We started our trip off with a little geo-caching between North Ogden and Crystal Hot Springs. We had previously selected 63 regular (about ammo box size) caches along our route from North Ogden to Mammoth Hot Springs at the north end of Yellowstone. We found 7 caches that first day. Our friends Gene & Lora Kinder came to our camp at Crystal Hot Springs
to enjoy an evening of dinner and swimming in the Hot Springs.
It was so relaxing and fun to visit with them! It was all relaxing until about 4:30 am when the TRAIN came blasting thru...about 100 feet from our tent. We hadn't exactly noticed the tracks the night before, so it was quite a surprise!From Crystal Hot Spring we headed up to Logan continuing to geo-cache on our way. All was going great till we got to this one cache that they'd put in the bottom of a bird house. As soon as Drew opened the bird house and went for the container, we discovered that some hornets had kicked the birds out and taken up residence. They were SO not happy that we disturbed them, so they bit us each just to make their point! I had a pen in my hand and was so intent on hitting this angry hornet off my hand that I gouged my hand up good with the pen in the process. The whole back of my hand swollen up. I was already nursing tennis elbow in the other arm, and a small wound from accidentally poking the prong of a corn holder through the side of one of my fingers--in the top and out the bottom. So the addition of this hornet experience had me agreeing that they should take all sharp objects away from me---and I was done geo-caching for the day!! In a few days all was healed over and mostly forgotten!
In Logan, Drew tracked down some fresh cheese curds at the local dairy/cheese factory, and I visited my miracle worker Kari for a quick hair cut and a few highlights (trying to cover the grey) and then it was on up to Bear Lake and camping at Sunrise Camp ground--a beloved favorite camping place of our family since the boys were little! It was fun, but I did miss having 4 dirty boys to sponge bath and piggyback to the tent...I refuse to give Drew a piggyback! We found a bunch more geo-caches--collecting a variety of fun toys for Ella & Coleman when they joined us. One of the geo-caches took us on this mile walk past two 560 year old Limber Pine trees.It was cool, and a beautiful view of the Bear Lake Valley! Of course you can't go to Bear Lake without having one of their famous Raspberry Shakes.
Thursday morning we headed for Hoback Junction just south of Jackson Hole, Wyoming where we were staying at the KOA there and where Norm & Terry would meet us. Again we were hunting for geo-caches along the way--its a great reason to get out stretch your legs and enjoy the sights along the way. We were so very excited to have Norm & Terry arrive!!!!!!!!! Brother Hugs are the BEST!! And this was our first time meeting Terry--and Oh what a treat! She is so wonderful, and so FUN to be with, and it was very obvious how happy Norm is--he couldn't have found a better sweetheart! We got to see some of the sites around Jackson, and the highlight was White Water Rafting down the Snake River. It was Norm's first time. We all loved it. Norm & Drew were picked by our guide to be the front paddlers, right in front of me and Terry. These guys should be proud--that spot is reserved for the strongest young bucks on a rafting trip. They did an awesome job leading the paddling--I think they drank a lot of good old Snake River water too--it was a wild ride!
Take a look at the pictures of our group as we go thru the Lunch Counter rapids by clicking here.
Our guide was great and loved to tease. He pointed out a couple of totally black bald eagles (crows) sitting in the top of a tree. He also pointed out a cave that was right down on the waterline. In the spring this would be completely under water with the high spring run off. He stated that this was a bear cave, which did not sit well with Terry. She hates bears. What she had not realized is that the guide meant bare, not bear cave. You could see all the way to the back of it and there was not a thing in it.
After the river run the rafting company served us a steak and salmon dinner and we returned to out camp for the evening. That's when David and Shannon and their children Coleman & Ella arrived at camp. They had been to Bear World on the way up.
Ella just fell in love with Uncle Norman & Auntie Terry.
The next day we headed up to Teton national park and we spent a nice day checking out the park.
The Teton Mountains.
We took a boat ride across Jennie Lake and hiked to Hidden Falls where this picture was taken.
Norm & Terry
Bison in Teton.
Saturday we headed into Yellowstone National Park and went first to see Old Faithful. It was a 4 mile hike that day to see all the geysers, hot springs and such (it wouldn't have been quite so long if I hadn't read the map wrong and lead us astray--about a mile astray--good thing Norm & Drew figured it out). We surely appreciated all the boardwalks that took us past all the sights and several spectacular eruptions of some of the geysers!
Old Faithful
At the end of the day we went on to Mammoth Hot Springs and stayed in some delightful little cabins. That was a cool place--Old, really nicely kept up, shops and buildings, elk wandering through and the terraced travertine deposits were amazing.
The weird formations around
Mammoth Hot Springs.
Mammoth Hot Springs
Sadly, Monday morning we had to say goodbye to Norm & Terry here. We hope this won't be the last trip we take together!
On our way down and out of the park we stopped at Gibbon Falls. We had to walk a ways down from the turn-out to get this picture. And of course every beautiful view is preceded by a cliff just to terrorize me. I was only able to get this because I could cling to David's hand to get myself back up the hill. I'm a BIG chicken when it comes to cliffs!! But I do love the sights to see!
We took a dip in Fire Hole River (a cool place where the water from the hot springs mixes with the river and makes for nice swimming). Ella and Coleman had fun there. We even saw a coyote
along the way.
The not-very-wiley coyote.
After lunch Drew and David fished on the Madison river while Ella was hot on the trail of some feisty little minnows. She had a lot of fun with Dad and her red plastic cups.
David & Ella sneaking up on the minnows!
The next day we went to Island park so Drew and David could get their fishing fix. They did some fishing in Hoback juction, and tried in Mammoth (unfortunately they didn't have heavy enough leader line so the lunkers kept snapping their line. Norm says they need some 3rd generation leader that will not let that happen again! The fish in Island park were not so big--I think David managed to land a 2--incher that is.
Father & Son,
Ahhhhh, just what the guys had been waiting for!
Shannon and our cute little Coleman
Father & Son--David & Coleman
Shannon & Coleman
Before we knew it, our 8 days of vacation were over and it was time to pick up the dog, read the mail, listen to the phone messages, and do the vacation laundry and pack the tent away til the next opportunity to get away!
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