Jackson Hole and Yellowstone Trip...

Last Wednesday when Nic got off work we left for a camping trip up to Jackson Hole and Yellowstone with my parents, Maddie, and Skyler.  Our first two nights we camped in the Hoback Campground.  This is a campground my family has been going to for years.  It is a beautiful campground right next to the Hoback River.  One of the things we love most is to stargaze, the stars are amazing at this campground.  I had put the kids to bed, then got them back out because I wanted them to see how amazing the stars were. They were both so excited to see their first shooting stars. Connor became quite the pro when it came to finding satellites even the dim ones he would spot first. We all sat back in our chairs with our necks kinked looking up for about an hour on the moonless night.  We talked about previous trips to this campground, I let Payton know that she had been there before and said that Connor was still up in Heaven.  We continued talking and apparently I had tuned Connor out for awhile until he said, "Mom I talkin to you! I was dead?" The way he said it he sounded so concerned and confused.  After trying to explain to my sweet 3 year old that he hadn't been born yet we laughed at how cute he was.  

We usually come up late July early August so to see the river so high was shocking.  Along the river and in the tall usually dead trees are osprey and their nests.  It's fun to watch them fly around.  On Thursday morning we watched 3 of them, we're thinking a mom and two babies fly from tree to tree back and forth across the river.

Thursday was spent at the Tetons.  We took the boat across Jenny Lake to hike up to the different waterfalls.  The waterfalls were amazing with the runoff. Being early in the season we dealt with quite a lot of storms.  While hiking we looked up and saw the dark clouds rolling over the Tetons and figured we should turn around.  By the time we got to the boats we were in the middle of a thunderstorm.  The boats weren't running because of  the lightning.  The rangers said they would run 15 minutes after the last lightning strike.  We stood there soaking wet until we decided to make the 2 mile hike back around the lake.  It was wet, muddy, slippery, full of impatient people but very memorable.

Mountain sheep along the river...

Boat ride across Jenny Lake...

This picture doesn't show how dark the clouds were, but it shows them creeping over the mountains...

Waiting for the boats to start running..

A baby dear on the hike back...

About halfway through the storm passed and it was beautiful again...

I love her ringlets after being wet...

After our hike we made our way to the Bar J Chuck Wagon to watch the Bar J Wranglers.  On our way we spotted a moose in a meadow...

I love watching these guys perform.  They have amazing talent and are very entertaining to watch.

After the show we saw another moose right by the road.  With it being dark this was the best picture I could get.

Friday morning we packed up camp to head to Yellowstone.  On our way we stopped in Jackson to do some looking around and shopping.  Of course this always includes a stop to the candy store.

If being on a beach by the ocean is out of the picture Yellowstone is my next favorite destination.  I love all of the beauty your surrounded by, and like others have said it's like an entirely different planet.  When we go to Yellowstone we like to make a list of the animals we see and the different license plates. The kids also got a list of animals to check off which was a lot of fun for them. So for the animals we saw:

Crains, chipmunks, bald eagle, deer/ mule, mountain sheep, osprey, squirrels, marmot, pronghorn, moose, buffalo, swans, coyote, and elk (baby and bull).

And for the license plates we were only missing:

Rhode Island, Maine, Delaware, Maryland and Vermont.  

We saw 45 of the 50 states in Yellowstone, we also saw some of the Canadian Provinces including British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, Ontario, and Yukon.

Just after Nic threw a snowball at his feet...

Waiting for Old Faithful...

The steam and the geyser blended in with the clouds making it harder to see...

We named this buffalo Boris...

After our walk around the hot pools we made it back in time to see Old Faithful again...

All of the campgrounds in Yellowstone were full which was expected so we went outside of West Yellowstone to find a spot.  On our way into the campground which we stayed in we saw this beautiful rainbow.  Oddly enough our campground was called rainbow point.  I can't recall a time when I have ever seen the end of the rainbow.  This was particularly cool to see it at the end of the road.

Waiting out a hailstorm so we can eat lunch..

Once the storm cleared all the picnic tables in this spot were surrounded by lakes.  So we found a different picnic area and the kids loved climbing the unique rocks.

 This picture was taken quickly right as the hail started.  We ran back to the car while being pelted by the hail.

 Norris was our last stop in the park and also the last storm of the trip...

 After lunch on Saturday my parents left, but Nic and I had decided to stay an extra day.  That night we ate dinner around the fire, and listened to the kids tell us what their favorite things on the trip were.  Payton said the elk, paint pots, Boris, and Old Faithful.  Connor said, elk, buffalo and playing with cars.

 

Sunday morning we made our way back home the long way through the park.  We wanted to see if we could see a bear, but we didn't.  But we were able to see the Tetons so I guess it wasn't a complete waist.

I'm so glad we were able to make this trip.  We really had a great weekend together as a family.  These are memories I will cherish forever!