Yellowstone....

We hadn't really planned to go to Yellowstone, but that is where we ended up.

And that my friends, is traveling with The Farmer.

While at The Ranch, in Idaho, The Farmer announced that we were going to head to

Yellowstone Park, and why not.....we were pretty close by. So we left Idaho, drove

for several hours and arrived in Jackson Hole a little late, but in time for The Boy to

see some friends of his who are working there for the summer.

We found a hotel....quite possibly the last one in town....and settled down

for the night. The next morning, we headed for Yellowstone. We passed through the

Grand Teton National Park, which was amazing. The weather was great!

We along with a few thousand other folks....arrived at Yellowstone mid-morning and we

must have stopped 10 or 15 times to admire the scenery until we realized that

around every corner it was equally as beautiful. Even though the evidence of the terrible

forest fire, from a few years back, is present, you would hardly notice it through the

amazing re-growth that is taking place.

We headed to Old Faithful, and were lucky enough to see it work it's magic, twice.

The second time, we were sitting in front of the Beehive Geyser, just a few hundred yards

away from Old Faithful.....Just as old Faithful ended.....the Beehive began. To be right next

to it was amazing!



We discovered, the next day, that The Farmer's brother Uncle J. and his family were watching

Old Faithful, right at the same time we were, just a few hundered yards away, and we

didn't even know that each other was there.

Amazing!





Much to The Darlings delight....(not really).....we hiked to a location called Fairy Falls.

It ended up being a little longer of a hike than we anticipated......

The day was hot.....we all got a little sunburned....and thirsty.

When we finally arrived....(along with a few other hikers).....The Rooster yelled out....

"This is it??????......we hiked all that way to see THIS?????"

"There is nothing extra-ordinary about this!!!!"

And then he proceeded to climb the side of a mountain and sit and wait for us to finish

admiring the beautiful falls.

And then we headed back.....5 miles up.....5 miles back.


On the way out of Yellowstone the same evening, we had commented to each other,

that we had really missed seeing wildlife. I had expected bears to come to the car and Moose

to be wandering amongst the tourists....

Luckily we were able to see a few Elk on our way out. Another interesting converstation heard

in the car while we were exiting the park.....

The Farmer...."that has got to be the biggest squirrel I have ever seen!....I mean really it is

huge....it must be fed well by the tourists.......wow!"

The Boy....."Dad..(with a bit of disgust in his voice..)...that was a beaver...."

Another fun thing about Yellowstone, was watching the people enjoy the beautiful park,

and the animals. Traffic jams were common in the evening...people actually left their running

cars to capture a picture of the beautiful wildlife. There was joy in the faces of the

adults and children who were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the

fantastic animals. It was a lovely day in Yellowstone Park!