one week in wyoming

Taking a week we went to Yellowstone, about ten hours from Colorado Springs, we started and ended our trip by spending the night at Grandma Lynda's house, cutting the drive to only 8 hours.  We spent our first night in Jackson, Wy.  Jackson is a little mountain town that is so fun, lots of culture.  We kind of fell in love with it.  If ever were presented for a need to move elsewhere,  Jackson would be at the top of the list.  It sits at the bottom of a ski hill, is super bike friendly, has awesome coffee shops, art, and a great brewery.  And has some pretty interesting new buildings.  Of course all of this comes with a price, it is not exactly known for a low cost of living, but one can dream. :)

Yellowstone was amazing.  The kids first time there, they really got into exploring the park, and earning their ranger badges.  We hiked the yellowstone canyon which included a 256 stair trip to the bottom of the canyon and back up for a three mile hike around the rim.  The kids were super proud they completed all of this.  The views were incredible all the way around.

yellowstone canyon falls

We saw lots of wildlife, but the highlight was this wolf who trotted right past our car.  I snapped a few pictures through the window, so too bad they are blurry.  We later found out this is an alpha male who had been rejected from the pack, apparently by a new alpha male wolf.  He was very skinny,  probably because it is a lot harder to catch food by yourself.  Kind of makes you think.  

We visited several of the hot spot geyser and mud pot areas in the park, all of which had interesting colors and sometimes spitting mud, and spraying water.  

After camping for three nights in yellowstone, we moved to the Grand Teton National Park.  We left early in hopes of camping at Jenny Lake, a very small, hard to get a spot campground that was tent-only and very near the lake.  The morning drive took longer than expected and we were so blessed to get the very last available spot that morning at 9:30 am.  It was a great spot accessible to lots of trails to the lake, canoeing, and a nearby general store.

Salome played a majority of time with bugs.  She made them a house and swimming pool in the dirt, Ephraim joined in too, but it was Salome who kept at it the longest.

We braved the waters of melted glacier and played in the water.  It was cold, but after no showers all week, felt so good.

Ephraim cautiously got in the freezing water and then kind of fell in the rest of the way, and then just went for it.

after swimming, we warmed and made watercolor painted by the shore

The Tetons were probably all of our favorite part. There was no running around seeing the sights, we enjoyed just being together playing outside.  Think it will be a favorite memory for a long time.