Yellowstone - part 2

We have so many pictures from our trip I had to have a part two.  Here are some of Yellowstone lake, the Yellowstone Grand Canyon and waterfalls, and other fun times.

View of Yellowstone - there are five mountain ranges that surround the lake, it is beautiful.

Brady and I got a date night out and went on a bus tour.  I love these old buses, 

they are from the early 1900s and are newly refurbished.

This is a burnt tree that looks like a totem pull with different animals - moose on top and bear on the bottom.

Tub just big enough for two.

The boys checking out the cutthroat trout spawning.

These pictures are different viewpoints of the Yellowstone Grand Canyon and the two falls, it is absolutely beautiful.

Carter got to check out different horns the rangers had.  Here he is half Bison, half Antelope.

View from the top of the falls looking down.

We hiked down to the top of the falls to the observation platform, it was amazing but a little scary.

This video is of the lower falls in the canyon, it is 308 feet tall..  It gives you an idea 

of how powerful it is and the volume of water moving over the falls.

Yellowstone - part 1

We loved Yellowstone and are already wishing we could go back.  We checked out all the geysers and mud pots, loved the beautiful scenery - canyons, lakes and rivers,  and probably our favorite thing was spotting all the wildlife.  We saw lots of bison, elk, deer, pelicans, several black bears and cubs and a grizzly bear.  One of the greatest things about Yellowstone is just how well they preserve and protect it, it is like stepping back in time and getting away from civilization - it has such a great feel to it that it was hard to leave.

It seems almost unreal that you can drive along with forest, grasslands and animals all around and then see these amazing thermal features.

Papa and Carter taking in a view of the lake from the lodge where we had dinner.

Grizzly bear - it was far away (just how I like it) so it is hard to see, 

but we saw this bear turning over rocks looking for grub.

Black bear walking through the trees

Mountain goats - it's amazing how they traverse this sheer cliff

Yellowstone's version of a traffic jam

We saw a huge heard of bison in the Hayden valley, it was

 fun to see all the calves moving along with the heard.

Carter and Brady built a tepee right across from our campsite.  

They ate breakfast in there and all the kids around enjoyed playing in it.

Moonlight on Yellowstone Lake

Old Faithful geyser - I forgot how awesome this geyser is and 

I was amazed by the amount of water that erupts from it.

Inside of Old Faithful Lodge

This video is a little shaky but it gives you the idea of how big the Old Faithful geyser really is.  Depending on the eruption it can shoot 3,700 to 8,400 gallons of boiling water 106 - 185 feet into the air.  I don't know how this one measures up, but it seemed like a big one to us.

4th of July

We had a great fourth of July in Ennis, MT.  Brady and I started with an early morning jog and saw a lot of antelope, a small heard ran right next to us - it was really fun.  We then walked across the street from our campsite and went to a pancake breakfast at a firehouse.  Then we went to a parade and on to Virginia City.  We took a stagecoach ride around the historic old west town and ended our day at a beautiful lake in Ennis watching fireworks.  Carter found three girls to play with during fireworks and that was probably the highlight of his day.  They played cowboys and cowboy girls (Carter's version of cowgirl) and star wars.  It was a great day.

Logan leaning out the window to check out the horses

Carter having a sarsaparilla at a saloon - his favorite part was 

throwing the peanut shells on the floor

Superheros

Carter's favorite thing is dressing up, especially as a superhero.  Aunt Carly put Logan in his Superman pajama top and they enjoyed playing together.

Blue eyes

I love Logan's gorgeous blue eyes, but I know there is a good chance that they will turn hazel like the rest of us soon so I wanted to get a few pictures that captured them.

You can also see his new top teeth.

The week in June that Brady was in China and my Mom at camp is the same week he learned to feed himself a bottle and eat an entire meal of finger foods on his own...coincidence, I think not.