June 17 – Sunday – Off We Go
The family met at Grandma and Grandpa’s house to celebrate Father’s Day at
4:00. After everyone left Grandma and
Grandpa got in the car with Gabe and Owen and headed for Laramie, Wyoming.
We spent the night in Laramie, got up early the next morning and started the 6 hour drive to Jackson, Wyoming.
June 18 - Monday – Laramie to Jackson
When we got up in Laramie we saw the firefighters who were going back to Colorado after helping with the fires in Wyoming.
The
boys entertained themselves pretty well on the long drive across Wyoming with
movies and other entertainments.
We arrived
in Jackson at about 3 pm, allowing time for shopping, swimming in the pool, and
in time for the Jackson Shootout.
After the
shootout we had ice cream, dinner and went to the movie (Incredibles 2). A long day, but full of activity (once the
drive was over). We stayed at the Modern
Mountain Motel near downtown Jackson
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June 19 – Tuesday – Snake River Float Trip and Dinner & Entertainment at the Bar J
We
slept in, went to breakfast at the Virginian and prepared for pickup for our
Snake River Float Trip at noon.
Our guide for the trip was JJ. We
were on the river for about 13 miles and 3 hours. We saw Golden Eagles, Osprey, Marmots, and
White Pelicans.
One special experience happened when JJ spotted an Eagle in the river that looked like it was drowning. As we approached the bird he rose out of the water, flew around us and then took off for the nearby trees.
In the evening we went to the Bar J for an evening of food and entertainment. The Bar J has been in business for about 40 years. The father and his 2 boys, along with other entertainers present an outstanding program of cowboy humor and singing. We all enjoyed the food (Gabe said it was “Amazing”) and the program.
The
day started with breakfast at Dornan’s (just north of Jackson).
We arrived at Old Faithful at about 11:30 and waited for the eruption at about 12:45. The eruption was kind of puny.
We drove to
the geyser basins (Grand Prismatic Spring and Norris Geyser Basin). Grandma and the boys walked the basins while
Grandpa stayed behind.
We arrived at
Canyon Village where we had dinner and checked into our “Western Cabin”.
After dinner
we drove south into the Hayden Valley to see if we would see wildlife. Grandpa told the boys to be patient … and of
course we immediately started seeing buffalo.
We met a man and his wife that talked about seeing a grizzly bear
swimming in the river and chasing elk … and he had pictures to prove it.
As we started
back to Canyon we saw a herd of buffalo moving toward the road. We stayed put (exercising patience) until the herd came to the
road, crossed and ended up swimming across the Yellowstone River. It was a herd of over 200 buffalo with many
calves. Seeing the herd cross the river was exciting and surprising.
On the way
back to our “Cabin” we stopped at Artist Point to see the Grand Canyon of the
Yellowstone.
The
morning started off by going north from Canyon toward the Lamar Valley in the
hope of spotting bears, wolves, and other animals. We stopped at Tower Falls, where people had
seen a Cinnamon Bear (no, not the kind you eat) at the Falls.
After leaving the
Falls we encountered a mother Cinnamon Bear and her cubs crossing the road in
front of us.
Further
along the road we saw some Antelope and, in the far distance, a baby coyote
sleeping on a rock.
Our next
stop was at the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River in the Grand Canyon of the
Yellowstone. Gabe, Owen and Grandma made
the hike down to the Brink of the Falls.
We saw some
Elk along the way and stopped to enjoy the beautiful Hayden Valley.
Our next stop
was at Lake Lodge where we had lunch, before continuing on to the Grant
Visitors Center where we watched a short film about the 1988 Yellowstone fire
and how the forest has benefited from the fire.
We
then drove to Colter Bay where we checked into our cabin.
We went to
Jackson Lake Lodge, just south of Colter Bay, to see the Tetons and to have
some ice cream. The Banana Split and
Sundae that Gabe and Grandpa had were Unbelievably
large … but we did our best.
The
day ended with dinner at Colter Bay and some continuing games of UNO.
Gabe and Owen are the champs.
June 22 – Friday – Trail Ride,
Starting home via Rock Springs, Wyoming
Friday
morning started early with a drive to Swift Creek Outfitters. This outfit has about 100 horses and is about
20 miles south of Colter Bay … back into the hills. After getting checked-in and mounted we
started on our one-hour trail ride. We
don’t remember our guides name, but we nicknamed him “Kick Em”. This because he kept telling our group (us and
two other folks) to Kick Em if the horses wanted to eat grass or slowed
down. The trail was across a sizable
creek, so we had the experience of riding through the stream … a bit nerve
racking a first, but the horses knew what they were doing.
After
the trail ride we stopped in Jackson for lunch before continuing on to the
Holiday Inn in Rock Springs … about a 3-hour drive. The boys were very excited about getting into
a pool again for a swim.
We ended the day with Jimmy Johns and ice cream at Sonic ...
followed by more UNO.
June 23 – Saturday – Home
We were on
the road by 7 am for the final 6-hour drive to Denver.
Grandpa and
Grandma enjoyed the time with the boys.
It was great to get to know the boys better. A good time for us.
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