Friday, July 7, 2017

Tetons/Yellowstone

Our big trip of the year was camping in the Tetons for 5 days.  Jake and I went to Yellowstone when Zack was a few months old, but we haven't been back since.  We'd never been to the Tetons, so we decided it was time to go.  We had great fun in Tiny.  This is the first time we've ever used Tiny with full hookups (electricity, water, sewer) and it was luxury.  No worrying about running out of water, so we could actually shower.  The best things about a trailer are the showers and the kitchen.  According to me that is.  We were also able to use the microwave and air conditioner.  Like I said, luxury.

This trip was a little different than other camping trips we've done because it involved a lot of driving to other places.  We generally kind of hang out in the campground, but not this time.  When we were in the campground we went on a couple of hikes and did some fishing.  Our campground was right by the beautiful Snake River.  The kids got to try their hand at fly fishing.  Unfortunately for Jake, the fishing so far this year hasn't been awesome because of the high runoff.  He still enjoyed it, but the river was running fast and high so not a lot of luck.  We've also discovered the fun of laser tag while camping.  Its so great.  Jake is not a game person, but this is something even he enjoys.  Probably because he wins every time.

Anyway, we spent two whole days in Yellowstone.  That place is huge with so much to see and do.  You could spend a week there and still not see everything.  We did a lot of driving to everything, but tried to make it a point to stop frequently and see a lot of things.  Such a beautiful place.  By the end it's like, "oh, another geyser/hot spring/waterfall.  Which is ridiculous because they're all amazingly beautiful.  Unfortunately we didn't see any bears, but we saw elk, deer, and bison.

We only spent a day exploring the Tetons, which I'll definitely do more of next time.  We went to Jackson Lake and the kids swam.  That lake is huge and beautiful.  Well, all of the lakes in the Tetons are beautiful with huge mountains towering above you.  Awesome.  Then we went on a hike to some waterfalls at Jenny Lake.  The kids were troopers as we did this at the end of the day so they were already tired.  The hike was over 5 miles, but they made it!  The waterfalls were huge and so pretty.  I think it was worth it but Sage would probably disagree.

We were so busy every day that we ended up eating dinner most days at like 8:30 at night because we got back so late.  We also went through 2 cans of mosquito spray.  Those suckers could pick you up and carry you away.  Another downside of a wet year I guess.  Anyway, enjoy major picture overload.

Oh yeah, can't forget the way the trip ended.  We were 20 minutes from home when all of the sudden our awning was dragging on the road.  We were able to quickly pull over to check it out.  This happened in the middle of a wind and rain storm of course.  Anyway, we had to just rip the awning off because there was no repairing it (no big deal since we never use it).  But that left us with a 15 foot awning that wouldn't fit in the truck or trailer.  So what did amazing Jake do?  He got his sawzall out of the truck box and sawed it in half.  It was the best!  I only wish I'd taken a picture, but I didn't dare due to high emotions.  We were able to get the awning in the trailer and continue on our way.  And we even laughed about it after:)

Snake River right by our campground.  These two are best friends.  I love ite!


Learning to skip rocks


Sage kept wanting to take pictures and be in pictures.  She's not shy

Zack caught a little fish.  He's getting pretty good at fishing



Jake's ready to go




Jackson Lake



Now we're in Yellowstone.  Beautiful











Beautiful little spot we stopped at where the kids practiced fly fishing




These things are huge



Sage would arrange us in our pictures

Elk.  Apparently smaller than what Jake and Zack will be getting


Jenny Lake.  Not a bad view on our hike


This picture does not do these waterfalls justice.  They were huge!




Beautiful Tetons

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  And yes, Sage is giving herself bunny ears









The waterfall we hiked to



Old Faithful