Father's Day

 It is Sunday, June 15th - Father's Day.  Kyler called Kerry first thing this morning since we have a signal in this campground.  We want to get a spot at Norris Campground, so we are on the road by 8:30.  As we drove through West Yellowstone, we stopped at a small grocery store and picked up everything needed for a "cowboy" dinner - steak, potatoes, and corn on the cob.  Once in the park we headed straight to Norris so that we can get a spot since the campground fills up quickly.  

Excited that we got a spot at Norris, we dropped the Bronco trailer to hold our place, then head to Mammoth stopping at Gibbons falls, Artist paint pots, and Norris basin.  While at Norris Basin, we took a hike and visited their museum and store.  

At Mammoth they had a bear safety program which was really good!  It is still not the busy season, so it was just the three of us and the ranger.  Kyler was able to pick up the Junior Ranger forms, complete them, and be sworn in at the same Ranger station as Jayden.  I am so proud of both of these boys and their commitment to protect and preserve the wilderness areas of our country.  

After the swearing in we headed back to Norris campground, messed around a bit, and then cooked our cowboy dinner – YUM J

After dinner we went to another Ranger program, this one on Bison at the little cabin at the ranger station. The cabin was packed, and no place to sit.  In addition, we knew it all….after all, we are Yellowstone regulars J  We decided to head back to camp, make some coffee, and play Uno.  As we headed out the door we saw a bison about 25 feet away rolling around in the dirt…probably was being bitten by something.  Since we needed to keep our distance, we couldn’t walk back on the road.  We just took the longer way back via a trail to our campsite.

It is snowing in Yellowstone!

Saturday – We wanted to get an early start this morning, but the Bronco won’t start.  Phillip is out in the cold winching it up onto the trailer.  While he is doing this, it started to sleet and then snow!  Just for a few minutes and nothing stuck on the ground, but it IS summer.

We headed to Old Faithful and it started snowing in the parking lot…a lot!  KP saw a bunch of Falcons sitting on a guys truck.  We have phone service (which we have not had in days) so Kyler called Melissa and Jayden.  We went to the gift shop and purchased wood boxes for the boys.  We headed over to watch Old Faithful erupt, but it is so cold we decided to watch from inside the lodge (the newer one).  I bought a blanket at the gift shop and Kyler wrapped up in it…it is pretty cold!  

After watching Old Faithful, we went to the old lodge.  Kyler really seemed to enjoy it…looking at the woodwork, rockwork, and just all of the construction.  

We left the lodge and drove to the geyser group that is just past old faithful and walked around before heading to Mammoth.  

By the time we got to Mammoth, the campground was full so we decided to go to the KOA in West Yellowstone.  It is a nice campground with all hookups and phone service (which is nice to have).  Kyler rented a pedal powered scooter and rode around the campground.  Kyler and I went to the hot tub while Phillip continued to work on the Bronco.  While working on the Bronco several people stopped by to visit.  KP is amazed that the Bronco gets so much attention.  On the way up somebody offered to buy it J  We had great burritos for dinner, went for another dip in the hot tub and then the boys settled in for another movie while I went to sleep.  It was another great day.

Snake River rafting!

Friday – we got up, grabbed a cup of coffee, and headed to the waterfalls to enjoy the morning.  

As soon as we could get ready to hit the road, we headed into the Grand Tetons National Park and went first to the Colter Bay Campground and the full hook-up lot was almost full, but we were able to get a spot and set up camp.  We took a ride in the Bronco and rode over to get tickets for the 2:30 float trip leaving from Jackson Lake Lodge.  We visited the rangers Station and saw a video on wolves and then headed out for a picnic.  We found a pull out area with a good view of the Tetons and sat on the tailgate of the Bronco enjoying our lunch.  I saw several people with cameras to our left and went to check it out.  There was a MOOSE – so cool watching the moose enjoying the water.  

After that we went to the Jackson Lake lodge and explored until time for the float trip on the Snake River.  The float trip  lasted from 2:30 until 6:45 (total on water time was about 2.5 hours).  We had so much fun!  We saw a bald eagle, mallard, mergansers, 2 moose cows, geese and goslings.  On the ride back to our car we saw pronghorn, antelope and bison.  The guide on this float trip let Kyler guide the raft which was super fun!

By the time we got to the MH we were all starving.  I made Spaghetti and Kyler ate 2 huge plates….hungry boy!  After dinner we headed to the ranger-led program on weasels, then back to the MH for Uno.  KP 2: CD 1.  Then at 10:15pm we headed to the ranger-led star gazing program.  They had a great big telescope, but the weather did not cooperate…cloudy!  However, we learned a lot about the stars and Indian folk lore about the stars.  We got to look at the full moon through the scope.  Kyler was the first one to try it out and they were very helpful, explaining what he was seeing. Obviously it was late by the time we got back to the MH….way past my bedtime for sure J We are pretty low on water, so no showers, just wash up.  It is supposed to get pretty cold tonight so KP is sleeping in the fleece sleeping bag on the pull out sofa.