Pictures from Yellowstone and Tetons

This picture is of a petrified tree at Yellowstone. It is the only thing we saw that is older than Dad - 50 million years old. It was his birthday week, so many old people jokes were made. This is an ongoing process, as he is still aging.


This is a picture of Mammoth Hot Springs at Yellowstone. I actually got a picture of this blue bird, finally. Every time I tried to snap a picture, it would fly away before I could focus the camera. I saw a few of these blue birds at different locations. Very pretty. Mammoth Hot Springs is where we camped when we were at Yellowstone. We had cell signal at our campsite = happy Amy. No WiFi though - which is why there were no updates to this blog.


Another blue bird picture. In flight this time. Still at Yellowstone. Very cool.


Old Faithful (or Old Mouthful, as Dad calls it) erupting. In the back-ground is another geyser erupting. Old Faithful is on a pretty good schedule, so we knew about when it would erupt. The geyser behind it erupts randomly, so we were lucky to see them both go at the same time. It was very cold the morning we were at Old Faithful. Woke up to temperatures in the 20's and snow falling. Yup, June 17th at Yellowstone is still winter. Also, June 17th is my Dad's birthday. Happy Birthday, DAD! It was pretty cold waiting for Old Faithful, so we went into the lodge for cinnamon buns and hot cocoa.



On the 17th we left Yellowstone and headed for the Grand Tetons. Dad and I rented a canoe and paddled out to an island where we sat on the beach and had a picnic. We brought Teton, the bear with us.


Teton, our little stuff animal bear is named after the place where we saw this guy:


This bear crossed the road in front of us, and here he is on the side of the road. I took this picture from the car, with the window down. He's a big BIG Black Bear. But he's brown. In the distance another bear was howling pretty loudly. Here's hoping this is the only bear we encounter on this trip. Or if I see another one, I hope I am safely in my car.

Here Karen, Dad and Mary Ellen are at the marina at the Tetons. It was gorgeous there. We finally had a taste of nicer weather here. We could stand to be outside during the day, and had fewer storms. Rain, no snow. It's beginning to feel like summer!



Beach shot of the Tetons. I love the driftwood on this beach. It was all over the place.


Dad just finished blowing out the candles on his little birthday cake. We did his birthday celebration in parts over several days. It was just too cold to go with our original plan on his actual birthday, plus other unforeseen circumstances had to be dealt with. Mary Ellen and Karen made grilled salmon for his rescheduled birthday dinner while at the Tetons, and even brought birthday candles for a little cake they picked up for him. I'd say the Birthday Boy had a pretty good extended birthday party. And yes, I remembered to wish him a happy father's day too.


This is a Yellowstone Bison. Saw lots of them, quite a few herds too. We have a little stuffed animal Buffalo that we picked up in Yellowstone. We call him Flubs, or sometimes Guardian Flubs, as I put him on my Dad's right shoulder when he drives. Silly little Guardian Flubs.