DAY TWO: GTNP & Yellowstone

That's our car in the pic

Still faithful!

See the black bear by the water?

Jenny Lake boat ride, Grand Teton National Park

Hidden Falls Hike

Early morning fishing

Our day started early with Dave going fishing before 6:00 a.m. Unfortunately, his first time out was not successful but he enjoyed his sunrise and morning out on the river anyway. As he was leaving to meet us for breakfast, he said the fisherman were piling in, so he wonders if he was out too early. After breakfast, we let the kids swim one more time before heading north through Grand Teton National Park which is almost connected to Yellowstone, and the only way to get to the south entrance from where we were.

We stopped pulled off for pictures at a few spots, and then went to Jenny Lake and took a boat ride over to Hidden Falls, which was a nice hike. It was one of several 1/2 mile hikes we took today, but the kids were troupers! We ate a snack up on one of the big rocks and watched the rock climbers, then headed back so that we could get on our way to Yellowstone. Before leaving Grand Teton National Park, we pulled over for a little more fishing, this time with the kids. No fish again!

We did the west side of the lower loop of Yellowstone, with the main goal being to see Old Faithful. We missed it by a few minutes, so we had dinner at the lodge there and waited the almost 2 hours until the next appearance was predicted. She did not disappoint, and the kids couldn't believe how high she spat!

Before we stopped at Old Faithful, we saw a bunch of cars pulled over and stopped to see what everyone was looking at. It was a black bear in the woods (estimated 150-200 lbs), but the view was so obstructed that the pics aren't worth showing. A few miles past Old Faithful, we pulled over to get a better look at a big canyon and river, and immediately spotted a black bear and watched it run along the water, chase a deer away, and take a little swim. It was quite far and will look tiny in the pictures, but we'll show you anyway. The kids were so excited since we had been looking for wildlife all day, and because Dave had set the expectation with them that they would see big game in the park. Nate brought along a knife and has talked incessantly about fighting off the bears with it. Let's just say he's ALL talk (you'll see later)!

By the time we left Old Faithful, it was after 7:00 so we did a whirlwind of scenic stops, trying to fit in as much as we could before dark. Stopped at Black Sand & Biscuit Basins, and the lower and upper Geyser basins containing several different geysers, each a little different in their make-up. We were all fascinated by the steam, the smells and the gurgling of the geysers and the unique ways they affected the earth around them.

When we were about 15 miles away from the west park exit, we spotted this gorgeous river being fished by several guys and decided to pull over so Dave could get a few minutes of fishing in before dark. Right as we pulled off the road, we realized we parked next to two big bison! When we entered Yellowstone, they gave us a flyer warning us about how dangerous the bison are, and that they can run 30 miles per hour and can be very aggressive. Anyway, we stayed in our car and watched them enjoying a nice salad on the side of the road, not seeming to care that we were there.

We decided to park on the other side of the road closer to the river and further away from the Bison, and Dave got his fishing gear out. The bison then made their way across the street and went right down to the water for a drink, walking right past a father and son who were fishing. Dave told the kids to get in the car , where my son cried and worried about our safety as Dad continued to fish and Mom continued to take pictures. When Dave heard the bison growl, he decided it was time we both get in the car! The bison then wandered back up to the road, literally about 5 feet from our car, and then sauntered back to the other side of the street in front of a line of cars. It was the highlight of our day! But now our brave, bear-fighting, knife-bearing Nate started quizzing us immediately about the bison's strength and capabilities, and is now quite concerned about bison being strong enough to break into our hotel room!

Tonight we're in the town West Yellowstone, our first step into the state of Montana. We got in late, and the birthday boy (it's now August 6 here in Montana) is fast asleep along with the kids. Tomorrow we'll head back into Yellowstone to do a portion of the upper loop before exiting the north entrance near Gardiner, and heading to Livingston where we'll take a horseback ride to Dave's bday dinner which will be a cowboy cook-out. It should be a fun day!