Yellowstone - Day 3

Our first stop on day three in Yellowstone was Tower Falls. We had heard that the parking fills really fast, really early! So when we drove by and noticed that the parking was pretty empty, we hopped out to explore. It was a beautiful sight, but after seeing the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone the two previous days, Tower Falls kinda paled in comparison. Nevertheless, we were glad we stopped to take it in. 

From Tower Falls we headed over to the northeastern corner of the park, more specifically to Lamar Valley in hopes of seeing lots of wildlife! This is the part of the park where the huge bison herds roam. We were in luck! We saw the north herd, which has thousands of bison in it! I only took pics on my big camera though, so none to post here. 

After seeing bison and pronghorn all morning, we ate lunch at the Roosevelt Lodge. It's a rustic decor lodge that served a great lunch. There were twenty or so rockers on the front porch to relax in after lunch while gazing at Yellowstone's beauty. We loved this President Roosevelt bear on the porch!  

We had heard from a local to hike Fairy Falls, so on our last evening in the park we decided to do it. This hike was about 5 miles but was very flat. It was about 4 pm when we started so it was no longer scorching hot. Weedie at the trailhead: 

This is Fairy Falls! Man, it was a special place! We had the falls to ourselves for almost a half an hour! The falls wouldn't fit in my little phone camera's field of vision. This only captures maybe the bottom half of the falls. They were very tall and we could get super close to them! I'm pretty sure this was a trip highlight for all three of us! 

We had to hoof it back without dawdling as there were dark clouds in the sky and we could hear thunder in the distance. Luckily, Leila didn't notice or she would have been a mess! While hiking out from Fairy Falls, Leila discovered that her hat strings also double as nose plugs to block the geysers' smells. 

For dinner, we drove back to Old Faithful. We checked out the lodge there and were amazed at its architecture! 

Our night finished all too soon and we had to retire to our hotel room. What a memorable trip to Yellowstone! 

Yellowstone - Day 2

    

After driving for five days, Christopher was tired of being the shuttle driver. So, we decided to look into a tour company in order to see the Upper Loop. Our hotel recommended the Buffalo Bus company and we were not disappointed! Our driver, John, picked us up at 8:15 am and drive us the whole day! We weren't back until around 6 pm. Well worth our ticket price! In the Upper Loop we saw the Porcelain Basin.  Aren't these beautiful!?!? 

Chris really enjoyed getting to site see without the driving! He even got a cat nap here and there.  

At lunch time we were up in the northern most part of the park, near the Roosevelt Tower entrance and Mammoth Hot Springs. We had packed our own lunches and had time to eat on our own. We chose the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel Lobby. It was beautiful! This giant wall map is made from woods that are native to the Greater Yellowstone area. This kid, who knows most of the state capitols already, thought it was an impressive map! 

Mammoth Hot Springs. I think it looks cooler in real life. 

 John took us to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone again. This time we were viewing it from the Northern Rim. I think the Southern Rim has a more dramatic view, but this angle had a huge rainbow! 

That night, back in the hotel, we worked on our summer adventure journals. Last summer we started journaling our adventures and we both had such a good time that we made it a tradition by beginning on a second summer! Usually we cut out pictures from brochures or keep ticket stubs of our activities, but L wanted to draw the yellow bus. So good! 

We went to bed excited because we knew we still had an entire day to explore more Yellowstone!

Yellowstone - Day 1

Our first day in Yellowstone National Park was outstanding...and LONG! We were through the gates before 8 am and didn't return to our hotel room until 9:30 pm! But boy did we see a lot!!! We decided to go almost immediately to Old Faithful, in hopes that it wouldn't be way too crowded. Our plan worked! Yes, it was busy but it was not terrible. And, by accident, we timed it perfectly! Leila had the perfect amount of time to listen to a ranger presentation (a requirement of earning her badge) before Old Faithful performed for us. We waited maybe ten minutes between the presentation and the eruption. Not bad! 

After lunch at the Old Faithful Inn, where we got to watch her erupt again, we did some hiking. This hike was the Observation Point Loop that goes behind Old Faithful and the other geysers in that basin. This hike was 2 miles and when we reached the top we got the rare chance to watch Beehive Geyser erupt. Beehive is not nearly as predictable as Old Faithful, so we felt pretty lucky to witness its eruption from such an amazing spot! Our family at the top...that is Old Faithful you can barely see behind Chris's head. 

We toured the whole Lower Loop for the rest of the day. We saw so many beautiful landscapes and were thrilled when we saw bison! We also saw a grizzly bear!! He ran right in front of our car. 

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is breathtaking!! Once again, a picture just doesn't do it justice! 

Just before dinner, Leila completed her junior ranger activities and became a Yellowstone Junior Ranger!! At Yellowstone, the junior rangers earn a patch instead of a gold badge. 

It was an outstanding day in the nation's first park! 

Travel Day

Sadly, we only had one full day to explore Glacier. We would love to go back though and do a little more hiking as a family! So, on Wednesday morning we were en route to West Yellowstone! We were pretty exited when we passed a Starbucks near Flathead Lake. 

When we went through St. Ignatius, we pulled off the road to see the beautiful St. Ignatius Cathedral. Chris sang here on choir tour when he was in high school. He was eager to show it to me and Leila. Having been in choir myself, I can imagine how amazing it sounded when an RHS choir sang here! 

Half way through our drive to West Yellowstone, we stumbled on Grant Kohrs Ranch (a national monument). It was such a great visit! Leila learned about the ranching ways, life in early Montana times and even got to see a working cowgirl and blacksmith! In addition to all this, she earned a Junior Rancher badge!!! 

Glacier National Park!

Tuesday morning, after our continental breakfast, we headed into Glacier National Park!!!! Oh, the beauty in this place! We had stopped at the Visitors' Center the night before and got the low-down from the coolest ranger, Ranger Doug Follet. He is 89-years-old! What a great guy. He told us the best hikes to try with Leila. So, the next morning, based on Ranger Doug's advice, we drove straight up Avalanche Lake to start hiking. Ranger Doug was right. It was AMAZING! Leila was a rockstar! The hike was 5 miles with a 500 feet climb in elevation! 

When we got to the top of the hike, we had the most amazing view! The lake was surrounded by towering hills with glaciers and waterfalls. We ate lunch here in front of the lake and had plenty of time to take in this breathtaking view! 

We drove around the park exploring the visitors' centers, taking in the views and looking for animals. Leila worked on her Junior Ranger activities as we drove and before we left the park she had earned her badge for Glacier NP!!!

Junior Ranger Leila! 

Montana

Our second day of vacation started bright and early! We packed the car and kept going east. We passed into Montana and got pretty excited! Halfway through our day's drive, we stopped at the National Bison Range outside of Dixon, MT. We spent a good three hours, at least, driving the hills and gazing at bison. We have a new found love of bison! 

I didn't get any pictures of the bison on my phone so I can't post any, as we are still not home to transfer pics from my big camera. 

It's hard to see the true beauty of this picture, but we spotted two elk in the stream at the range. So beautiful!!! 

After our time at the Nat. Bison Range, we finally turned north and headed toward our hotel just outside of Glacier National Park! 

Tav Fam Summer 2015!

On Father's Day, we hit the road to set off on our TavFamSummer15! We started early Sunday morning and headed east. We arrived in Couer d'Alene around 4 pm. After checking into our room, we walked around Liberty Point and Leila burned off some energy at the coolest park downtown! 

One of my favorite kiddos, Brayden, had shared about Mudgy and Millie when he was in first grade so I was excited to see them in real life. We followed the whole trail and read about the friendly moose and mouse at each stop. Cute! 

That evening, we headed to the theater to see Disney's Inside Out. It was super good! Just before the movie started, I asked Chris for a picture with Leila since it was Dad's Day. Here's what we came up with. Christopher is the best dad! He is always ready to be Leila's playmate or confidant. She is blessed to have him as her father. I truly couldn't ask for a better hubby. We are glad he is ours!