Yellowstone

Once Kodiak training concluded in Idaho we went to Yellowstone National Park where we camped for a few days and enjoyed each other and the landscape.

From our campsite it was a short walk to see an almost continual herd of buffalo.  It is so fun to just watch those enormous and ancient beasts.

One morning, we woke up early with the hope of seeing more animals.  As we drove by some of the geysers at sunrise, they looked awesome!

It's hard to see, but we did come across a mama mountain goat with her small kid in trail.  These animals are very elusive so we felt thankful to see a mom and her baby.

Being at Yellowstone reminds you that the Earth is ALIVE!  Seeing all of the geo-thermal activity at Yellowstone makes you ponder all of the awesome power that is continually at work under our feet.

We saw a wolf!  As we drove around, we came across a lone wolf that didn't stop to allow me to get a great picture.  Regardless of the poor quality of the wolf picture, it was a highlight for all us to be able to see this animal in it's native environment.

It was late May when we traveled through Yellowstone so all of the rivers, creeks and streams were flowing strong due to the Spring snow melt.

While hiking to see another waterfall, my girls had to stop and play in a stream that we had to cross.  Kids love playing in the water.

The weather was a little chilly in Yellowstone for our time there, but not un-bearable.  There was still snow on the ground and Spring was making it's entrance into the Park.

Our girls enjoyed seeing all of the geysers and watching the various kinds of small and large eruptions of water and mud.

What is a visit to Yellowstone without a stop at the world famous Old Faithful geiser?   It's always impressive to watch that amount of water erupt skyward on a regular basis.

Here was the daily view we were treated to from our campsite.  After weeks of training hard, it was great to just sit and watch Nature at work.

Yes, we might have had s'mores for breakfast...and lunch...and dinner.  We can't readily get s'more ingredients in Indonesia so we had a fun time indulging in them while we camped.

Once again while driving, we came across a lone coyote.  We see and hear them all of the time in our home of Colorado, but we still always get a kick out of seeing them.

Again, the colors of the hot spring pools around the park left us in awe.  It is so amazing to realize all of the dynamics happening to make those pools look the way they do.

Our girls had a great time also pondering and learning about geo-thermal and volcanic activity.  Yellowstone is a land that is very alive.

We took lots of hikes on the nature trails the park has provided.  It made it easy for us to see a lot of the park.

As we drove out of Yellowstone, we saw some swans early in the morning as the fog was just lifting off of the lake.

In May, our girls still weren't used to the idea of having various types of clothes to use throughout the course of one day.  In Indonesia flip-flops and shorts will work all day, year round.  In the Rockies, they only work for part of the day...maybe.

As we drove out of the park, there was still a lot of snow at the southern entrance.  Spring comes late to the Rocky Mountains, something we are very familiar with being from Colorado.

As we drove out of Yellowstone NP, we drove into Grand Teton National Park.  Thankfully, we were able to see a sow Grizzly bear with two cubs.  Just like the wolf picture above, the photo isn't great, but the experience of seeing these 3 bears was.

The Teton mountain range is one of my favorite.  They aren't big in terms of square mileage, but they protrude right out of the Earth like a bunch of knife blades.  So beautiful!