After another free hotel breakfast and getting our caffeine fix, we were off again. The plan was to stop in Lander, WY at the Sinks Canyon State Park. However, the road was closed to get there, and after our GPS leading us to 2 other dead ends, we decided to give up. I think we may have found another road to take us there, but we just decided to hit the road and use the extra time to snap some shots of the Grand Teton Mountains. We did stop in Dubois, WY so Zach could get his picture taken on the Jack A Lope. It was fun. Zach picked out a stuffed Jack a lope as a souvenir. At first, he named it “Home,” but later changed the name to “Penny.” We also bought some ice cream. I got Huckleberry (my favorite), and Glenn got something that was chocolate coffee flavored.
We did hit a bit of construction, but it definitely wasn’t as bad as it was 2 years ago. Soon, we had arrived at Grand Teton National Park. I think we waited about 45 minutes in line 2 years ago. This year, we got right in…phew!! We made a few stops, and took some beautiful pictures of the Grand Tetons. Zach got to throw some rocks in the water and we were on our way to the Yellowstone National Park entrance. YAY!!!
Once we arrived at the south entrance to Yellowstone, we obtained our map, and we headed towards our 1st stop: Moose Falls. We switched out of our flip flops, and headed down the short trail to the falls. It was a very pretty water fall. There were some brave people swimming in the water there. (See if you can spot the hidden leg in the middle picture below. :D )
Next, we stopped at Lewis Falls. This was another very pretty roadside waterfall. Zach had a great time climbing around the rocks at the viewing area. We did make the short hike to get a closer view.
After viewing the falls, we went to find our cabin. For the 1st 3 nights, we stayed at the Snow Lodge Western Cabins. We found the check-in, and then located our cabin. Zach decided that he wanted to go back to the Hampton Inn, but Glenn and I were happy to be in the park. It was a good sized cabin, and the temperature was cool inside even though it was pretty warm outside. Zach sure liked the soap shaped like a bear.
Once we stretched out and got settled, we decided to get something to eat. It was some sort of a grill area. Glenn got the cheeseburger, and Zach and I shared a chicken strip basket. The chicken strips were pretty good. Zach actually ate quite a bit more than expected. Glenn said his cheeseburger was edible.
Once we stretched out and got settled, we decided to get something to eat. It was some sort of a grill area. Glenn got the cheeseburger, and Zach and I shared a chicken strip basket. The chicken strips were pretty good. Zach actually ate quite a bit more than expected. Glenn said his cheeseburger was edible.
With full bellies, we ventured over to the Old Faithful Visitor Center and obtained the geyser eruption times. Old Faithful was estimated to go off in about a ½ hour, so we decided to get a seat and prepare for the show. Zach was only 2 when we went to YNP last time, and he doesn’t really remember much of the trip. He was really amazed with the Old Faithful eruption, and as always, Glenn and I enjoyed this natural wonder.
Afterwards, we wandered around some of the boardwalks. Zach was very nervous about walking so close to all of these geysers and hot springs. After just seeing how Old Faithful erupted very high in the air from nothing, I think he thought that any one of these may do this at any given minute. We were viewing one of the springs/geysers from the boardwalk, and all of a sudden, it started sputtering pretty well so that some of the water splashed on the boardwalk. Glenn thought this was cool and it didn’t scare him off, but Zach was pretty freaked out and was desperately trying to pull his daddy away so he would be safe. Zach was so brave to try to save his daddy. LOL! After assuring Zach that the boardwalks were planned by engineers and they wouldn’t put them where we would be in harm’s way. We then saw Sawmill Geyser, and that was a fun one that was shooting pretty high in the air. We had to make a dash for it because it was spraying all over the boardwalk.
Glenn, Zach, and I were now thoroughly exhausted so we headed back to our cabin for a good night’s sleep.