Today began early as most of days have. The sun rises around 5:30 A.M. and by 6:00 A.M. it is very bright. Rising early was helpful as we broke camp again and left the Walton/Simpson clan behind. We drove back through Grand Teton NP and were again amazed by the beauty of that mountain range. The caravan took a casual drive through Yellowstone to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. By the time we arrived at the canyon it was almost lunch time and we took the opportunity for some nourishment. We had sandwiches and spinach wraps that really hit the spot and prepared us for our hike along the south rim of the canyon. The recent snow melt made the waterfalls spectacular. We hiked to Artist Point (approximately 2.5 miles) and the troops did not want to hike back to where the car was parked. Ben and I then volunteered to walk back a shorter route along the road to get the vehicles (we're always willing to "take one for the team"). Shortly we were back on the road and heading north towards the North Entrance and Gardiner, Montana. Up to this point we still had not seen a significant amount of wildlife (other than the elk leaping in front of our truck). Today we were blessed with numerous close encounters with Bison and Elk. At one point we were stopped by a herd of buffalo crossing the road. Ashley has decided that Granddad needs to get a buffalo calf. We were all fascinated with watching the bison. They didn't seem to mind our presence and are huge! We were glad to be in the truck as one walked about 5 yards from us on the side of the road. The journey north revealed amazing changes in topography. Gardiner is a small town with many whitewater rafting companies and outfitters. It is very reminiscent of Hot Springs, NC. We got to the campground early and made a run to the grocery for supplies. We are now cooking carribean jerked chicken, listening to reggae, and sipping a tall cold one (a little St. John in Montana!). All in all it has been a good day and are looking forward to another day in Yellowstone tomorrow. We all hope that everyone at home is well.
P.S. The postings are timed by my computer which is still on eastern time, so its not as late as it seems.
Man, I can't get over how these photos look like something out of National Geographic! Wow!Too bad you didn't go on this trip earlier...then you all could have shown your pics and been the know-it-alls to share with the kids at VBS this week. Someone was telling them about the Grand Canyon today since our theme is Discovery Canyon. (By the way, say a prayer for Bonnie...she still wasn't well enough to handle VBS on Monday; went home mid-morning and I haven't seen her all week.) Shannon, I didn't forget the trash, or the flowers...they're still alive by the grace of God. ;-0 It's been quite hot, very sunny, and unlike last week, extremely dry--no thunderstorms so far this week. Sounds like you've had nice weather on your trip. Hope it remains so. Sleep well.
ReplyDelete