Day 6 - Jenny Lake Hike

The next day of our vacation, we decided that it would be fun to take the shuttle boat across Jenny Lake and hike from there, saving us about two miles of hiking each way. We all enjoyed the boat and feeling the cool water.

It was about a half-mile hike up to Hidden Falls, which wasn't really so hidden as we were hiking with boatloads of people.

An extremely habituated marmot looked for handouts.

So did this ground squirrel. I was a little afraid that the rodents would bite the kids, as they got so close.

We kept hiking higher, and Ed took a break out on a sunny ledge.

Then we got to Inspiration Point. We had passed some rock climbing classes, and Desert Boy decided he just had to do some climbing on the nice granite. He went up without any problems.

The view was great, and we took some time to snack and enjoy our surroundings.

Fun times.

I was surprised how many people did the hike over the rocky, uneven path. Here's a view of the human traffic jam. Many people had no water and some even did the hike in flip flops. Ouch.

While we were waiting for the boat back, the kids asked if they could play around on the rocks next to the water. I said yes, and they had a good time. Then Desert Girl fell in. She took it in stride and continued playing. I figured it was a good way for her to cool off on a warm day. I expected Desert Boy to fall in, too, but he managed to just get slightly damp.

We noticed clouds out to the east. These turned out to be from a huge fire, the Fontanelle Fire, which has burned over 60,000 acres. Although Yellowstone and Grand Teton were definitely wetter than the Great Basin, they were dry, and all sorts of fire restrictions were in place.

This was the end of our Grand Teton experience, so we said good bye to the beautiful mountains and clear, blue lakes and headed south.

Day 5 - Grand Tetons

 Desert Girl loved camping, especially since that meant she could make lots of messes (note that she is holding the milk bottle upside down!).

 Precious.

 Desert Boy needed some extra rest--note all the dirt on his face. We didn't quite see all that when we went to bed the night before!

 I figured the Grand Tetons would be kind of a rest day for the kids and me, and the kids agreed thoroughly. They didn't really want to hike. So my brother Ed found a good place to go hiking up into the high country for a couple hours, and we hung out near the trail head.

 I convinced the kids a little hiking might be okay, and we went a half-mile at a very slow place. Walking sticks were an important component of the hike.

 Going so slow gave us time to savor the little things, like this beautiful butterfly.

 I also took plenty of photos. (Yep, we finally did get him cleaned up!)

 And then we found the perfect beach for a little skinnydipping. The kids were ecstatic. They threw sticks into the water and then went and got them. It was a good thing we didn't have our dog Henry with us!

 On the way back, Desert Girl was in her jumping mode. She jumped more than she walked.

 I kept forgetting to take videos, but this still shows her in action.

 Sometimes the jumps don't go exactly as planned.

 We ended up with a little extra time, so my brother and I took turns riding a bike down the really nice bike trail from South Jenny Lake.

 When we got to the new visitor center (as of 2007), we looked at some of the exhibits. I'm not sure if the exhibit designers realized they were modeling some behavior.

 I must say that the kids understand teamwork!

 Desert Boy had been working on his junior ranger badge and he took the junior range pledge at the visitor center.

Then it was time to head to the surprisingly busy Jackson Hole airport to pick up my husband, who flew in to join us for the last few days of the vacation.

It was good to catch up with drinks and pizza and fantastic views of the Tetons.

Day 4 - Geysers and More

 We started off Day 4 going to the Midway Geyser Basin, one of my favorites. We got there before it was really busy, and the steam coming off the hot pools made an incredible fog.

 The highlight of this basin is the Grand Prismatic Spring, the largest hot spring in Yellowstone, and one of the most colorful. You can see some of the colors reflected on the steam.

 The patterns the hot water and bacterial mats make are fascinating. I could spend a lot more time looking at them!

 Off in the distance is even more steam rising, giving hints that this is a hot place.

 The kids were good about posing for a photo. What sweeties!

 And another, with the fog behind them.

 Desert Girl fortunately was very good about staying on the boardwalk. She did get on her belly to get a closer look.

 We saw a dragonfly dead on the bacterial mat.

 We also saw some bison tracks. I guess they didn't read the signs about staying on the boardwalk.

Next we headed to the Old Faithful area, which was a zoo. We went to the new visitor center and signed Desert Boy up for the Young Scientist program. We checked out a backpack with an infrared thermometer, stopwatch, magnifying glass, and rock samples. Then we headed down the path on our bicycles. The kids loved a change from hiking. So did I!

 We found that Riverside Geyser was supposed to erupt soon, so we waited, and in the meantime Desert Boy started measuring the temperature of everything he could find. He didn't really know what the numbers meant, but it was a cool gadget. He shared with a family that was waiting in the shade with us, and they enjoyed it too.

 He used the magnifying glass to get a closer look at the rock samples. It was a fun program, and I think he might have learned a little from it.

 Then Riverside Geyser began spewing water. It was beautiful! The eruption lasted more than 20 minutes, but folks watching it mostly lasted half of that before they started wandering away.

 We went to the end of the bike path and saw the beautiful Morning Glory Pool.

 On the way back it looked like Castle Geyser was going to go off, so we stopped. Desert Boy walked around to the side to get a better vantage point to draw the geyser.

 Little splashes of water teased us.

Finally it went off in a minor eruption. It seemed big to us!

It was a fun morning, and the bikes made a big difference. We had ample people-watching time. So many people looked like they just hung out for one eruption of Old Faithful and never went further back into the geyser basin where the more interesting geysers lay. The kids had had their fill of geysers, so we headed off to new adventures.

Day 3 - More Yellowstone

 Later in the afternoon we encountered a bear jam--a traffic jam caused by folks who wanted to see a bear.

My brother Ed took the wheel so I could hop out and see the bear.

 A grizzly was lunching nearby.

 We later encountered another bear jam. I wondered how fast the bicyclist could leave the scene if the mama grizzly got mad at him and charged.

We were hungry so we stopped at a picnic area and made dinner. We had the picnic area to ourselves. If you're ever in Yellowstone and everything seems crowded, try a picnic area. It might just be a quiet spot.

 From there we headed to Norris Geyser Basin, the hottest one in the park. I love it; it seems so otherworldly. The evening light made the Porcelain Basin seem even starker.

 The kids did awesome walking the boardwalk. I think Desert Boy walked about five miles that day between the bear hike and the geyser basin.

 The kids saw their first geyser--Constant Geyser. They didn't know what to think.

 Desert Boy was very curious about all the dead trees.

 It was really nice having my brother along, and the kids appreciated having their uncle joking with them.

Ah, this was the quintessential Yellowstone day: wildlife, traffic jams, geysers, and a feeling of serenity.