Day 15- July 18/Day 16- July 19

On Friday, my dad, step mom, and I got up at about 6am to go check out the wildlife at Grand Tetons National Park. We didn't really see any wildlife at all. It was rather disappointing. We ended up finding some really cool areas to take landscape photos. There was this one lake (Leigh Lake) that was like glass when we got there and the mountains reflected perfectly on the water. Then we went to Mormon Row where some of the most famous photographs were taken (allegedly). I don't remember ever seeing anything like it, but that's just me. We also had a little breakfast at this outdoor chuckwagon place. It was really cool because we ate outside on picnic tables with the Tetons in the backgound.

Later on in the afternoon after we went back to the RV to pick up my sisters and we went to ride this alpine slide. It was so much fun! We even got my dad to ride. You ride down this plastic u-shaped slide in the side of a mountain on these plastic coaster things. (Don't you love my technical explanation?) The only crappy thing was when you get stuck behind a slow person. My dad and I were "racing" each other and then we came upon my sisters. They were going too slow for us, so of course we had slow down.




After the slide, we came back to the RV so others could get ready for dinner. We went to The Gun Barrel and had some interesting food including elk and bison.

After dinner we rode this gondola in Teton Village up the mountains. The view wasn't really that great because it was a little hazy.

SATURDAY--
Today my dad and I got up early to go back to some of the places we went yesterday because we wanted to go back to some of the places to get some more pics. We went back to Leigh Lake and Mormon Row. There were a lot of photographers out today at Mormon Row. I even took a picture of all of them. Ha Ha! Then we drove up to Signal Mountain to try to see some wildlife. We saw a male and two female Blue Grouse. The male was pretty cool. He just stood there and let us take his picture. When we got up to the summit there were some pretty cool views. There would have been a good view of the Tetons minus a dead tree in the way.

After making it back to the RV we all went to an art fair in Jackson Hole. I got a cool 4X6 picture of a egret that was printed on fabric, a homemade bar of soap, and a piece of pottery. We came back to the RV to hang out and then drove up this Teton Pass and went to go check out a beaver dam. The beaver dam was built pretty well. It backed up the water into this lake and drowned lots of trees. We even got to see a few beavers.

Day 13- Wednesday July 16/ Day 14- Thursday July 17

On Wednesday, I slept in a little late with everyone but my dad. I didn't feel like getting up at the crack of dawn for the third day in a row. I woke up around 7:45am and worked on getting the blog up to date. I had to go back about three days and remember what all we did.

My dad got back to the RV around 11am and after returning the rental car, my sister Shelby, my dad and I went into the park. Shelby had to go with us to finish up the Junior Ranger stuff we were working on. I covertly became a Junior Ranger. I wanted to do the stuff, but since I am a little old she had to be the stand in for me. It was funny because the ranger who gave her the badge was actually from the same area that my family lives in Houston. He also thought that I was her mom...I was like no, I'm her sister. Ha Ha!

After that my dad tricked my sister into thinking he was going to take her back to the RV since she didn't want to do anything in the park anymore. After a while she kinda caught on, but luckly she didn't throw a temper tantrum. We went around the whole south loop of the park because I wanted to see Lake Yellowstone. That was the only section of the park we didn't visit since it is on the east/southeast side and we were staying on the west side. I definitely liked the west side better because there was a lot more wildlife to see.

On Thursday we didn't do much. Mostly we drove to Jackson, Wyoming. Once we got to the RV park we went into Jackson Hole to get something to eat. We ended up eating at this small joint called Billy's Burgers. It was kinda like an old diner that served burgers. The workers there were all very friendly and pretty lively guys.

After eating we walked around Jackson Hole to all the touristy shops. They also have a lot of art galleries here too. I saw some awesome photos that would be awesome to buy, but of course they were all pretty pricey. I guess I'll just have to settle with the ones I take.

Tomorrow my dad, step mom and I are getting up early to go scope out the Grand Tetons. None of have been here before so it should be pretty exciting to see new stuff. I'm hoping to see lots of moose and other wildlife. I'll let you know later what we see.

I'm not able to upload pics now, so I'll try tomorrow.

Day 12- Tuesday July 15

Today everyone got up early, but I don't think my sisters were too enthused to wake up at 4:30am. It was super foggy today, so there weren't as many animals out as yesterday. We went to pretty much the same places as yesterday, but we didn't see as many animals as yesterday. We did see a couple small black bears and a grizzly bear. We also saw a wolf over in Lamar Valley. We made it back to the RV and then it was nap time. Later that evening we went back into the park to eat at the Old Faithful Inn.

Day 11- Monday July 14

Today my dad, step mom , and I got up at 5am to go check out some animals as they awoke and begin grazing. We first saw three male elks. One of them had a really big set of antlers. It was awesome to just see them standing there eating. A while later we came along hundreds of bison in Hayden Valley. We even saw a couple swimming across the river. When they got out they shook off like dogs.

We made our way over to the north side of the park. We saw a couple of black bears and even a moose. We visited the petrified tree and then made our way to Mammoth Springs and visited the north entrance. This is the orginal entrance to the park with the Roosevelt Arch. When we got back to the RV I took a much needed nap.

Day Ten- Sunday July 13

Today we slept in a bit after the late night last night. We just walked around the town of West Yellowstone today. Today my dad got a rental car so that two of my sisters would be separated since they fight all the time.





Later that night we drove into the Park to Hayden Valley to see more animals. My dad and I left early and we tried to check out a geyser. We were in luck, the geyser was supposed to errupt within 30 minutes of our arrival. It was the Great Fountain Geyser and its the largest geyser in the park. It was really cool to watch it errupt.





We saw a grizzly bear, again through a scope, sandhill cranes, elk, bison, and canadian geese.

Day Nine-Sat, July 12

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. We have been so busy!



On Saturday, I got up early because my dad and I were supposed to go and explore the park. For some reason he didn't feel like getting up, so I just went out and walked around the RV park. I took some pictures of flowers and these cute birds living in a bird house.


After my dad got up, we went into the park. Everyone else wanted to sleep in. Right off the bat we saw a bald eagle. It was so cool! About half a mile down the road is a bald eagle management area where there is a nest. There is no stopping in this area, so it was cool that the eagle was right next to a pull out area so we could take pics. We made our way further into the park and turned onto Fountain Flat Drive. We were about to turn around when we spotted a herd of bison down near a river. After taking a few pics we went to the Fountain Paint Pot trail. Here we saw more geysers, thermal vents, and hot springs.



Next we took Firehole Lake Drive to see what it offered There were more thermal pools and geysers. The largest geyser in the park is located here, but it was not erupting when we were around. There was one geyser erupting, White Dome Geyser, but by the time we got over there it stopped.



After going back to the RV for lunch and to get everyone else we went to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. The Yellowstone River runs through it and there are a couple waterfalls. We saw the falls from a couple view points, including Artist's Point. We then went to Uncle Tom's Trail to get a close up view. After walking down a path we went down 328 steps. Descending wasn't so bad, but ascending was a little more difficult. The view from the bottom was well worth it though.


We had a little ice cream break we made our way to Lamar Valley in the evening to see some more animals. We ended up seeing a bear (from very far away, through a scope), a pronghorn, a a golden eagle's nest with chicks on the side of a mountain, more bison, and elk.


After about a two hour drive back to the RV, arriving around 11pm, I had cereal for dinner and went to bed.

Day Eight- Yellowstone

Today, after sleeping in a little late we finally made it to Yellowstone National Park. Our first stop was at Norris Geyser Basin. We saw lots of hot springs, thermal vents, and geysers. They were pretty cool looking because they were all so colorful. This is from the algae and bacteria that live in the hot environment. I'm not so sure that everyone appreciated this walk to see everything. Then we went to have a nice picnic lunch near the Gibbon River. On the way to see Old Faithful we drove along Firehole Lake Drive where we got to see Firehole Falls. We finally made it to Old Faithful and we probably had to wait about 30 minutes or so to erupt. The eruption only lasted about maybe 5 minutes. On our way back to the RV we came across some elk and bison. Some of these critters caused some traffic jams. Everyone pulled over and got out of their cars to take pictures, including me. It was just so cool to see these animals in their own environment. Soon the Park Ranger came along and was getting the traffic to keep moving.

Day Seven- Driving to Yellowstone

Today we pretty much just drove from Durango to West Yellowstone, Montana. We are staying in a KOA Campground. We drove through Utah and Idaho to get to the campground. Not much happened on the drive, we saw some cool sites...we went through Moab, Utah. After we got to the campground and got settled we ate some dinner and my two younger sisters decided they wanted to go to the pool. The were riding their rip sticks (aka skateboards) down to the pool. We are parked on a slight hill...so of course what you are thinking happened. One of them ate it on the cement path. She came back screaming and her elbow was all scraped up. She was pretty upset. After making a run to the nearest store 15 minutes away for hydrogen peroxide it was a little better. I hope tomorrow will be a lot safer for everyone.

Day Six- Mesa Verde

Today we went to Mesa Verde National Park. We didn't go on any guided tours of any cave dwellings, but we were able to see a lot of them from different look out points. The scenery was beautiful there. I tooks tons of pictures. Oh I also, sorta, became a Junior Ranger. There is this worksheets kids have to fill out by going through the park museum and then turn in the completed worksheet to the rangers. Well since I am probably too old to do it, I got my sister Shelby to turn it in and pretend it was for her. It was funny because the Ranger told her she had nice hand writing and made her take this pledge.

I'm kinda tired now, so I don't have much to write. Tomorrow we are leaving Durango to head towards Yellowstone. I don't think that we will have internet for a while, but I am not sure. I'll try to post when I can.

Day Five- Train Ride

We are still in Durango and we rode the Narrow Gauge Railroad from Durango to Silverton. It was about a four hour train ride through the mountains. The scenery was really beautiful. The train is coal powered and follows the Animas River up to Silverton. The reason its called the narrow gauge railroad is because the width of the rails is 3 feet 6 inches rather than the standard 4 feet 8 1/2 inches. I learned that the standard gauge is from ancient Greece. That is the width of their chariots, so when the Europeans started putting in rail that is what they used.

Once we got to Silverton, we had a little time to eat and walk around the town. The town used to be a mining town. They once mined for silver and gold...hence the name Silverton. Everyone except my dad road the bus back to Durango. The bus only took about an hour and a half, while the train was another 4 hour ride back. The bus was nice since it was fast and the bus driver was a tour guide as well. We learned a lot about the area. They filmed a couple movies in the area, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Around the World in 80 Days. I've never seen either of them, but maybe I'll have to check them out now.

Day Four- Durango, Colorado

Today we all woke up bright and early to go white water rafting on the Animas River. My step-mom, sisters, and I are the ones who went rafting. My dad was the photographer. I will get some of the pictures he took and put them on here later. The rafting was pretty fun. We went for about 1 1/2 hours and about 7 miles. We went through a few class three rapids. The water was pretty cold, so it was good that no one fell in the river.



After changing into some warm, dry clothes my sisters and I got dropped off in downtown Durango to go look around. I bought a cute homemade bag and a turtle horn for my bike. :) Can't wait to use it on those pesky tourists on the Seawall! I think we were all tired from the rafting this morning, so we came back to the RV park and are just hanging out.

Tomorrow should be another long day. We are taking the narrow gauge train from downtown Durango to Silverton, Colorado. My family has done this before, but I haven't. It looks like it should be fun. The train goes by the RV park everyday.

Day 3

Today we drove from Amarillo, Texas to Durango, Colorado. It was a pretty cool drive through a little more interesting terrain today. It was cool to go from totally flat plains to bare rocky mountains in New Mexico and tree covered mountains in Colorado. Definitely different than southeast Texas. When we got to Durango and got the RV all set up, my dad and I went to wash off the Explorer and get some info on white water rafting. We also saw these cool glider tours that you can take. A smaller plane takes a glider with a pilot and one passenger up over the mountains and then releases the glider to glide around the mountains. It looks pretty cool, but I'm not so sure about not having a backup engine to rely upon.

Tomorrow, my step mom, sisters, and I are signed up to go white water rafting. I'll let you know how it goes.

Tonight, I think we are going to the movies to see Wall-e.

Day Two- Happy 18th Birthday Kelly!

Today is my sister's 18th birthday. What a way to spend it, riding in an RV for hours! Today the parentals went and picked up my sister Emily from camp and then we were off. We drove from Tyler to Amarillo. Tonight we are staying at the Oasis RV park in Amarillo. It's decent here, there is free wifi, free laundry (which is good for Emily since she had some pretty smelly laundry from camp), a pool, hot tub, and we're close to the Cadillac Ranch. Check out some of the pictures from the Cadillac Ranch.

So, if you've never been to Amarillo, it literally smells like crap here. The RV park we are staying at is near some sort of cattle farm, so it smells really great! You're really lucky you can't smell through the web.

Oh, the picture of the dog below is our trip mascot, Gracie.

Day One--Happy Fourth of July

We left today on our trip to Yellowstone National Park. It was a short trip today from Cypress, Texas (near Houston) to Tyler, Texas. We are picking up my sister Emily from camp here near Tyler on Saturday, and then we will be off to our next destination. Tonight we are staying in the RV in a Super Wal-Mart parking lot. From here we got to see some pretty cool fireworks. I am not sure who is putting them on, but like I said they were pretty neat…for Tyler.

Getting Ready

So I am down to about two days before we leave. I still have not started packing, but today at work I made a list of stuff I need to buy and stuff to remember to pack. Luckily its just odds and ends I can pick up at Target.