The Davis Family: Montana Trip 2011

We all four survived our expedition to Montana. Although some miles in the car were longer than others as Sierra found her screaming voice that competes with Thayden's, we made it back to Colorado in one piece and got some pretty good pictures (413 in total) and memories. So here's a recap.
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PART ONE: Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks

The journey in the car is not documented. Lets just say we didn't leave Denver until 10:30am (plan for 7:30) and we had 9+ hours driving time not including stops for gas, meals, potty breaks and the torrential downpour we went through. When we finally got to the campground the ranger said we'd had such a long day of driving, the kids must be ready for bed! Obviously that ranger does not have children. At least not my children who were full of energy after sitting in the car for so long!

So they stayed up well past their bedtime. The next morning while Daddy was making breakfast I tried to keep them occupied. At one point they were going on a walk together (one of their more charming moments.)

You can see in the background below there are some buffalo in the distance. This is from the campground.

The beautiful grand tetons from a distance.

Driving a little further in to the park we got more scenic views of the Tetons.

We decided with what little time we had in the Grand Tetons (1 day) we would buy a boat ride across Jenny Lake and hike up to a waterfall. Probably the most touristy thing there, but we knew it would be a hit with the kids.

We took a little break on the hike for some lunch. You can see Thayden's awesome camelback backpack that he loves now that he has become an independent hiker this year as Sierra has moved into the pack. It carries his water so he stays hydrated (along with his very important bug catcher.)

We saw plenty of snow as we hiked up the mountain.

And finally we made it to the waterfall! It was very misty and cold up there, but beautiful. I am sorry to say the person who volunteered to take the picture of all 4 of us didn't get the waterfall in the background...grrrr.

This is a different view that doesn't show the magnificence of the falls, but it'll suffice. As Thayden will tell you, "God made the waterfalls." He did an awesome job.

The rivers were all very high on our trip - both in the parks and in Montana. There was a lot of flooding this year, although we didn't encounter any we did see some residual damage from the high waters.

Almost back to the parking lot after hike #1.

One last look at the Tetons (with some pretty wildflowers) before heading to Yellowstone.

Yellowstone apparently is colder than Grand Teton as there was snow in our campsite as you can see below. Troy had to use a make-shift shovel as his little car shovel quickly broke with the ice and packed snow. But it was beautiful none-the-less. This picture shows off our new camping grill which is a new addition to our supplies this year and has been excellent! We were able to make food without waiting for the fire to be just right, which meant hungry kids could eat before they got too crabby/tired to do so. Surprisingly, one night I made beef hot dogs and both Sierra and Thayden ate 1.5 hotdogs a piece (3 total!) Maybe because they never get them at home?

After some dinner we took a short walk to the bottom of the hill where there was a lake. This series of pictures is cute...Sierra wanted a hug from Thayden and Thayden was resistant.

Another one?

You can see in the background how much higher the water is than normal. The bridge that went to the other side of the campground was washed out.

And moving on to more touristy things in our National Parks. Here Thayden has taken charge of our camera as we sit and wait...and wait...and wait...for Old Faithful to erupt. We have about 3 dozen pictures of the landscape around Old Faithful without any geysers going off, but I'll spare you.

Old Faithful in the background with Thayden's cute face.

Finally it erupts! By this time we have left the main viewing area, but it's still impressive. "God made geysers too, you know."

After seeing Old Faithful we took a stroll around geyser country. You know, even if it is really touristy, it is still pretty amazing. Where else can you see geysers, boiling pools, and mud pots? The geothermal areas along with the glaciers allow us to witness our constantly changing earth.

We had to keep reading the signs to Thayden to stay on the path so he wouldn't fall into the boiling hot water that was right beneath the ground...and thankfully he listened. But then he got a sliver from the handrails.