Teton National Park, 2012

Many years ago, we stayed in Yellowstone and took one day to drive to Teton National Park.  We decided that we needed more than one day to really see the park.  We made reservations at Flagg Ranch for 4 nights because we could have 20 amp power, however, we kept experiencing power surges which shut down our power so we only stayed 1 night.  We moved to the Coulter Bay dry camping area and really enjoyed that campground.  We were right in the middle of the action.  Gary was close to the Jackson Dam and spent a lot of hours catching fish there.  We were also close to a spot where a moose came out every evening to feed.  Got to see black bear and took a float trip down the snake.  We finished our camping by moving to Gros Ventre dry camping area closer to Jackson.  There we were able to see Mormon Row, buffalo, and go into town to the chuck wagon dinner.

Saw this tundra swan on way into Jackson

Yellow headed blackbird

barn located on Mormon Row

Bar J Wranglers, Jackson, Wy

This was our third chuck wagon dinner and show.  Must say, we rated this one as our #1.  The guys were great, great harmony and jokes were very, very, funny.  Food was terrific.

Great vocals and jokes

Fantastic bass.

fiddle champion in Idaho

Very talented musician on dobro, steel guitar, banjo.

Teton National Park, Float Trip, Snake River

One day we drove down a road called Deadman.  When we got to the end, we found many float trip crews getting ready to launch.  After talking to them, we decided to use the company that was located at the Jackson lodge.  We arranged to take the lunch trip.  What a great day.  Our guide was terrific.  Didn’t even get wet.  We were able to see a moose, some geese, and a bald eagle.  We learned quite a lot about the park and how “dude” ranching came to be.

Our raft, there were only 8 people on the raft.

Bald eagle

Yellowstone National Park 2012

We stayed in Yellowstone years ago, but could not resist going back this year.  We drove the western half of the loop which goes by Old Faithful.  We arrived in time to watch Old Faithful put on a show, then continued on the loop.  We stopped off to see a grizzly and a few buffalo.  We decided that we would, once again, just have to camp in Yellowstone. 

Old Faithful

you can just barely see the grizzly.

Dinosaur National Monument

The Dinosaur National Monument is really two parks.  On Sunday afternoon, we toured the Quarry section where we got to see many fossils.  We drove to the visitor center where we caught the tram that took us to the quarry.  After viewing the fossils in the quarry, we decided to take the 1 mile trail back to the visitor center.  Not a great idea, it was too hot, 94, and not that much to see.  After we recovered from our hike, we took the auto tour.  We purchased the $1 guide book so we would know what we were seeing.  Really enjoyed this tour.  On Monday, we went to the Canyon Country section of the park.  We drove into Colorado to see this section of the park.  We were very disappointed with this section.  We drove to the visitor center and purchased the $.50 guide book, but there really wasn’t much to see except sage brush.  The best part of the auto tour was when we took the Echo Park Road to the bottom of the canyon.  Dirt road and need 4 wheel drive for the road.

Quarry section

Josie’s cabin.  She settled in the area in 1914 and built this cabin in 1935.  She lived here until 1964 when she broke her hip when her horse nudged her.  She was an alleged associate of Butch Cassidy.  She married 5 times, but finally chose the single life.

Gary touching a fossil

Canyon Country

Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum

The Utah Field House of Natural History is located in Vernal, Utah. It is also close to the Dinosaur National Monument.  Upon entering the museum you are met with a Diplodocus, a dinosaur that was 90 feet long.  Then you enter a theater that shows what it is like to be on a fossil dig.  After the movie, you get to see some fossils and dinosaur bones.  There are hands on activities for the kids.  You end up outside viewing models of different dinosaurs.  Great little museum.  $3 for Seniors.

saber toothed herbifore

rock art

utahraptor

Arches National Park, 2012

This is our second trip to the Arches.  Both Gary and I really like visiting our national parks and enjoy visiting them more than once.  This time, we toured the park in the evening instead of morning.  Our only problem was the heat, upper 90s both evenings we toured the park.  We love looking at the rock formations and making out different forms, such as camel, turtle, elephant, kings, and even a sheep.  Did I mention the finger?