On The Road Again

July 25th, 2017--Christmas in July Day! Planning for this trip I had it in my head that as we get into the second week we may need some things to shake it up and what better way than to wake up to Christmas carols, decorations, and my favorite candle scent--Christmas Eve? The kids were a bit disoriented when they woke up but I have to say they did get out of bed quicker than most mornings on the trip. Later, when everyone was dressed and had breakfast, we met the Vonder Meulen boys out at the picnic table and opened up a little gift--a water gun. We were headed out of Grand Teton today, going to Casper, Wyoming, by way of Jackson Hole. But before we left we had one mission: to see a moose. The Rangers at the Jenny Lake Visitor Center were very helpful and suggested we stop at the Blacktail Ponds Overlook on our way down to Menor's Ferry, one of our destinations on the way to Jackson. Pulling into the parking lot I was bummed to see so many construction workers rehabbi...

July 24th, 2017--We all had had enough of granola bars and cereal for breakfast. It was decided that we'd have the brunch buffet at the Colter House the next morning. John Colter was part of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He broke off from the group on the way back and settled in this area for three years. The server gave all the kids paper cowboy hats while we waited for our table. It was nice that the times we went out the dinner they tended to sit the seven kids together and then the four adults. Everyone over-indulged on the variety of breakfast meats, eggs, pastries, and fruit they offered. Afterward we headed to the beach by both the restaurant and marina we were at yesterday. The rock beach wasn't very deep, but it was enough for the amount of people there. For the most part the kids had no problem getting in the water even though it was cold! Benny, tested out his GoPro by diving into the cold water! You couldn't ask for a better setting. The moun...

July 23, 2017--We had been throwing around the idea of leaving Yellowstone early to get the Grand Teton so we could spread out the driving back to Sioux Falls. Bridge Bay was also without electricity, but it was more primitive than Canyon Village. We are not against roughing it, but we had no idea that these sites wouldn't have electric and so we hadn't prepared for it. The lot were not mowed and there wasn't a lot to do at the actual campground. People must use it mainly as a place to sleep, spending their days hiking around Yellowstone. Before we left we decided to do a "quick" hike to the Natural Bridge. There were many points in the hike that we stopped to reevaluate whether or not to push on. We finally came to a couple of women who said it was just around the corner. Yay! It was a cool sight, set up on a hillside with water rushing down. As an added bonus, there was a groundhog chilling in the stream so we got to see some wildlife! Lit...