Rock Springs, WY to Jackson Hole WY plus Yellowstone NP
It was after 1 when both loads of laundry were dry. I
sorted things back by outfits and put them neatly in zip lock bags. Then by
that time, I was tired so I just shoved those zip lock bags into their
backpacks. Since they weren’t all nice and neat then it did make a bit more
difficult to store all of the bags this morning under the seats, but we were
able to fit them in finally.
I thought for a few minutes that I would not be able to
go to sleep last night, but when I did go to sleep I didn’t wake up at all. We
all started stirring around 7. When Robby looked down to check on Whitman, he
couldn’t see him until he looked in bed with Campbell and Reagan. Later when he
woke up, he told me that he climbed in bed with Campbell because he thought
that shew as me! Soon after getting ready, we all headed to breakfast. Today
they had cinnamon roll waffles which were very good. So far all of these hotels
have had chocolate chips for oatmeal, I guess. My crew has found them and gone
to town on them.
Robby took some kids to help with the ice chest while the
others helped me load the cart. Soon we were on the road headed towards our
hotel in Jackson. I had only 2 stops on the road to Jackson. One was an ice
cream place that we would pass around 9 which we deemed too early for ice
cream.
We weren’t too sure exactly where we would end up today.
Our goal was to get to Yellowstone and hopefully do the bottom half of the park
loop today or tomorrow. There was much conversation about when would be the
best to do this so we also had time to enjoy the cabin and most importantly, do
laundry not at 1 in the morning.
We arrived at our KOA cabins a little bit before noon. We
didn’t think that we could get in, but Robby tried anyway. Our cabin was ready
so we ran in to unpack and explore. Everyone claimed their spots and there is
plenty of room for at least 2 more folks.
It would be the perfect tiny home-there is a kitchen
area, a pull out couch, a bedroom, bathroom, one room with a loft and queen bed
underneath and then a loft with a double and twin mattresses. It is pretty quaint
and just how I remember them being a few years ago when we stayed in them,
Soon we were back on the road headed to Yellowstone. We
drove through Jackson and remembered to take our Red Box back, yet we forgot
one other important thing! More on that later. The plan is to go to Jenny Lake
and the Grand Tetons tomorrow.
We did stop one to take a picture of the Grand Tetons
since we didn’t want to risk it tomorrow. The last time we were here, it was
cloudy and our Grand Teton pictures are just of clouds. It is amazing how much
snow is up here still. The kids have enjoyed walking through it each time we
stop for a picture or even touching some of it! The lakes are even partially
frozen, yet we are comfortable in shorts.
Once in Yellowstone, we took a picture stop at the entrance
and then headed to the West Thumb basin. Keaton was thrilled when we stopped
there since she had to use the restroom. We all took advantage of hem even
though they were porta pettish.
It was pretty impressive watching the water boil and the
mud pots shoot mud in the air. We weren’t there too long because we needed to
move on since we had lots to see today. We were about 30 milks to our next stop
when Robby remembered what he had forgotten-GAS!
Since we didn’t have any cell service, I went scrambling
through all of the literature that we had received trying to find where the
closest gas station was. We knew then that we would probably have to pay 5
bucks a gallon, but Robby said he would happily pay whatever!
Next up was a quick stroll around the Mud Volcano area.
We weren’t going to stop but how could you pass it up. We could smell the Sulphur
when we were still in the car, It was foul! We read a book lately about Mt. St.
Helens erupting and it talked extensively about the smell of Sulphur before a
volcano exploded. Smelling the Sulphur caused lots of questions and concerns.
Graham was ready for us to get out of there!
Around this time, I made and passed out sandwiches in the
car. It is always a fairly challenging! There was a Nutella sandwich, peanut
butter one, ham and cheese, just a cheese and two turkeys and cheeses. Then I
made Robby and my sandwiches. Of course by the time, I had put the first bite
in my mouth, everyone was asking for seconds. I ate first and then passed out
seconds.
We began seeing buffalo around this area. We passed one
walking along the side of the road and quite a few more. Hopefully, we will see
many more when we get to Custer State Park. While taking a video, Campbell
narrated that we just saw wildlife that were out of their cages. Now, since we
didn’t have cell service, we weren’t able to listen to my podcasts about
Yellowstone. Maybe some of them would have answered my questions about this
amazing place or even helped Campbell understand the idea behind wildlife not
having cages.
We saw an artic fox or a wolf walking along the snow in
one area. The animal walked right along with us. I spent most of my time
watching the car in front of me. One man opened his door and got out of his
car. Then he saw the animal (wolf or fox) and jumped back in his car! I laughed loud enough that Robby was afraid
that the man could hear me! He couldn’t though, since he was back in his car!
Robby held his breath until we made it to Canyon Village.
We had over 30 miles of gas to spare but that wouldn’t have been enough to make
it to the next gas station though. It was a bit above average price but not
horrible.
We then back tracked just 3 miles to see the Grand Canyon
of the West. It was beautiful and would have been even better if I could have
gotten a back picture. There just wasn’t a good spot for all of us to sit
safely!
It was a beautiful stop. The water was flowing down the
falls so fast that there was a cloud of steam over the falls. Anderson was
pretty impressed that we could hear the rapids from high above. It was a great
stop and afterwards, we had a snack.
The kids spent a lot of time looking out of the windows
for wildlife. Robby told them that if we saw a moose, he would pay them each 10
dollars. This is our 3rd Yellowstone visit and have yet to see a moose so he
felt fairly confident about his bet.
From the Grand Canyon area we hurried on to Old Faithful.
One of the times that I had internet service, I was able to tell when the next
eruption was. We had time to grab our jackets and use the restroom before
grabbing a spot on the benches.
We waited with all of the other people for about 20
minutes for Old Faithful to erupt. It is pretty neat to see it. The kids were
all impressed with the geyser. Whitman acted like it was the best thing that he
had ever seen.
From there we headed towards the cafeteria but opted for
ice cream. We ate in the lodge area which Reagan though was so incredible. A
few minutes later, when we walked through Old Faithful Lodge she was in awe. It
is a wonderful place.
Reagan was quick to point out that we should definitely
come back. Graham certainly agreed and began suggesting ways and trips for us
to come back here. Of course, walking around the lodge just made Robby and I
bit disappointed that we weren’t staying there this time. On my bucket list, I
intend to go back and stay for 4 or 5 days at Old Faithful Lodge.
We found the last room that we stayed in and even showed
the kids the communal bathrooms. That didn’t deter their plan to come back.
Wonder if we could convince them to come here next year instead of Disney.
Anderson and Reagan have been to the Wilderness Lodge at Disney which is like
Old Faithful but they were itty bitty and don’t remember this. Now, Graham,
Reagan and Anderson all do remember Old Faithful Lodge from last time. Campbell
and Keaton were too little, and this is all a first for Whitman.
It was still light at 8:00 when we got on the road back
to the hotel. It is nice since it stays light a long time. I passed out our
second meal of the day as we drove out of the park-cheese, crackers and
sausage. It was a winner too and everyone asked for seconds though this time I
refused since we planned on buying a snack somewhere before the hotel.
We did buy pizza and cinnamon sticks way too late to be
eating and even way too late to be out an about (around 10). It was so nice
that we were already checked back in the cabin and things were semi unloaded
for the car. They were unloaded but still unorganized. This place is twice as
big as a hotel but I feel twice as crowded. There are bags and shoes and coats
everywhere. It is nice to spread out though!
We ate our pizza and cinnamon sticks once we made it back
to the cabin, and then the kids started on their showers. They ran through the
showers fairly quickly and soon it was time for bed for them. I worked on some
of the blog today and the rest of it before the kids went to bed, but Robby
still had to post the blog and the pictures. Since the internet is spotty here,
he had to go to the office area to do all of our evening computer work!
Same as Yesterday:
Current Dennie Kid State Count (May 15, 2018):
Reagan-needs Alaska
Anderson-needs Alaska
Graham-needs Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington
Campbell-needs Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington
Keaton-needs Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington
Whitman-needs Alaska, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota,
Oregon, Washington
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