire wasn't quite as flat as the last one, so no matter how much I struggled, I couldn't get the "foot smooshing the tire" photo.

While we waited for the guy to arrive, James got the spare ready and I cleaned out the camper and got the kids ready for bed. We arrived at our campground after 9pm. Whew, what a long day! But, I thank God that tire didn't blow when we were on the edge of one of those two-thousand-foot dropoffs earlier in the day! :) Connie

Durango KOA

The campsite in Durango, CO was one of the nicest we've been to... great amenities and family activities. They even had a mule ride that took guests around the park in the evening. Anna and Jamie both got turns riding up front and holding the reigns.




:) Connie

Four Corners

On the drive to Durango, Colorado, we passed through miles and miles of Navajo Reservation and then through Four Corners. This is the place where the states AZ, NM, CO, and UT meet.


The girls skipped around from state to state, hopping over state borders and announcing, "Mommy, I just walked all the way from Utah to Colorado! Whew, that was a long walk!" :) Connie

Lake Powell Dam Tour

Before leaving the Glan Canyon / Lake Powell area, we decided to take a tour of the dam. It's the fourth largest dam in the US (but only 16 feet shorter than Hoover Dam, and with a wider span across the canyon). Glen Canyon and the surrounding area used to be part of the Navajo Reservation. Back in the 1950's, the government offered to purchase the Glen Canyon area in order to make a dam in the Colorado River. In the beginning, the Navajo refused to make a deal, but then they came to an agreement. Rather than purchasing the property, the US agreed to a land-swap deal in which the Navajo reclaimed land in Oklahoma that had been taken away from them. Construction of the dam began in 1956. It ended up benefiting the Navajo people because it provided jobs and a tourism industry in the surrounding area (our Navajo guide in the slot canyons a few days ago told us that).



They were in the process of replacing the turbines in the power plant (the old ones are the original ones that were installed in the dam when it was built). So, we got to see shiny new turbines ready to be installed, as well as an old one that they put on display on top of the dam.


:) Connie