The Grand Tetons

The boys at Inspiration Point, 7,200ft

Terri's roping lesson with Cowboy Mike

July 18^th – Goodbye Shoshone & Yellowstone, Hello Grand Tetons!

Yeah, we’re back! This has to be one of the most beautiful places on earth. It’s really nice to have one more day here to enjoy before we fly out of Jackson tomorrow.

We had an early breakfast. Terri had one more roping lesson from Cowboy Mike. Then, we were off to the Tetons. It took us close to 3 hours to make the drive. The mountains greeted us – how majestic! We were just breathing in the view – it does something unexplainable for the soul! Here at Jackson Lake Lodge, the view does look like a mural. We’ll eat dinner tonight in the Mural Room.

Wanting just one more hike, we made our way over to Jenny Lake. We hiked up to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. It was a pretty steep trail, but heavily shaded and a few degrees cooler! We were so worn out that we had to stop for ice cream to keep ourselves moving!

Our evening was spectacular! Keith & I packed a cooler with wine & waters. We drove just down the road to Oxbow Bend - the best place in Teton Park to watch the sunset (and animals). We parked the car - got on top of the Durango - and watched all the wildlife come out! We saw otters in the lake, ducks, a herd of 40 elk graze in the pasture next to the water, and finally a moose crossing the water! It was unbelievable! Not to mention, the setting sun lighting the sky on fire - it's color changing from bright yellows to reds & purples. A quiet way to say good bye to this special place!

Since we are leaving bear country tomorrow; I thought it fitting to write this advice from a bear:

"Live large, climb beyond your limitations, when life gets hairy grin & bear it, eat well, live with the seasons, take a good long nap, and look after your honey!"

We’ve all enjoyed this trip immensely! We are signing off for now!

Traffic jam!

Lovely surroundings!

After sleeping in and having breakfast at the Lodge, we drove through Sylvan Pass (Yellowstone East Entrance). Along the way, we stopped at Yellowstone Lake to skip rocks. We stopped for a picnic along the Yellowstone River/Hayden Valley. Dad & Tyler walked in the river; we cleaned up quick because a storm came upon us. Next, we saw many buffalo in Hayden Valley. They were everywhere! We continued on to Canyon & went on a few hikes to lookout points. How beautiful! Lower Falls is just amazing. We were lucky enough to see some baby wolves about 15 weeks old.

On our way back, we got stuck in about an hour traffic jam waiting for buffalo to cross the road. For dinner, we stopped at Pahaska for dinner. It's listed on the historical listing for being Buffalo Bill's hunting cabin. (It also has wireless internet service! Yea!) We saw a red fox right out of our window (from the dinner table).

Tomorrow, we will spend the day in the Tetons around Jenny Lake & Jackson Lake. We'll stay at Jackson Lake Lodge for our last night. We have mixed feelings about leaving on Thursday!
We each have taken away so many memories.

Favorites of the trip:
Kevin - Turpin Meadows Ranch
Terri - Horseback riding, the Rodeo, and whitewater rafting
Tyler - the wildlife & hiking & scenery
Dad - wildlife, Hayden Valley, Jenny Lake/Tetons, Rodeo, waterfalls, & time together with family
Mom - the scenery, The Tetons, the wildlife, quiet time w/ no tvs, quiet evenings & seeing everyone relax

At The Brink of Lower Falls - the Falls were 309 ft below us.

Lunch on the Yellowstone River - near Hayden Valley & all the bison!

Terri & Tyler at Lake Yellowstone. Who can skip rocks the farthest?

Those crazy cowboys at the rodeo!

Kevin & Terri at the Cody Rodeo- Terri is happy to have cotton candy.

Buffalo Bill and Calamity Jane in the Cody gunfight.

Tyler having fun in Cody.

God is so good! Beautiful!

Mr. Aadland's Tennessee Walker Horses - I'm reading his new book on all his hunting stories.

Flashback to Aadland's gun collection!

Elk in Yellowstone

Kevin at Firehole Falls.

July 16^th – Cody, WY

Our first event today was a ride through Grizzly Country! The grizzly population in Yellowstone has grown by 3% in the park and 9% right outside the park (where we are!). It was a very different ride when compared to our fun, care-free rides with Emily at Turpin Meadows Ranch. Here, at Elephant Head Lodge, our guide was a real cowboy! Whatever Mike told us – we were sure to obey! He wore a .22 pistol and had bear bells on his spurs. Before we even left camp, he told us about the bear, mountain lions, and moose that they occasionally see. We had Mike in front, and a guide bringing up the end of our line. He told us in case of trouble, his first priority would be to take care of the kids. So, we knew this was a far more serious trail! The kids wanted to trot or lope; but Mike insisted that would be wrong for the horses; they might try that with an inexperienced rider next time. Mike had a real respect for the land and for the training of the horse. Along the way, Mike would occasionally put his hand on his pistol – eyeing the territory in front. He always followed that with, “This is a place I saw a grizzly last week/month.” I was pretty spooked; as he showed us several places where he’s run into a grizzly. We knew if we saw a bear, Mike would turn our line around and head back. We saw beautiful terrain; huge buttes with the Rockies in the background. As Keith says, “We didn’t see any grizzly, but they saw us!”

Next, we went into Cody and took a quick tour of the Buffalo Bill Dam. We found a great coffee shop with wireless internet – Yea! Success! Kevin & I spent time updating our blog site. Taking our time, we went through the quaint, cowboy shops. The real fun began with the Cody shoot out in front of the historic Irma Hotel. Wow – real guns sounds & lots of fun with characters like Bill Cody and Calamity Jane. At nightfall, we were amused at the Cody Rodeo. Those cowboys are crazy! We watched lasso tricks, tying cattle, barrel races, and finally the crazy bull riding! These bulls were angry! They’d buck, spit, drool, & chase anything in the ring. One bull even tried to jump the fence to get out of the ring! What a great time in Cody!

Another trail ride from Elephant Head Lodge in the Shoshone National Forrest.

Terri and Greta with their books.

Jan & Steve Aadland & kiddos

Terri driving the tractor at Aadland Camp.

July 14^th Goodbye Aadland Camp, Hello Shoshone National Forest

Keith thought it would be great to take the longer, scenic route over Beartooth Highway (11,000 ft elevation) and then come down Chief Joseph Highway (another scenic byway). After all, he says it’s not about how fast we get there, but rather it’s about the journey. So, I passed out Dramamine to all & we drove through the scenic meadows, canyons, cliffs, passed buttes, and ended up playing in the snow again! This time, Terri was prepared and wore tennis shoes instead of her flip flops!

We stopped in Cody for a rather quick tour of Buffalo Bill Museum. We spent most of our time in the Firearms Museum and the Plains Indian Museum. Everyone slept for the 45 minute ride from there to our next Ranch. The Elephant Head Lodge is located about 10 miles outside the east entrance to Yellowstone; so we are on our way to making a BIG circle around the park! This Lodge is definitely frozen in the “Old West” era! Even the gathering area has an old west saloon! Our cabin is quaint & gives us some space to spread out. Kevin has the quote for the day – As he is trying to get the shower going; we can hear him yelling “The water isn’t working very well. It’s sputtering; it’s hot, now it’s cold. No, the water stopped. I have no water!” So there he is, all lathered up & no water! We had to have a ranch hand come and fix our water problem. Yes, it is the Old West! We all read ourselves to sleep – We are looking forward to another horseback riding experience. The ride that went out yesterday had to come back early because they saw a grizzly blocking the trail by the river. This bear was also standing in the middle of the road blocking traffic (right in front of the Ranch). We want to see a grizzly; but from a distance!!!

What a view!

Snow fight at a turnout on Beartooth Highway - 11,000 ft elevation!

Picnic at Beartooth Lake

Welcome to Mammoth!

Meeting up with Mary and her family at Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel.

Midway Geyser Basin

Playing in Firehole Falls - the water was relatively warm from the hot springs run off.

This was our long, hot, dusty hike to Fairy Falls. Once there, the kids swam & played in the freezing water. Very refreshing!

With the Lehenbauers at Old Faithful . . .

Part of the view on Uncle Tom's trail to Lower Falls.

Kevin on the trail to Mystic Falls.

Entering Yellowstone - on our way to Old Faithful Inn. We kept getting stopped by bison in the road!

We had a great time at the Aadland Camp! We were able to just hang around and visit today. Mary and I had some nice talks - just like old times! We went to a mountain pottery store down some dirt road. The setting was perfect - an old shed right next to a rushing stream. Why was I surprised when she said her business wasn't set up to take credit cards! It was so heart-warming to see the kids interact. Terri & Greta read books all day. They kept exchanging book titles. I even have a picture of the two girls reading in the hammock. Tyler & Kevin kept Eric (4 yrs) entertained. Tyler liked having someone younger to tease and wrestle with! Marin was so easy -going, she'd play and then go around cleaning up after everyone! Kevin was great company going between the Schultz kids, joining us for all Mr. Aadland's great stories, and of course, catching up with his buddies at home (yes, cell phones work here!). Mrs. Aadland fed our tummies very well - each meal was a special time together.

Steve A., Steve S., Keith, and Kevin worked some of the morning on bringing in the huge tree stumps and then splitting them on the log splitter. It was hot - I think it even reached 100 today. In the afternoon, the Steves gave gun safety lessons and let the boys target shoot with 22's. I must say, they had a pretty good shot. I've got some real cowboys; how fitting that our next stop is Cody for the old west gun shoot outs! Ha!

We also went down the street to Dan's ranch to see the Tennessee Walkers that he raises. Those horses were beautiful! His place is picturesque with the horses and the Montana hills in the background.

We said good byes to Mary this AM - She left about 6:30 - we agreed it wouldn't be 7 years between our next visit!

I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep updating the blog - not sure what kind of internet service we will have in Cody. Keep checking - we may be surprised ourselves!

FYI - trying to get some pics uploaded. We are experiencing technical difficulties out here in the middle of no where Montana. We'll try again later!!!!

July 14th Beartooth Highway

Each day here brings something new! We explored Mammoth Hot Springs in the morning. Yes, they did look like burnt marshmallows! After that, we began our trek to Montana. On the way, we stopped to hike to Tower Falls. We also made a stop at Beartooth Lake for a picnic lunch. The next leg of our trip was driving the Beartooth Highway – we kept winding up & down mountains. There were many switchback curves! Finally, we reached “Top of the World,” where we were above the tree line! We even stopped to play in the snow – Yes, the snow! We were out there in our shorts/short sleeve shirts/sandals throwing snowballs! It was an amazing drive – I kept asking Keith to “hug the yellow line.”

We stopped in Red Lodge, Montana for a little shopping and made it to Aadland camp by dinner time. It was good to see Steve & Jan! We took a tour of the property & unpacked in our wonderful cabin. They made a delicious dinner & followed it with a great evening by the campfire. The stars were amazing – so bright & numerous!

Favorite things:
Kevin “It was great to have a snow fight.”
Terri “I loved playing in the snow in my flip flops.”
Tyler “I loved the Beartooth Highway drive trough the mountains & seeing the snow & driving the tractor.”
Keith “I survived driving through Beartooth Highway cliffs and meeting the Aadlands and the Schultz’s.”
Julie “It was great arriving to scenic Aadland camp & having time to get caught up with Mary!”

Leaving Old Faithful to drive to Mammoth Hot Springs July 13th

We checked out of the Inn and ate a good breakfast at the General Store. Everyone was tired as we figured we all hiked about 9 miles yesterday! We drove along Firefall Canyon Loop – which was beyond beautiful! I had to make myself look because of the steep drop offs! The boys did some steep hiking to satisfy their wild hearts! We continued driving to the swimming area. We loved the swimming hole; the water here was pretty warm because of the hot springs that empty into this river. The kids swam among the river and did some inverted rock climbing maneuvers. We packed another small picnic lunch to enjoy here.

We continued on to Mammoth Area and checked in to our “cabins.” (Not much of cabins, but at least we had 2 of them & we could spread out a bit!) We met Mary & Steve & family and ate dinner together. It was so neat to see them; especially to be meeting their family for the first time – such sweet kids! After dinner, we drove to the amphitheater (at the campground) for a Ranger talk. The ranger did a great job talking about the history of Yellowstone and bears. Everyone wants to see a bear now! We’ll keep looking!

July 12th
Old Faithful Inn
We started the day by meeting the Lehenbauers down in the lobby. They are on a three week tour of the area and beyond! We watched Old Faithful go off & then took off for some major hiking!

First we went to Biscuit Bay & Mystic Falls. The hike was somewhat elevated; but it was a pretty easy walk. Once up at the falls, we all went down in the water & climbed rocks. We have some great pics from that! We found a great picnic spot right along the Nez River. Our next hike was to Fairy Falls. It was long, dusty, & hot! We kept walking feeling like there was no water anywhere near us. We were getting a little concerned after walking for nearly an hour without passing a soul! When we did finally see some other hikers, they were wearing bear bells. What did they know that we didn’t know!? It was 2.6 mi each way. We had to even start rationing waters because we were getting near the end of our supply! Finally, we made it & the view was worth it! It was a very high, sparse falls that came down into a nice pool area. The kids immediately ran into the FREEZING cold water to cool off. It was refreshing just to put our feet in & have the spray hit us to cool the adults off! We stayed for about an hour; not wanting to head back on the long, hot trail. The kids were troopers – we all made it back in time to shower for dinner. We all needed showers because we were covered in dust!

We ate at the Inn on the 2nd floor. After dinner, Terri & Natalie wrote a short play for us all to “act.” We each had parts (except for Jake & Kevin, who wanted to laugh & watch us all make fools of ourselves!). I must admit, we were quite silly and had a great time. The video better not show up on UTube! It’s a good thing that Keith’s part in the skit never made it to tape – however, we can all relive it in our memories!

Goodbye Grand Tetons; Hello Yellowstone… July 11, 2007
Terri is writing the journal for today:

“This morning we went on our last horseback riding trip. On this ride my parents didn’t go, but they did go hike up the hill to Beth Moore’s cabin. Emily took my brothers and I on a trail called Paint Brush through the woods. She told us that it was Bear Country, and that four out of five times there can be a bear next to you and you don’t notice it. We were all sad to be leaving there.

We started out for Yellowstone making a few stops on the way. The wildlife that we saw were crazy: all of the bison at Hayden Valley (they literally stopped traffic by crossing the road right next to us), and the elk napping and eating.
The sights that we all saw were some impressive hot springs and bubbling paint pots (the colors were amazing), long Yellowstone Lake, and so much land that had been burned years ago. We also got to view Lewis Falls, and got to hike on Uncle Tom’s Trail to see the Lower Falls.

We finally arrived and ate dinner at our destination, Old Faithful Inn. When I walked in it was just amazing! Mostly everything was made of logs (it was like a mansion cabin). We ended the day going to check out the gift shop. Today was long, but fun! Can’t wait for tomorrow.”

We have fallen in love with Jackson, WY; especially here at Turpin Meadows Ranch. We've met such wonderful people and have relaxed! They have so many "real" experiences here. Here's a quote from Gene Kilgore that sums it up: "Take a child to a beach and ask them ten years later to name the beach and they will have forgotten. Take them to a ranch and they'll remember the name of the ranch, the name of their horse, and maybe even the name of the wrangler - for the rest of their lives."

My mountain man -

Just Hangin around - Kevin at a turnout stop!

Diamond D morning trail ride.
Dad- Daffy
Mom - Tyler
Kevin - Lloyd/Snickers
Terri - Spike
Tyler - Buddy

Our moose sighting!

Sunday Church service out by the river.

Another horseback riding excursion . . .
Awesome Emily was our wrangler again! We rode Diamond D trail and the views were even better than Saturday's ride. We had some pretty steep ascents and descents. Whole bunches of lavender sticky geranium along the hillsides . . . We did more loaping (sp?) today; it was a much faster ride (less time for our horses to stop & try to eat!) To top off the trip, we rode the horses back through the river! Figure out who said these: "Mush, Mush!" "Yipee, Yeehaw" "Whoa Doggie" "Whatch out for that tree!" "I lost my chapstick."

Tyler and his new friend!

Psalm 121: I lift my eyes to the hills; from where is my help to come? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved and He who watches over you will not fall asleep . . . The Lord shall watch over your going out and your coming in from this time forth for evermore.

Teton National Park

The kiddos at Jenny Lake. How beautiful! Cute kids too!

Tyler is "writing" the message tonight.

"We had a slower morning - we went to church out by the river (where we had the cookout the 1st night). We had 2 fiddle players, a singer, and the chaplain. After that, we went to the Sunday brunch at the Lodge.

We had to drive into Jackson Hole and then took a bus to the where we got in the water (Snake River). There were 5 rapids. The biggest was the Big Kahuna; where I got to go up to the very front of the boat and get soaked by the huge rapid. Jeremy (our guide) called it "Hang Face" because you hang your face over the front of the boat! The next rapids were: The Lunch Counter, The Rope Braid, The Champagne, and The Cottonwood. On the rafting trip, we saw 2 eagles. Kevin & Dad rode in the front & got soaked!

We went back into Jackson for some shopping and ate at Mountain High Pizza Pie. Kevin bought his first cowboy hat! On way back, we went into Teton National Park and saw Chapel of the Transfiguration, Jenny Lake, and Signal Mountain. I got close enough to feed a chipmunk. At Oxbow Bend, we saw 2 huge moose. Then, we headed home. On the road to our ranch, I spotted 2 elk right near the road. The end"

Quotes for the day:
Kevin "I can't wait to sport my new cowboy hat on the ranch!"
Tyler " Tomorrow, I'll to start saying some quotes."
Terri "Aww look, a chipmunk" (all Terri's pictures on her camera are of animals!)
Keith (upon seeing the huge moose) "Nice rack!"
Julie "Tyler, hold on tight!" (while Tyler is hanging face over the raft)

Top of Rosie's Ridge

Our guide caught this one; but let Tyler bring it in. It was a nice cut throat trout. We kept our guides busy untangling line and putting new flies on the lines! The were patient & taught us much!

Animal update: Lots of mule deer around, saw elk on our horseback trail

Flyfishing

We are exhausted!

We crammed so much into one day! Keep in mind, Keith & I were up at 5:30am! We met for our guided horseback riding trip. Emily was our guide - we were the only ones going on this trip! We went on a trail named Rosie's Ridge. All the wildflowers were in bloom! The whole trip lasted about 3 hours! The first hour was great - we had the horses trotting & cantoring. The last hour; we were so sore we kept slowing the horses down. My rear is still hurting! All the kids loved the fact that my horse kept passing gas the whole ride - no comments on that please!

We also went out with 2 guides for fly fishing. They drove us about 1 mile down the road & then we hiked through thick brush, past a beaver dam to our "spot." The kids were really good at it! Kevin had great form - we did catch some fish! Terri & I got kinda freaked out by all the horse flies! We made a "stone seat" in the shallow area & we sat to watch the boys. It was very hot; so the icy cold water was refreshing! The fishing trip lasted about 3 hours!

Keith & I drove off property to find some Moose Drool (beer). When we got back; Kevin & Tyler were asleep! We are off to dinner now at the Lodge. We had more plans after dinner; but we are pooped! I think we will make it to bed early tonight.

Favorites:
Kevin: liked fly fishing the best; has some nice sunburn on his arms!
Terri: liked horseback riding; she's ready to go out again on another trail ride!
Tyler: liked horseback riding; his quote for the day "I can't get my feet in my syrups." (stirrups)
Mom: liked horseback riding - the views were great - even though I did have to put up with the abuse over my gassy horse!
Dad: liked "seeing my kids fly fishing in the river & hearing the sound of the rushing water & the wind in the evergreen trees"

Kevin helping to upload pics while at the Lodge.

Morning at the Ranch

It's chilly up here! Keith & I went for a walk to the Lodge for coffee - the kids slept in! The gang is slowly waking up - we can't wait for our horse back riding excursion!

The Grizzly Bear Cabin

The ranch : the view from the side of our cabin.