This summer we took 10 days and did the quintessential American Road Trip: Yellowstone. We had planned this trip in January, when all epic trips are either dreamed of or planned in the Strickler household, and invited a few friends to join us. One of the families that joined us were the Jarnigans, who are actually our neighbors a couple of houses away. Our kids go to the same school and Toni and Eric are always up for a camping adventure. The other family that joined us were the Taylors from Denver, who have Elijah (5) and Eva (3).
Balin ended up having to do a bit of a side trip in Grand Junction for a job that their on so we decided to make going to "Junction" part of the trip, and we're glad we did. We stayed with Scott and Clover Waggoneer and their 3 dogs. Balin and Scott have been friends forever - since they were 5 maybe - and are still great friends. So much so that they started a geological company together and it seems to be pretty successful. It was fun to stay with them as deep, down inside Scott is still just a kid, which made Sam so excited as he got to play Scott's video games all night. Plus, Scott is an amazing cook - seriously amazing - with much of his supplies for dinner coming out of the garden. It was a great place to stay.
From GJ, we headed north and drove through some pretty gorgeous country. Our first stop turned out to be one of our favorite stops - The Dinosaur Quarry - where there was actually a steep rock slope with hundreds of very, very large dinosaur bones still encased in the rock. Neither Balin nor I had seen anything like it before and were both impresses. I highly recommend it if you get a chance.
We stopped for the night outside of Jackson in a beautiful little campground next to a river. The next day we continued for three hours to Yellowstone, where we met up with the Jarnigans, who had come in that day also.
From Yellowstone we drove a few short hours to the Tetons. The Tetons are my kind of mountains - rugged, steep, wild. Balin and I both agreed that they are the closest thing we've seen to the Swiss Alps - spectacular! We took a boat one day across Jenny Lake and took a very populated hike to some waterfalls and a lookout. The mountains beckoned us to don our backpacks and follow the road less traveled. We will be back with our essentials strapped to our backs.
Balin ended up having to do a bit of a side trip in Grand Junction for a job that their on so we decided to make going to "Junction" part of the trip, and we're glad we did. We stayed with Scott and Clover Waggoneer and their 3 dogs. Balin and Scott have been friends forever - since they were 5 maybe - and are still great friends. So much so that they started a geological company together and it seems to be pretty successful. It was fun to stay with them as deep, down inside Scott is still just a kid, which made Sam so excited as he got to play Scott's video games all night. Plus, Scott is an amazing cook - seriously amazing - with much of his supplies for dinner coming out of the garden. It was a great place to stay.
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| Vinny's last epic road trip with the Strickler's. He's looking pretty good and ready for an adventure. |
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| Perrin and Sam had fancy drinks at an amazing restaurant in Grand Junction. The menu said "well behaved children are welcome." We didn't get asked to leave so they must have been pretty well behaved. :) |
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| The kids sleeping at the Wagoneers house. We had to wake them up so that we could get on the road. |
From GJ, we headed north and drove through some pretty gorgeous country. Our first stop turned out to be one of our favorite stops - The Dinosaur Quarry - where there was actually a steep rock slope with hundreds of very, very large dinosaur bones still encased in the rock. Neither Balin nor I had seen anything like it before and were both impresses. I highly recommend it if you get a chance.
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| Balin and the kids replaying "Mr. Popper's Penguins" scene when he comes into the courtroom.... |
We stopped for the night outside of Jackson in a beautiful little campground next to a river. The next day we continued for three hours to Yellowstone, where we met up with the Jarnigans, who had come in that day also.
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| Absolutely breath taking! |
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| Lunch time stop and a game of quirkle...sorry there's no sound. |
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| We stopped off at Yellowstone Lake - the largest lake at high altitude. It was FREEZING and raining. Not a good welcome Yellowstone! |
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| Our first buffalo sighting. Notice his fur coat? |
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| Our first Yellowstone tourist stop - a boiling hot water...I don't remember what they're called but they're hot and stinky. |
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| Taking a little hike to see the sights. |
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| Notice our winter coats....it was so cold and cloudy, but I am smiling as it was gorgeous. |
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| The rivers in Yellowstone are spectacular. |
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| The Sad Story of the Bear....unfortunately we saw a bear, right next to our camp spot. They tried for hours to trap him so he could be relocated, but to no avail. (meanwhile we were trapped in our cars) A note to all reading this: don't leave any kind of personal/food product anywhere near your campsite when you're camping in bear country. It's pretty much a death sentence for the bears. Yellowstone puts down about 15 bears a year due to human involvement. It's very sad and TOTALLY preventable. Be responsible. |
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| Our neighbors and friends the Jarnigans. |
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| Bike riding at 9000' is incredibly difficult on the lungs. It was beautiful but we all felt it. |
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| Sage was right there with us in the adventure of Yellowstone - she's quite the outdoor girl, even in a dress! |
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| Walking to yet another thermal spot with our friends the Taylors from Denver. |
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| Elijah - 5. |
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| Perrin and Eva (3) hanging out. |
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| Angie and Eva - they are so cute! |
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| Old Faithful. |
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| "Is that a deer with horns?" |
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| Classic Yellowstone view - gorgeous! |
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| Sam has this annoying but somewhat charming habit of jumping up....just as you're taking a picture |
From Yellowstone we drove a few short hours to the Tetons. The Tetons are my kind of mountains - rugged, steep, wild. Balin and I both agreed that they are the closest thing we've seen to the Swiss Alps - spectacular! We took a boat one day across Jenny Lake and took a very populated hike to some waterfalls and a lookout. The mountains beckoned us to don our backpacks and follow the road less traveled. We will be back with our essentials strapped to our backs.
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| Week two of no shower...looking good! |
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| This is the "real" vacation! Sitting by the river with a good book in hand. |
Comments
Can't wait to see what adventure we can get into next year...
Hugs! :-)