Vacation: Part VI

Since we got up really early yesterday morning we decided to not set alarms and let everyone get up when they wanted to. We all needed some sleep. Once we all got up and moving we headed to see Mammoth Hot Springs. This was definitely another cool sight to see.









It was time for lunch and we had the longest lunch ever! It also didn't help that Max had an EPIC MELTDOWN at the end of lunch. He was pretty much just exhausted from the week, but it was still not ok for him to lose his mind in a restaurant.

Following lunch (and the meltdown) we headed to Tower Falls to see a gorgeous waterfall. Max loves waterfalls, so I was hoping this would put him in a good mood.





There was a steep hike to the bottom where you ended up at the flowing river. At this point Max was done for the day, so Andy hung out with him in the van while he took a nap. I joined the Campbell family for the hike to the river. It was pretty steep so it was definitely a good idea that Max took a much needed nap in the van.






Just like Andy was solo for the prismatic picture, I took a solo picture in front of the river. Notice my tired eyes.


It was a long day and so we headed back to camp to get ready for dinner, sit by the fire and eventually go to bed.

Vacation: Part V

On Tuesday morning we got up super early to hit the road and headed to Old Faithful. We were trying to beat the crazy busy crowds we were informed of. Getting there early before the crowds proved to be a great idea! We got an awesome view of Old Faithful as it shot up. It was rainy in the morning, but then cleared up to be a beautiful day.












After witnessing the awesome Old Faithful explode we went on a two mile trail hike to see a LOT more geysers and hot springs.










Max struggled with all the walking and whined a lot. That's ok, Andy to the rescue.




We ended the trail hike with the Morning Glory Hole. This was pretty cool and very steamy. I felt like I was getting a warm facial from all of the steam. As you can see, Max was DONE with the geysers and hot springs.




We headed back to the Old Faithful lodge for lunch and the kids attended the junior ranger program. They needed to attend at least one and do so many sheets out of their ranger book in order to become an official junior ranger of Yellowstone.






A little huckleberry ice cream after lunch.


Just a bison wandering through...no big deal.


After Old Faithful we headed to see the grand prismatic hot spring. This is a very colorful hot spring that is larger than a football field. It's created from very hot water that travels 121 feet from a crack in the earth to reach the surface spring. The colors were amazing! It was so beautiful.








I only saw it from the same level because Max was exhausted and I was not going to take him on another hike. I sat with him in the van so he can take a short nap while the rest of the group hiked up to see the grand prismatic from a higher view.

Following the grand prismatic I drove us back to the campsite for dinner and get the exhausted kids to bed.

Vacation: Part IV

On Monday we headed to Yellowstone and upon entering the campgrounds we were greeted with bison and elk roaming the tent only campground. This was super cool to see and we saw the elk and bison just wandering through the campground daily. This was such a regular occurrence that I started calling them the campground pets. This was not our campground since we had an RV and tents, but the section of the campground where only tents could be. I am not sure how I would have felt if I woke up in the morning to a giant bison or elk just chilling looking at me.




Once we parked and got set up we headed to a lake boat tour where we learned more about Yellowstone lake. And this is the only picture I took from that tour, but I honestly think this is the only picture I needed to take from that tour.


We then went on a hike that had a tour guide ranger. We learned more about the national park and we got to see some beautiful views and see some varmint. Notice Max's one legged pant while the other one was shorts? That's the way he roles!










Following the hike we headed back to camp for dinner and bed for the kids. Another awesome day in the books.

Vacation: Part III

On Sunday we rented a pontoon boat and went fishing in Teton National Park and this was a lot of fun. The scenic views were amazing and I don’t believe my camera captured how beautiful it actually is.

Each of the kids took turns driving the boat. Max had a blast with this and couldn’t stop giggling. 

We got the kids a rocket fishing pole to help with casting since the last time we went fishing the kids needed a lot of help with this. I think Max had more fun shooting the fishing pole than actually fishing. 

The kids had a lot of fun together in the pontoon boat.

Andy and I both caught fish, but unfortunately we were the only ones to catch fish that day. That meant the Koechel family 2 and the Campbell family 0.

What a great day on the boat. It was our last day in Teton and Monday morning we headed to Yellowstone. That’s where we saw a LOT of animals.