Vacation

After eight days on vacation its good to be home. PM had a two week break before starting summer classes and an internship in College Station this summer. We decided to take advantage of being a homeschool family and go on vacation during his break. MC wanted to go somewhere we had never been, so we headed to Wyoming to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park. Spring is a little late in coming this year, and they have had record snowfalls this winter, all of this combined to create a rather unusual "summer" vacation. Our pictures of this area are a little unusual. There was snow everywhere. In some places DEEP snow. We have pictures of geysers steaming away next to a snowbank. All in all, very cool. MC and I even made a small snowman, just because we could.

We flew into Salt Lake City and drove up to Jackson, WY. We stayed at a nice hotel in Jackson called the Wyoming Inn. Breakfast was cooked to order each morning, and there were coffee and cookies out in the evenings. We drove up to Grand Tetons National Park the first day. We all loved it. What a beautiful area. There were elk and bison everywhere. We drove the park and everyone enjoyed taking pictures of all the beautiful scenery. We drove to Jenny Lake and trudged through 3 feet of snow for a look at the mostly frozen lake. There was a moose standing by the bridge, so we did get some great pictures for our efforts. The second day we drove through some other areas of the park and took more pictures. We walked out at another lake and noticed we were standing pretty close to the edge. Someone said "be careful you may be standing over the lake there" at about the same time that MC's foot went straight through the snow and ice and confirmed that she was in fact standing in the lake. We saw a few bison calves and enjoyed the town of Jackson. The Mile High Pizza Pie shop was great, and so were Billy's Big Burgers.

Next we drove over to Yellowstone and stayed at the Old Faithful lodge, the oldest log structure still in use (or so they say) in America. It is lovely and does give you a feeling of stepping back in time. Yellowstone was other worldly. To see the steam rising through the woods and scenery is like something out of a sci-fi movie. We watched several small geysers go off and then the next day dutifully watched Old Faithful. She did not disappoint. We had a front row seat and it was fairly amazing. There is beautiful scenery in Yellowstone too including a canyon, several waterfalls and wildlife. After one night at the Old Faithful lodge we moved out to West Yellowstone, MT. A very small town pretty much dependent on the tourists coming to Yellowstone. We drove all the roads that were open and enjoyed time together. One day we set out to spot wildlife and we were not disappointed. It was like being in one of those safari parks you drive through. We saw herds of elk and bison. We saw antelope, bears, big horn sheep, osprey, and black deer. We learned never to eat in a "Bistro" in a town of less than 300.

All in all, we had a great time. Yellowstone was cool and well worth seeing. We all want to go back to Jackson and the Grand Tetons. It was nice to get away and spend time together. Now its back to school, work, and regular routine, which can be nice too.

Rain

When I was younger I loved the rain. It was such a great excuse to just spend the day curled up with a book, or watching movies, or something like that. Lately, I can honestly say, I am very tired of rainy days. I have come to the conclusion that I would not do well in Seattle. We have had a series of rainy days interspersed with one or two sunny days, followed by more rain. It is beautiful and very green, but I miss the sun. I just seem to have a little harder time being positive when it is cold (its 48 degrees outside this morning), gray, and raining. I have to give it to the birds though, there is one outside the window this morning just singing away. I keep thinking "Don't you have a nest somewhere out of this rain?" It is supposed to clear off tomorrow and be more seasonable. The forecast shows a mix of sun and clouds for the next 5 days. Here's hoping they are right!