San Francisco and the end of our journey...

On Monday we headed out to San Francisco for the remainder of our trip.  We had rented a large house and headed over to drop off our groceries and head out for a day of sight seeing. 
View from the living room:

Our plan was to visit Muir Woods but it was so crowded that we decided to head to Sausalito for the afternoon.  It is a very small, posh seaside town at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge with a great view of San Francisco across the bay.

 

 

On Tuesday we spend quite a bit of time playing in the Golden Gate Park.  It is a massive park (over 1,000 acres) that has all sorts of attractions from science to play areas to 'lawn bowling' (Bocce).  The kids had a ball. 

After that we continued walking around the city, stopping for ice cream (which had become a daily ritual by now) and taking in a museum.  We capped off our day in the city with dinner at Paxti's Pizza (http://www.patxispizza.com/).  It was a fantastic restaurant that had phenomenal Chicago style pizza (they also have gluten free crust and non-dairy cheeses for those with allergies).  We walked out of there full to the brim but with the needed energy and enthusiasm to tackle the big hill we needed to climb to get to our house:).

 

 

 On Wednesday, we were off to Alcatraz and Fisherman's Wharf.  We caught the train in the morning and took it to the Embarcadeo.  We then strolled along the water over to the pier where the Alcatraz boats leave from.  Right before this pier, was the 2013 America's Cup pavilion and docks.  It was pretty cool to see some of the boats.  They look amazingly fast and while we were on Alcatraz, we actually got to see the boats in action.

 

 Alcatraz itself is an interesting place.  They have an excellent audio guided tour (it is free ) and provided a great overview of the prison, some of the inmates as well as some interesting stories about the goings on while it was active.  The kids liked hearing about some of the infamous inmates as well as climbing into the cells.

After doing our 'time' in Alcatraz, we headed for Fisherman's Wharf.  By 5:30, we were ready to head home.  We waited a few minutes in the long line for the train, but then decided it would be more fun to walk part of the way and see more of the city.  So we strolled towards Market street, passing through some of China town and other diverse areas that San Fran has to offer.  It made a late night as we did not arrive back to our house until after 7, and didn't eat dinner until around 9. 

Thursday morning, we were up at 5:30am and on the road to SFO by 5:50.  It was sad to say good bye to our friends and to know that our adventure was nearing the end.  Our flight was on-time and by 8:30am, we were in the air and heading for Boston.  The flight on jetBlue was great and went by quickly.  This was our 5th flight on jetBlue during this vacation and all of the crew on each of them were excellent. 
We arrived in Boston at 4:20PM and were ready to head home.  We look forward to catching up with all of you in the coming weeks and sharing some of the amazing memories and fun times we enjoyed.  Thanks for following along! 

 

 

Saratoga

We arrived at Access RV in Salt Lake City last Friday at 8:30am and dropped off our rig that had been 'home' for the past 3 weeks.  Big sigh of relief that we had driven 1900 miles with no accidents or mishaps!  Praise God for answering those prayers!

(kids seeing a TV for the first time in 3 weeks)

They dropped us at the airport and we were on our way to SFO (yes, we double and triple checked the time of our flights this time).  After the uneventful flights, we arrived on time at 2:38 PST and our friends- Scott, Kelly and their kids- picked us up.  Luckily they had the foresight to drive both of their cars and we just fit the 6 of us, the 5 of them and all of our luggage in.  We were so excited to see them and the kids even more so.  We would be staying with them in Saratoga for the next 3 days and then the two families would be heading to San Francisco where we rented a house for Monday through Wed nights.  We spent the rest of Friday hanging out and catching up long into the night.

 

On Saturday we had a nice, slow morning eating breakfast and discussing what we wanted to do today.  After hearing about a few options, the kids made the decision to head to Castle Rock State Park in the Santa Cruz mountains.   This park contains some hiking trails that lead to some huge rocks that used to be under water and at some point were pushed up by the San Andreas Fault.  You can easily see some of the smooth holes, caves and pock marks that were made while they were covered by water.  The kids had a blast climbing on, in and around them.

For the afternoon, we decided to go from the mountains to the sea and we drove to the coast to relax on the beach in Capitola (a small town next to Santa Cruz) and have a late lunch.  It was a perfect day on the beach.  The air temperature was only 65 but the sun was out and made it feel much warmer.  The water was about 60 and warm enough for the kids to play in most of the afternoon. 

Today we got up and headed to church in Los Gatos at the Calvary Church where our friends attend.   They have their fellowship time (opportunity between the 9am and 10:45 services to socialize over coffee, tea, doughnuts, etc..) outside in the courtyard.  We thought that was pretty cool to be able to do that outside all year.  It was an excellent service and a great message and from what we could see, it was an active church with a true heart for God.
After church we strolled around downtown Los Gatos and had lunch at a great Greek restaurant.  Sometime tomorrow we will head out to San Francisco for the last part of our vacation: Alcatraz, Coit Tower, Fishermans Wharf, Goldengate Park are a few of the things we are planning to see.

From Glacier to Ghost town

It was sad to leave Glacier this morning.  We all felt it, especially Jack.  I have a feeling that he will make good on his promise to come back here as a ranger one day.  We packed up and headed out by 10:30 for a day’s drive, and encouraged to realize that our friends, the Woods, who had also been in this area, were headed in the same direction.  We were able to catch up with them in little ghost town called Virginia City.

The Woods are friends of ours from home.  We have hiked and camped with them.  We have experienced girl and boy scouting with them, and we were excited to see them here in Montana for ice cream in a ghost town because they won’t be headed back to Massachusetts after their summer vacation, but back to their native England.  And they will surely be missed! 

Well, it turns out that Virginia City, is a perfectly intact gold-rush town.  The original businesses have been preserved as a kind of living museum of how life was lived here exactly 150 years ago this year.  Like most ghost towns, Virginia City didn’t last more than a few years, then was abandoned as the gold fever dwindled. 

We enjoyed strolling the streets, and peeking into perfectly preserved store fronts, hotels, banks, dress and shoe shops. 

Tonight we enjoyed our last campfire out on the road.  Tomorrow we head for Salt Lake City area where we will pack up and then drop the RV off on Friday morning first thing.  Then we will head to San Francisco for the last week of our adventure.  We will post our next blog from there!

Images of Glacier

Avalanche Lake

 (Jack)

Today started off as it usually does.   At 6:15 dad, our chief morning guy, woke us up to a song, tickling, and poking.   He also pulled our blankets and covers off, leaving us exposed to the cold Montana morning. We groggily pulled on clothes, ate a quick breakfast that is now no more than a memory, and stumbled down to the transit center to wait for a bus to pick us up and take us to the Avalanche Creek stop. We arrived at Avalanche campground with a half hour to wait for the ranger program, so we wandered down to the lakeside, where we disturbed a stranger doing tai chi by the creek. 

Shortly, we met the ranger and set off with a group of 25 on the ranger guided ranger tour up to Avalanche Lake. It was a 4 mile round trip hike, easy, well shaded and comfortable.   We hiked through the only cedar/hemlock forest in the entire park and it was scenic and fun.   Some of the trees were 13 feet in diameter and 500 yrs. old.  The ranger wasn’t very personable which was lame, and I made a mental note to not be like that when I work at Glacier later in life.  It took us 2 and ½ hours to get the 2 miles up to the lake, due to frequent educational stops by the ranger where she told us about the ecology and geology of the area where we were hiking.  When we got to the lake, we ate our picnic on some rocks overlooking the back of BearHat Mountain.  It was really pretty and there were many waterfalls up on the peaks which surrounded us.  When we hiked back down we did it without the ranger, and the crowd, and it took less than 40 minutes.  

When we got home we relaxed and went into the village area again.  When we came back, there was an old man measuring out our campsite to see if his 36ft rig would fit. Then he asked all these questions about when we were leaving because it’s first come, first serve in Apgar campground and he wants to grab our site when we leave tomorrow.  It reminded me of that grouchy relative that we all hear about, waiting for you to die so they can get your money.   

Today ended as it usually does.  Dad just won our nightly round of National Parks Monopoly, and we are settling in for the night.  Maybe we will even hear the bagpipes again – somewhere in the campground a bagpipe master entertained us with some great music last night.  It was pretty cool.

 

First days in Glacier

Will….

        Yesterday we woke up at 6 AM because we wanted to get a spot at the Apgar Campground in West Glacier.  It is first come first serve. We did get a spot and while we made breakfast at our new spot, people circled like vultures looking for a spot. It is a nice campground -and has been full since we have been here.  We relaxed and went into the village.  We went swimming at Lake Macdonald and after dinner, we went to the Campfire program.  Ranger Liz was one of the best we have seen.  She really got into her descriptions of the nighttime animals of the park.  We really loved some of the stories she told us about skunks and the antics

      Today we slept in and I woke up at 9. We took a shuttle to Lake McDonald Lodge. We got to the shuttle station 20 minutes early but when the shuttle got to the station WE DIDN’T FIT ON IT. We had to wait 30 more minutes until another came.  When we finally got to the Lodge it was lunch, so we ate at the lodge.

         When we got back to the R.V., it was time for our scenic float trip with dinner included.  We didn’t see any wildlife but the Flathead river crystal clear and the scenery was spectacular!  Our guide Jeanette cooked us dinner and the food was excellent!   She was super nice and really personable. We swam lots even though it was really cold. It was a really cool trip.

        Our trip is going really well and everyone is safe and in good spirits. Keep commenting!!

Looking for the Sun!

Today we awoke early for our “Red Jammer” tour.  We walked the trail to the Apgar Transit Center and met our guide, Matt.  He was a fascinating man.  In the summer months, he lives in staff housing in Glacier and drives bus number 97 almost daily for a nine hour tour, chatting with passengers.  In the winter months, Matt lives in a log cabin 1 ½ hours north of Glacier, almost at the Canadian border.  During that time he lives without: electricity, modern plumbing, phone, computer and internet.   He skis 2 miles to retrieve his mail, and get to his truck in order to go “into town”.  We really enjoyed our day with him and the other 10 passengers.  Highlights included some grizzly bear sightings, and a warm cup of tea/hot chocolate at Many Glacier Lodge!

One thing that we have had trouble with since we arrived is dressing properly.  You might be scorching hot on the beach at the lower altitudes, then freezing cold in a cloud at the higher altitudes.  Well, I had a lot of wardrobe regret today!   In the rush to get out the door, and in my haste to actually look presentable, (earrings and clean shirt today), I found myself in an open top bus in the clouds in a skirt and freezing my tush off!  Yes, I am sure that I gave more than a few hearty souls a great laugh as I tried to muster a smile through clenched, chattering teeth! 

Our nine hour adventure took us all the way across the Going to the Sun Highway, from the West Entrance where we have been camping, to the East Side.  Near the East Side, we passed out of Glacier, and onto the Black Feet Indian Reservation, then back into Glacier near St. Mary’s.  The Going to the Sun Highway runs 50 miles and is very slow going.  Many sections have steep cliffs to one side, and traffic is slow and winding, especially if there is a wildlife sighting!  Our driver stopped at many locations along the highway for rest stops, leg stretching, and sightseeing.  We had an hour and a half at the Many Glacier Lodge for lunch.  From the porch, Mike and the kids were able to see a mother grizzly and her two cubs clambering up the shore opposite us.  I missed out because I was searching the gift shop for something warm to wear.  I settled on some really tall, but very goofy, brown colored socks with a bear and Glacier National Park embossed on them.   Got them out of the bag and onto my feet, then back into the bus, and what do you know, the sun came out!  (God has a great sense of humor!)

We all learned a lot today about geology, wildlife, plants and glaciers.  We are back at the campfire for dinner and roasting marshmallows.  Life is good…. 

A few pictures

Having trouble getting pictures loaded due to slow access.  Here are a few more from the past few days.  Enjoy!

The last few days...

Will….

        Friday we woke up at 6 AM because we wanted to get a spot at this campground.  It is first come first serve. We did get a spot and while we made breakfast at our new spot, people circled like vultures looking for a spot. It is a nice campground -and has been full since we have been here.  We relaxed and went into the village.  After lunch we went swimming at Lake Macdonald.  We had a very relaxing day.

      On Saturday we slept in and I woke up at 9. We took a shuttle to Lake McDonald Lodge. We got to the shuttle station 20 minutes early but when the shuttle got to the station WE DIDN’T FIT ON IT. We had to wait 30 more minutes until another came.  When we finally got to the Lodge it was lunch, so we ate at the lodge.

         When we got back to the R.V., it was time for our scenic float trip with dinner included.  We didn’t see any wildlife but the Flathead River crystal clear and the scenery was spectacular!  Our guide Jeanette cooked us dinner and the food was excellent!   She was super nice and really personable. We swam lots even though it was really cold. It was a really cool trip.

        Our trip is going really well and everyone is safe and in good spirits. Keep commenting!!

 

Emma….

Sunday was a really tiring but very fun day.  Dad came around with a wakeup call at six fifteen and we sleepily pulled on our clothes and shuffled down to the Apgar Transit Center to be there when the first shuttle bus arrived (it was the express and would allow us to get on the trail before the masses).  Upon climbing in for the one hour ride, Jack, Anna, Will, and I fell asleep against the windows and stayed that way the better part of the drive. The views we did get to see were amazing though. Our van moved slowly down the Going-to-the-Sun Road which weaves tightly on a narrow strip between a steep wall of rocks and a sheer drop to the bottom of mountains. When we arrived to the top of Logan Pass we all clambered out and promptly froze. The temperature was below fifty degrees for the first few hours we were there and we were wearing shorts and rain jackets, so you can imagine how motivated we were to hike fast and keep warm!   On both of the hikes we went out on (we stopped for hummus and olive sandwiches in between) we were able to see marmots, mountain goats, a few bighorn sheep, and lots of ground squirrels right up close to us and even some babies.   While Will and I were napping on the sidewalk, one brave little squirrel even came within a foot of our faces. The second hike wasn’t as pretty as the first but it was still amazing to look straight below you and see small cars and tiny people moving down there.   For a lot of the trail, we had to hug the side of the rock face. We had started out this morning cold and wishing for hot chocolate and ended up sweating and eating ice cream by four in the afternoon.   To end our day, we went to a ranger talk about wolverines which was super cool and then we cooked Jiffy pop over the fire.   Also, please pray for some good rain because fires are starting to rage (we saw one from the highway a few days ago in Missoula that we heard is still going) from all the dryness over here. Can’t wait for tomorrow!

The last few days...

Will….

        Friday we woke up at 6 AM because we wanted to get a spot at this campground.  It is first come first serve. We did get a spot and while we made breakfast at our new spot, people circled like vultures looking for a spot. It is a nice campground -and has been full since we have been here.  We relaxed and went into the village.  After lunch we went swimming at Lake Macdonald.  We had a very relaxing day.

      On Saturday we slept in and I woke up at 9. We took a shuttle to Lake McDonald Lodge. We got to the shuttle station 20 minutes early but when the shuttle got to the station WE DIDN’T FIT ON IT. We had to wait 30 more minutes until another came.  When we finally got to the Lodge it was lunch, so we ate at the lodge.

         When we got back to the R.V., it was time for our scenic float trip with dinner included.  We didn’t see any wildlife but the Flathead River crystal clear and the scenery was spectacular!  Our guide Jeanette cooked us dinner and the food was excellent!   She was super nice and really personable. We swam lots even though it was really cold. It was a really cool trip.

        Our trip is going really well and everyone is safe and in good spirits. Keep commenting!!

 

Emma….

Sunday was a really tiring but very fun day.  Dad came around with a wakeup call at six fifteen and we sleepily pulled on our clothes and shuffled down to the Apgar Transit Center to be there when the first shuttle bus arrived (it was the express and would allow us to get on the trail before the masses).  Upon climbing in for the one hour ride, Jack, Anna, Will, and I fell asleep against the windows and stayed that way the better part of the drive. The views we did get to see were amazing though. Our van moved slowly down the Going-to-the-Sun Road which weaves tightly on a narrow strip between a steep wall of rocks and a sheer drop to the bottom of mountains. When we arrived to the top of Logan Pass we all clambered out and promptly froze. The temperature was below fifty degrees for the first few hours we were there and we were wearing shorts and rain jackets, so you can imagine how motivated we were to hike fast and keep warm!   On both of the hikes we went out on (we stopped for hummus and olive sandwiches in between) we were able to see marmots, mountain goats, a few bighorn sheep, and lots of ground squirrels right up close to us and even some babies.   While Will and I were napping on the sidewalk, one brave little squirrel even came within a foot of our faces. The second hike wasn’t as pretty as the first but it was still amazing to look straight below you and see small cars and tiny people moving down there.   For a lot of the trail, we had to hug the side of the rock face. We had started out this morning cold and wishing for hot chocolate and ended up sweating and eating ice cream by four in the afternoon.   To end our day, we went to a ranger talk about wolverines which was super cool and then we cooked Jiffy pop over the fire.   Also, please pray for some good rain because fires are starting to rage (we saw one from the highway a few days ago in Missoula that we heard is still going) from all the dryness over here. Can’t wait for tomorrow!

Will….

        Friday we woke up at 6 AM because we wanted to get a spot at this campground.  It is first come first serve. We did get a spot and while we made breakfast at our new spot, people circled like vultures looking for a spot. It is a nice campground -and has been full since we have been here.  We relaxed and went into the village.  After lunch we went swimming at Lake Macdonald.  We had a very relaxing day.

      On Saturday we slept in and I woke up at 9. We took a shuttle to Lake McDonald Lodge. We got to the shuttle station 20 minutes early but when the shuttle got to the station WE DIDN’T FIT ON IT. We had to wait 30 more minutes until another came.  When we finally got to the Lodge it was lunch, so we ate at the lodge.

         When we got back to the R.V., it was time for our scenic float trip with dinner included.  We didn’t see any wildlife but the Flathead River crystal clear and the scenery was spectacular!  Our guide Jeanette cooked us dinner and the food was excellent!   She was super nice and really personable. We swam lots even though it was really cold. It was a really cool trip.

        Our trip is going really well and everyone is safe and in good spirits. Keep commenting!!

 

Emma….

Sunday was a really tiring but very fun day.  Dad came around with a wakeup call at six fifteen and we sleepily pulled on our clothes and shuffled down to the Apgar Transit Center to be there when the first shuttle bus arrived (it was the express and would allow us to get on the trail before the masses).  Upon climbing in for the one hour ride, Jack, Anna, Will, and I fell asleep against the windows and stayed that way the better part of the drive. The views we did get to see were amazing though. Our van moved slowly down the Going-to-the-Sun Road which weaves tightly on a narrow strip between a steep wall of rocks and a sheer drop to the bottom of mountains. When we arrived to the top of Logan Pass we all clambered out and promptly froze. The temperature was below fifty degrees for the first few hours we were there and we were wearing shorts and rain jackets, so you can imagine how motivated we were to hike fast and keep warm!   On both of the hikes we went out on (we stopped for hummus and olive sandwiches in between) we were able to see marmots, mountain goats, a few bighorn sheep, and lots of ground squirrels right up close to us and even some babies.   While Will and I were napping on the sidewalk, one brave little squirrel even came within a foot of our faces. The second hike wasn’t as pretty as the first but it was still amazing to look straight below you and see small cars and tiny people moving down there.   For a lot of the trail, we had to hug the side of the rock face. We had started out this morning cold and wishing for hot chocolate and ended up sweating and eating ice cream by four in the afternoon.   To end our day, we went to a ranger talk about wolverines which was super cool and then we cooked Jiffy pop over the fire.   Also, please pray for some good rain because fires are starting to rage (we saw one from the highway a few days ago in Missoula that we heard is still going) from all the dryness over here. Can’t wait for tomorrow!

Last night was one of the most memorable evenings we have had.  After cooking dinner over the fire, a huge full moon rose over the mountains, a warm but refreshing breeze picked up and despite the bright moon, lots of stars came out.  We sat around the campfire long into the night just enjoying the beauty around us.  It was amazingly peaceful.

 

This morning we arose early, ate pancakes and headed up the mountain to the entrance to the Lewis and Clark Caverns- a Montana State Park.  We left in the first guided tour group of about 36 people.  We hiked up to the entrance with our guide and headed in.  Immediately upon entering the cave, we were greeted by a small group of ~50 bats all clinging to a small outcropping above our heads.  They were moving around so were easy to pick out.  From there, we headed deeper and deeper into the cavern.  The guide was a real character- he kept telling us that he was not given much information about the caves and his only training was that he had 4 trips through the cave with a naturalist.  So he did his best to point out some of the cave features that looked like bugs bunny, Santa Claus, Romeo and Juliet, etc..  A little disappointing when compared to Carlsbad Caverns in NM, but he was certainly entertaining.  This cave required you to crawl, slide and shimmy through some of the tunnels which the kids loved.  Due to the long winters and short summers, the cave temperature was a steady 48 degrees (Carlsbad was 58)- which was very nice after the .5 mile hike to the entrance in the 85 degree sun.  Overall, it was a fun adventure and everyone enjoyed seeing all of the cool features inside the cave.

 

 

Once out of the cave, we piled back into the RV and headed for Glacier!  Well, not quite directly as we had to make a pit stop at the Walmart in Missoula, MT to stock up on jiffy pop and a few other essentials.
From there, it was another 140 miles until we reached 'Hungry Horse' MT where we grabbed a few elk burgers at the Elk Horn Cafe before arriving at our campground at 9PM.  We are 10 miles from the West entrance to Glacier and plan to head into the park early tomorrow to try and grab a first come, first serve spot in one of the campgrounds.  Not sure what kind of access we will have to the internet as we have heard it is poor but we will do our best.   Have a great weekend- we certainly will! 
Oh yeah, it is now the 26th..  Happy Birthday Tom! a few cards are on the way!

Lewis and Clark State Park, Montana

 

Last night after we set up our camp, we grilled chicken over the fire and then read until the campfire program at 9:30.  The Madison Campground has the most beautiful amphitheater in all of Yellowstone.  It faces a valley where the Madison River winds and twists around the Washburn mountain range.  It was truly spectacular.  The ranger (one of only 4 wildlife rangers in all of Yellowstone Park) had an interest in the park’s hotels, so he had put together a presentation on their history from the first hotels (shacks that held 2-4 guests) in 1870 to those built by the first concessionaires in the early 1900’s which rivaled the finest hotels in the country at the time.   It was very interesting and even the kids enjoyed it.

Today, the plan was to leave Yellowstone and head into Montana, toward Glacier.  On the way out, we stopped at the ranger station and had our two Junior Rangers finish their program and get sworn in.  We then headed to West Yellowstone, Montana, which is the town just outside the Montana entrance to Yellowstone.  There is a Grizzly and Wolf Discover Center there which we wanted to see.  It was very well done.  They had 8 Grizzly bears, and 7 wolves - all rescue animals.  The grizzlys were very cool to see.  It was also very sobering to see how quickly they moved and how powerful they were as they foraged for their food (the staff would hide their food in the enclosure and then let the bears in to find it).   Surprising one of them on the trail would be a very scary experience.   On the other side of the discovery center, they had 7 wolves.   They had excellent videos and information on the history of trying to bring the wolves back to Yellowstone.

We left there and started our trek to Glacier National Park.  The trip is about 450 miles so we decided to break it up and stop at the Lewis and Clark Caverns in Whitehall, MT.  We pulled into the state campground around 6, found a spot, and settled in for the night.  The campground is really nice and reminded us of the Dead Horse State Campground in Arizona (the first campground we stayed in on our last RV trip).  It was a beautiful area surrounded by mountains on all side with lots of space between sites.  Tomorrow, we plan to be at the cavern at 9am so we can be on the first 2-hour tour of the caves.  People here we have talked to have said the caves are very cool, similar to Carlsbad Caverns in NM, but far less commercial. 

Sunday through Tuesday

Hello everyone, apologies for not writing in a few days. The service has been spotty at best and it’s been busy as well.

 

Sunday we slept in, cooked a huge breakfast over the fire, dressed and went out on a hike; which was very entertaining.   We hiked the Storm Point Nature Trail.  It passed the shores of Indian Pond and then along the shores of Yellowstone Lake for about half the hike.  We got to eat our lunch while watching a bison from a safe vantage point, but close enough to laugh at the numerous tourons (noun, a tourist that behaves as a moron) as they drew up close to the powerful animal and took pictures at a very unsafe distance (bison are able to cover a distance of twenty five yards in less than three seconds). Luckily none of the dumb people were gored and we enjoyed a great rest of the hike.   

 

Later that afternoon, we rented a motor boat and toured Yellowstone Lake.  Everyone took turns at the wheel and we had a great time before we headed back to our campsite to cook dinner and get the fire going.  This was our last night in Bridge Bay Campground.  Around 10:45, we realized that our battery was critically low, and recalling our experience 4 years ago at the Grand Canyon, and knowing that generators are not allowed after 8pm, we decided to take a drive down by the marina to power up.  Anna called this the “Midnight Ride of our RV”, and it really did feel like that.  All the kids were already in bed.  They were all thrilled to be cruising through the park in the dark to a place where we could power up!

 

 

Tomorrow we are headed for the Canyon Village Campground.  When we made reservations on Saturday morning for Canyon, we had secured the last available spot.  All of the campgrounds had been full all week.  For Tuesday night, we are not going to make a reservation but see where the day takes us, and hope to get an available spot somewhere close to the west entrance so we can visit the Bear and Wolf Discovery Center on Wednesday morning before we head North towards Glacier.

 

Monday:   OK, so if yesterday didn’t sound all that relaxing to you, just read on to see what we found to do today.  Mike and I got up before 6, and started driving toward Roosevelt Lodge, a pretty rustic lodge in the park where President Teddy once vacationed.  We went there to meet our “Wake Up to Wildlife” tour.  The four hour tour took us in a 13 passenger historic Yellow Bus.   Our tour guide was really great, and stopped frequently to let us take pictures, look through binoculars, or peek through his scope.  It was chilly, but we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have him roll the roof back.   The kids piled under blankets in the back in the chilly morning air, but it was really an incredible way to see the Lamar Valley.  We saw pronghorns, bison, mule deer, great blue herons, a few mountain goats, and an osprey.  With powerful binoculars, we were able to watch the mother osprey feeding her young!

We were dropped back at Roosevelt Lodge at 11:15, and got on board our RV to eat some lunch and get changed into jeans and boots for our afternoon trail ride.   We had signed up for a two-hour trail ride that started at 12:45.  The kids were a bit disappointed that this stable wasn’t as laid back as the A-OK Corral in Jackson.  They made all kids under 18 wear a helmet.  (Anna was mad because she couldn’t wear her cowgirl hat.)  Then, the woman in charge went over all the risks, including death, and we were assigned to horses.  Anna and Will rode up front with the lead wrangler.  Mike and I rode in the middle of the pack, and Em and Jack rode toward the back.

Anna...

During horseback riding we went up and down hills.  I had a horse named Cotton.  He was cute.  It was funny because there were only boy horses.  One of the cowboys rode ahead to watch where the moose was, and be sure that the trail was safe.  We rode by and you could see a moose’s antlers sticking up out of the tall grass.  It was almost time to go back to the corral.  I was happy that our ride was almost 3 hours, but Emma and Mom and Will were walking funny when we got off the saddle!  I wish that Cotton was my horse. 

Deb.....

We left Roosevelt Corral and headed to Canyon Lodge to stay for one night.  We showered (well worth the $3.75 fee) and put in our laundry while we made dinner on the RV stove in the guest services parking lot.  (There is a lot to be said about the flexibility of RV living).   Now clean and fed, we went to check out the dessert offerings at the Canyon Lodge restaurant.  The restaurant was a cute place, with some internet access, and good desserts.  Mike had some work to tap out, but unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to get our blog sent out before our session timed out. 

Emma...

Tuesday we awoke on the earlier side and got on our way to Uncle Tom’s Point (happy birthday Uncle Tommy!!) where we met Ranger Mike and three other people for a guided ranger hike at nine. The hike was beautiful and we learned a lot about the plants and animals of Yellowstone and even saw some bison, ground squirrels, and elk walking around near us. We then returned to our RV for lunch and then back out on another hike out to Artists Point, which proved a bit disappointing due to the immense zoo scene that was taking place there but if you could ignore all the people, the view of the waterfall was nice. Shortly after, we realized that we had actually been wanting to go to a different vantage point but were headed in the wrong direction so we headed back and then down. Dad, Jack, Will, and I went down over 330 stairs and were rewarded with a beautiful close view of the falls and minimal people. The only downside was having to hustle up the stairs the whole way back up (thanks Dad ha ha). Well, it’s been a great day and will be even greater if we find a place to sleep for tonight!

 

Deb and Mike...

We left Uncle Tom’s Point, and headed west toward Madison, stopping at the Museum of the National Park Ranger.  The retired ranger on duty had worked for the NPS for more than 35 years, and at over 15 National Parks.  He said that his favorite was Bandolier in NM.  We moved on from there to see if there was any space at the Madison campground.  The ranger at Madison said that all of the parks were full, so we prayed on the way.   While we preferred a campground in the park (as it meant dinner at a reasonable time as opposed to driving another 2 hours to find one outside the park that might have space) we would be happy with whatever He gave us.

I got in line at the registration area and was asked if I had a reservation.  The sign read “full”.  I said that no, I didn’t have reservation, but could there be any cancellations?  The kind man went away for a few minutes and came back to me.  “It is your lucky day,” he said.  “An hour ago, someone cancelled for tonight."  I responded that God had sorted it out for us. 

With reservation in hand, I climbed back into our bus, and told everyone the story.  We took a minute to say a prayer of thanks.  And now we are making dinner on the campfire at a beautiful campsite in the woods.  Mike is reading Swiss Family Robinson, and all is right with the world.