Yellowstone/Grand Tetons Anniversary Trip (Day Eight)

It was time to go home. (sigh)  We drove back to West Yellowstone, Montana, to catch the short flight to Salt Lake City.  We took a different route and traveled through Idaho.  (We saw potatoes growing.)

We arrived at the small airport with time to spare.  Darryl turned in our rental van and we waited to go through security.  It was a little different.  The small airport was probably more thorough than what we experienced before.  We didn't have to take off our shoes, but I was patted down (randomly) and Bubba had to take off his belt.

The flight to Salt Lake City was uneventful. (That's always a good thing.)  I have discovered that I really like airplane coffee (Starbucks) and airplane cookies.

We had over two hours in Salt Lake City and we ate at Darryl's favorite Mexican restaurant in the airport.  Lo and behold.... it was really good too.  Who knew?

The plane back to Atlanta was not crowded so we were able to spread out a little more.  Bubba watched Fox News flying back and I watched Jurassic World (ugh).  More coffee and cookies and refills and we were back in Atlanta by 10:30 PM, arriving back at Amy and Darryl's by midnight.

We rested on Sunday.  That evening, Amy and I were able to go out for dinner just the two of us.  (Surprise, I'm not going to tell you what we ate!) That was nice.  Monday morning as soon as the traffic was predicted to let up (around 9:30) we started home.

Darryl and Amy proposed this trip to us in September as a celebration of our 50th anniversary.  Darryl said that he would make all the reservations and that they would take care of our plane tickets.  That was probably the best part of the plan.  I would not have known where to start.  He made our reservations at Canyon Lodge in Yellowstone in September and would send me an email every now and then asking our preference about doing this or that.  We were going to split the other expenses involved;however, when I saw where we were staying and when he told me what "our part" was I knew that they were pretty much paying for the condo as well as our plane tickets.  (It was NICE! And COMFORTABLE! And had a great VIEW!)

Both he and Amy were very patient with us as we bumbled our way through the airports with them.  (Amelia knew more what to do than we did.)  While traveling in the park one day, Bubba mentioned that a Snickers candy bar would be good and then when Darryl turned in at an unexpected stop, Bubba asked him why we were stopping and Darryl said, "To get you a Snickers."  Anytime we wanted a picture, Darryl pulled over. 

This trip meant so much to us.  We had always wanted to go out west and just didn't know where to start.  We will never forget how we celebrated our 50th anniversary. (Even though we forget a lot of other things.) This has also shown us that just maybe we can travel some on our own, especially if we don't start in Atlanta.  I like this statement by St. Augustine, "The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page."  

My desire is that we read as many pages as we can for as long as we are able.

Thank you to Amy, Darryl and Amelia!  It was perfect!

Yellowstone/Grand Tetons Anniversary Trip 2016 (Day Seven)

Our final day on this fantastic trip started with breakfast around 10:00 at The Bunnery in Jackson Hole. I had been reading about this place for some time and apparently Amy had too since she suggested that we eat there.

My breakfast!  The only food picture.  Yes, I ate it all.

Bubba had pancakes, eggs and sausage. Darryl had biscuits and gravy. Amelia had four pancakes and bacon. Amy had quiche Lorraine with fresh fruit and I had an omelet with bacon, Swiss cheese and tomatoes. (Sometimes Bubba says that people don't care what we eat, but I'm always interested in what people order when they are eating out and after all, it is my blog!). On the way out, we bought some of the delicious looking pastries in the show case and thoroughly enjoyed them later for a snack.

We entered the Great Tetons National Park and went down a dusty road to look at a small settlement that had been established years ago by Mormon pioneers. It, too, was a very picturesque setting. 

On the way back, we took another ride down the dirt road where the grizzly bears were supposed to hang out.  We still didn't see a grizzly, but we were back in the field of flowers.  I decided that I wanted a picture of Amy, Amelia and me sitting in the field of flowers.  Darryl obliged by stopping.  It was pretty funny.  I guess if everybody had left me, I would still be sitting in the middle of the flowers waiting for the grizzly bears to show up.

Bubba should have been in my place......

Then this embarrassing picture wouldn't have been taken.

Our next stop was at the Jenny Lake Visitor's Center for Amelia to complete her final task, a ranger presentation, to earn her Junior Ranger badge for Grand Teton National Park.  The ranger talked about how to identify which animal had pooped in the woods.  He had a display containing various animal poop.  I guess he knew what would be interesting to kids.  We spent some time looking around at different exhibits about the history of the park.

Amelia had her swim suit on and was ready for a swim in String Lake.  Amy had read that this was a good place for swimming.  Amelia gradually eased into the icy water.  I had promised to wade so I tried to be a good grandma and keep my promise.  I stood at the edge and when a little bit of water splashed on my foot, it made me jump.  It was soooo COLD!!  Amelia said, "It's only cold when you put a new part of your body in it.  If you stay in long enough, it feels hot."  Right, sweetie, Nana believes that.

This is one fearless little girl!

This is as far as I can go!

She got all the way in.  How can she stand it?

I think the melting snow makes it REALLY cold.

Bubba and I wanted to stay in for the evening so Darryl went into Jackson Hole and picked up some barbecue from Bubba's Barbecue for us.  Then he and Amy went out to eat.  

Bubba watched Fox News and Amelia and I watched "Say Yes to the Dress" which motivated her to share her wedding plans with me.  Then she started drawing pictures of her wedding dress.  She was really inspired.

We were talking about how much we had enjoyed the week.  I asked her what her favorite thing about the trip was and she replied, "Nana, my favorite thing was just spending time with you and Paw-Paw and mom and dad."  (Amy says that she plays me like a fiddle, but I love it!)

She also said, "Nana, I want to go to Sydney." "Australia?" I said, "I don't want you to leave the United States."  Then she replied, "I've lived in the United States all my life and I just feel like it is time for me to move on."

We watched several hours of "Say Yes to the Dress" and enjoyed snuggling. Amelia ate a bag of popcorn and drank a glass of chocolate milk.  It was a great way to spend our last night of this wonderful week.

Amy and Darryl came back.  Amy had brought me her leftover fried chicken and mac and cheese.  I wasn't hungry, but I had to try it.  Delicious!  I also learned that they had been back to Moo's Gourmet Ice Cream for a final ice cream cone.

Packing to go home was a big process.  We had carry on bags and our stuff was divided up into what we would need to spend the night at Amy and Darryl's house Saturday night, what we could carry on, and what could go home unopened. I learned that we had way too many clothes packed.  I'll know better next time.

Feeling a little sad...... It's getting close to ........

THE END

Yellowstone/Grand Tetons Anniversary Trip 2016 (Day Six)

Bubba and I woke up to the scent of cinnamon rolls, coffee and bacon. Breakfast was nearly ready and we were going to see Amy and Amelia off on the horseback ride that Amelia had been looking forward to all week. Darryl went for a five mile run and we went with the girls to the stable to take pictures and see them off for their hour long ride through the woods. (The things a mother/father will do for their child!) 

She's on her own.  They are not responsible.

Amelia is practicing for the real horse.

Amelia's horse - "Custard"

Amy's horse was "Top Gun"

Amelia came back excited about the ride; Amy not so much. Amelia thinks we should build a barn and buy a horse for her to ride when she visits. Apparently the funniest part of the trip was the horses were all a little gassy and they all peed and pooped a lot to the delight of the youngest riders. (Amy was not too impressed.)

We went into Jackson Hole for lunch at Pinky G's Pizzeria which had been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network.  It was very good. I won't go into detail this time about what everyone ate because I don't want to always be a slave to my stomach.

That afternoon we rode the gondola to the top of Mount Rendezvous where it was COLD. There was still a lot of snow on the ground. The scent of waffles was in the air and we went into a restaurant in a cabin that featured hot fresh waffles. My waffle was brown sugar and cinnamon. They cut a big waffle in half and put the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon in the middle and wrapped it up like a sandwich. It was without a doubt the best waffle I've ever eaten. Amelia got the waffle with Nutella on it which she was definitely not willing to share so it must have been really good. Darryl and Amy split a waffle with strawberry preserves on it and seemed to enjoy it as well.  (Slave to stomach!)

Our Ride

Two miles up!

Darryl is not cold.

Amelia and I were cold.

Waffles!!

That evening (Thursday) at 6:00 we were scheduled for a two hour float trip on the Snake River. When we arrived at the designated meeting place I heard someone say, "Amy". I thought they were calling to someone in their party, but it turned out that it was the Athletic Director from the high school where Amy teaches. What a small world and then it turned out that they were also assigned to the same float as we were.


We received a lot of instructions about what to do if we fell overboard. Then when we first floated out from the shore, Amelia got wet from a big splash and I started thinking that if we were starting out like that, it was going to be some rough water ahead and I didn't have anything for holding on.  Amelia liked getting splashed and was disappointed that it only happened once. It was a very enjoyable, scenic trip. Amelia had mentioned several times that she wanted to see a bald eagle and we saw two so she was pleased with that. She lay on her stomach with her hands in he water for a lot of the trip and they felt like ice when she took them out.

One of two bald eagles we saw

Dinner was at Snake River Brewery in Jackson Hole. It was late enough that it was actually dark so Bubba and I split a brisket sandwich which was more that enough to eat at bedtime. Thank you, Amy, for setting up the float trip. It was great.

Yellowstone/Grand Tetons Anniversary Trip 2016 (Day Five)

This morning we encouraged Amy, Darryl and Amelia to have a family day without us. They enjoy hiking and climbing and, to be honest, Bubba and I needed a down day. I had time to enjoy my coffee and work on my blog. I also washed two loads of clothes for them and two for us. This condo has some kind of fancy washer and dryer that is made in Sweden and it has almost gotten the best of me. It was taking hours for the first load to finish. I couldn't figure out what was wrong then I adjusted my bifocals and looked closer. It was then that I realized the button that I thought had a question mark above it was really a 7! It had been set by the previous user for seven rinses!!! Who needs to rinse something seven times? Then again why would there be a question button?
When doing the largest load for Amy and Darryl, I waited forever and then opened the machine. The clothes felt amazingly dry. At first I wondered if they had even washed, but I diligently sniffed everything and it all smelled good, which proved to me that all was good. (After all, the clothes people wear hiking should appropriately stink and these did not.). Later Darryl pulled two receipts out of the pocket of some shorts he had worn earlier in the week and you could tell that they had not been wet. So I don't know what happened but I do know that this washer and dryer outsmarted me.

Our view from the condo!
 I'm glad we took a day to enjoy staying in.

The great room - Very comfortable

I LOVE this stove!  We only used the oven all week.

Amelia slept in the loft area overlooking the great room.
Somehow she ended up in bed with her mom and dad
every night.  That reminds me of another little girl from a
long time ago.

Bubba and I walked around this area and went to The Mangy Moose for lunch. This was our only disappointing meal. It was edible but the little cafe at home makes a much better taco salad for half the price. I just got a text from Amy saying they would be back to eat dinner with us around 6:30. The hike they went on was UPHILL and took longer than they thought. I asked her if Amelia complained any and she said, "Every step of the way!"

After they returned and showered, we went into town and ate at Sidewinders American Grill.  This place was featured in Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive Ins and Dives show on Food Network.  We had appetizers which included their homemade pretzel that was featured on the show.  Amy and Darryl had their chicken pot pie which was also featured, but Bubba and I had their flat iron steak with garlic mashed potatoes which was not on the show but it sure was good.  This was my favorite meal this week.

After this huge meal, we walked around some downtown and got ice cream at Moo's Gourmet Ice Cream.  (Everyone but Bubba got ice cream.)  Amy and I got Cocoloco which was a toasted coconut ice cream.  Darryl got key lime pie ice cream and, of course, Amelia got chocolate.  (Bubba says we are slaves to our stomach!)  Maybe so, but it sure was good.

There are four of these arches made of antlers at the entrances
into the park (town square).  This is where we sat and enjoyed our ice cream.

Yellowstone/Grand Tetons Anniversary Trip (Day Four)

Our fourth day started at 8:00 with breakfast in the Canyon Lodge Restaurant. Darryl got the breakfast buffet and the rest of us ordered from the menu. Amelia ate two big pancakes and four strips of bacon. I guess mountain air improved her appetite! (It must have improved Darryl's as well.) The breakfast was plentiful and very tasty. I had read some articles that said that food in the park was not that great, but we have been pleased so far with their offerings.

Amelia wants to be an author, among other things,
when she grows up.  She was working on her
latest book at breakfast.

After visiting the shops and visitor's center in the Canyon Lodge area, we loaded up and set a course for the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. I really didn't know what to expect here, but this canyon was probably as big as I imagined the real Grand Canyon to be. I'm quickly learning that my expectations for this trip were much too low. The most amazing thing to me is that the landscape of Yellowstone changes from one amazing view to a completely different amazing view. There is lush greenery, wild flowers and snow covered mountains. (Yes, there is still snow on the ground.). Then there are areas that look like scenes from movies filmed in the desert. You have the canyon with its jagged edges and colorful rocks and then you drive on into areas full of hot bubbling "pots" of mud and many geysers spewing steam.

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

We saw several waterfalls. Darryl, Amy and Amelia took the hike DOWN to an area to view the falls. Amelia said, "I want to climb the mountain!" Well, after going DOWN they had to come UP. All three were out of breath and sweating profusely. Bubba and I took the trail that didn't require any up or down. We know our limitations.

What a hike!

Beautiful waterfall

We also took an off the main road and we came back out where we started from. The main accomplishment from that was that we got the car really, really dirty.

Yesterday at Old Faithful, Amelia signed up for the National Parks Junior Ranger Program. She participated in some tasks to start it off like long jump, a timed sprint, high jump and how close to a scent she has to be to smell it. Then they signed her Junior Ranger book for her. It contained activities she had to complete to be eligible for her first badge. By the time we exited Yellowstone, she had her badge and a Junior Ranger vest to pin it on and to complete the ensemble a Junior Ranger hat. She is the cutest ranger I've ever seen. We all learned a lot as she told us interesting things about animals and the park as we traveled down the road. It is my understanding that she can earn a badge in each national park she visits. She had the biggest smile after she was awarded her badge.

Cute Junior Ranger

Park Ranger signs Amelia's Book

North entrance to Yellowstone near Gardiner, Montana

Lunch was in Gardiner at The Corral.  We ate at a picnic table outside and we all agreed that we had the best burger and fries of the trip so far.  We could see  animals we couldn't quite identify due to the distance playing on the mountain nearby.  We ended our day traveling along the shores of Yellowstone Lake. This was so pretty. You could see the snow covered mountains reflected in the lake. 

Lake Yellowstone

Finally we turned down a dusty road which is famous for the most grizzly bear sightings. We didn't see a grizzly but we came upon a field of wild flowers that was just breath taking. Darryl was sweet enough to kneel down in the midst of the flowers and got me a picture with the snow covered mountains in the background.

My Favorite Picture

Back at the condo we snacked a little in lieu of going out again and then we headed for a hot shower and bed.