Theodore Roosevelt N.P., ND [7.30.11]

Last night we drove into Theodore Roosevelt National Park around 8:30 pm and got THE LAST CAMPSITE! We were sooo lucky. It is one of the few parks that does not  have reservations, so I was sweating it out a bit.

There are 126 wild horses in this park. Four of them decided to show up at the campground... right before Shea started cooking breakfast.

There are prairie dogs EVERYWHERE! You can’t get very close to them, but here’s a shot of one PLUS a view of what a prairie dog town looks like (all of the circular mounds of dirt are their homes).

After breakfast we went for a 1-1/2 hour trail ride at Peaceful Valley Ranch, here in the park. We had SO MUCH FUN riding Rusty, Poco and Rascal.

After lunch we headed into the cowboy town of Medora to find ice cream. Kermit couldn’t resist horsing around.

This afternoon we went for a hike along the Ridgeline Trail.

Views from the top...

... and along the road back to our campsite.

The day ended with another visit from a wild horse!

Driving through Montana [7.29.11]

We left Yellowstone this morning and while driving down the road we noticed some mule deer waiting for their breakfast by one of the park buildings :)

At the northern tip of Yellowstone we drove into Montana.

It took 7 hours to drive through “Big Sky Country”...

... and apparently I-94 is the Lewis and Clark Trail.

No. Dakota here we come!

Yellowstone N.P., WY [7.28.11]

We arrived in Yellowstone yesterday evening and while driving to our campsite we got our first glimpses of this impressive park.

Checking out  Dragon’s Mouth Spring...

.... and a buffalo on the side of the road! 

This morning we went to the Canyon Visitor Center and then hiked the Rim Trail of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone to see Lower Falls and Yellowstone River.

After lunch we drove to the Yellowstone Lodge and watched Old Faithful perform her magic.

Cooling off in the Gibbon River...

... and a surprise mule deer sighting.

We drove to the northern part of the park, hoping to swim across from this sign in “The Boiling River” where hot springs meet the Gardner River, but the area was closed due to high waters.  :(

The day ended with a hike around Mammoth Hot Springs where we saw the result of hot springs pouring out a variety of minerals over thousands of years to create a beautiful palette of color.

P.S. While in the parking lot of Canyon Village a teenager saw our Vermont plates and asked us where we were from. He is part of a boy scout troop from Monkton, here on a trip. When we got out of the showers this note was left on our windshield. How cool is that??? 

Grand Teton N.P., WY [7.27.11]

Well, driving through Wyoming is MUCH BETTER than driving through Nevada! We were on the road by 8:00 am this morning and hit the Wyoming border a few hours later.

We drove through Jackson Hole to get to the Grand Tetons. Thank goodness the girls were pre-occupied with art projects in the car because they TOTALLY MISSED the shopping opportunities in this tourist destination. 

Once we drove through Jackson Hole we were at the entrance of the Grand Tetons. 

I must admit that after we saw the Grand Tetons film in the Visitor Center the girls did a little shopping in the gift store. The views were amazing from this location.

We spent the afternoon at Jenny Lake, admiring the views and hiking around. What a majestic place!

Last Day in Salt Lake City [7.26.11]

Today was our last day in Salt Lake City. We spent the afternoon at a town pool. 

The water slide was SO MUCH FUN! All three of us went down many times.

It will be hard to leave. We’ve had a great time here with Mary Ann and all of her friends. THANK YOU Mary Ann for letting us take over your home and being patient with all of our Vermont energy! I think Kermit will be the saddest to leave because he made friends with the backyard gnome.