End of our Trip

Us at the top starting down the alpine slide



Alpine slide track

Yellowstone Falls

Norris Geyser

Jenny Lake

Hidden Falls

Teton Mountains

Marilyn at square in Jackson Hole

At Jackson Hole we took a chairlift up to Snow Hill Mt. and then rode the alpine slide down. It was so much fun and only cost $10. We went to Mile High Pizza again taking two pieces home.

We got up early so we could start our 10 hr. ride back to Denver. The office wasn't open for us to get something to eat so we warmed up the pizza. We finally got some coffee and headed to get the car gased up.(cheapest gas in the south part of town) We saw mts. on both times with sage brush or trees. Some places looked like deserts but all of it looked dry. There were some wildflowers on the sides. We couldn't understand how they were growing. The only animals we saw were pronghorn antelopes. Missed our buffaloes and elk.

We were tired after our drive so Harris fixed up supper, we visited but turned in early. They took me to the airport early Wed. a.m. After 16 rows before security I finally made it and then had to go thru the full body scan and wait til they went thru my luggage. The plane was an hour late taking off so I was late getting to my connecting flight. I was the last one on the plane but at least I made it.

I had such a wonderful time. Harris, Marilyn and I talked about old times and friends. Then we met the two Nancy's. They planned two great days for us. We enjoyed seeing Bill and Mary Ann again (N.K. brother/sister in law) It will be good to see the Nancy's when they get back in Sept.

I had a great time but it's always good to get home.

I'm sending pictures that I thought were picture and hopefully I haven't sent before.

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Chico's Hot Springs Where is N.K? Terraces at Mammoth

Terraces at Mammoth



Yellowstone Falls from Artist Point

Artist Point

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

On Sat. the Nancy's had to work so we ventured down to the falls by way of the Terraces at Mammoth. The various colors of the rocks and steaming water made them gorgeous. There were boardwalks going up on all sides so you could see it from the top. We didn't do the walk
because we had seen it when we did our walk "up". We saw several geysers at Norris on the way to the visitor center at Canyon Lodge to see about the falls. We purchased some things and had lunch in their soda shop. The falls were not far away but by the time we got there it had started raining, lightning and thundering. We headed back to Gardiner to repack our suitcases knowing we would have a chance to see the falls the next day. When the girls got off work we met them for supper. We went to the hall at Mammoth Hotel and they helped me with my computer. Marilyn enjoyed a 14 yrs. boy play the piano. He was amazing.

On Sunday we headed back down towards the fall stopping at Fishing Village general store where we purchased more things and had lunch. The sky was sunny and we hoped that it would stay like that. When we arrived there were hardly any cars and the sun was shining. We took a lot of pictures. We have seen so many orientals on our trip. My camera looks like a toy compared to some of there.

We headed for Jackson Hole for the night.

Our Hike

Our Fearless Leader

Patty, Nancy K., Marilyn, Nancy D.

We met horses along the trail

Bill, Patty, Marilyn, Nancy D

Nancy K and ...............Patty

Gals on the trail

Sign we saw in many places

Finally finished...........

We met up with the two Nancys, Bill and Mary Ann, Nancy K's brother/wife in Mammoth. They had made plans for us to take a hike. They asked if 5 miles was too long of a hike. We said No Problem. Bill took his car to the very end of the trail and Nancy brought him back. Then the rest of us piled in Nancy's car and drove up to the halfway mark. Well...... after walking up, down & back up again Patty had to stop and "breathe". The air was so much thinner. The altitude didn't seem to bother anyone else. She had to stop often but they waited for her at the top. In one picture you can see how far behind she was. Along the way we saw a guide and family on horses that had camped for three days. We kept walking...then we heard the guide yell back to us, "BEAR on the left". The trail was about 3 feet wide, mt. on one side and a cliff on the other. We knew that we couldn't go anywhere safe if we ran into the grizzly. Marilyn finally spotted him down a ways eating berries. We don't think he even saw us but we didn't take any chances. We all kind of speeded up then. The terrain varied from the forest floor, narrow ledges along the cliff, having to step over rocks and roots most of it with an up hill climb. When we made our way to the end of the trail we were exhausted but glad about what we had accomplished.

Yellowstone

Bison/buffaloes in rutting season

We thought this ole fellow couldn't "do the trick"
anymore so he was kicked out of the herd.

Male bison on the run

Aren't I cute????

Courting

Mammoth

We left Teton Village and made our way to Mammoth where the two Nancy's work/live.

On the way we ran into many herds of buffalo. It is rutting season and all of the males are going crazy. They grunt loudly, sniff, and roll in the dirt. This is supposed to be some of the courting process. The herds are very close to the road and many times IN the road so we got to see this up close. In one of the pictures you can see about 10 huge males all running in competition to get the one poor female.

When we got to Mammoth we saw elk everywhere. They come down the mountain in the morning and go "anywhere" they want to. The rangers have a hard time keeping people from getting too close to get a picture. I was yelled out only one time.

Teton Mountains/Teton Village

*Marilyn at the Cowboy Bar, sitting on a saddle enjoying her beer.
*The beautiful Jenny Lake. We went to the other side and then walked to Hidden Falls. It was a steep and rocky trail but the walk was worth it.

*Hidden Falls above Jenny Lake.

The Grand Tetons mountains from the road.

We have been on the go since we left. We've seen a lot of beautiful things. Marilyn and I have enjoyed talking about "the old days". We were sorority sisters in college and lived together when we because our teaching careers. It's been so much fun.

Hidden Falls.

A sign that we saw a lot. A man was killed by a grizzly in a campground not far from here. We've seen 3 bears so far but they were far away from the road. I asked a ranger, Where are the bears, he said everywhere. There are black bears and grizzlies.

As you can tell I'm not good at this. All my labels are in the wrong place...just bare with me please.

Animals in the Tetons/Yellowstone

The beautiful elk- shown from both ends....

The bison loved to cross the road or walk down the middle of it. Traffic could be stopped for a long time.

Two mule deer crossed in front of us and went up the mt.

A bison resting with many others. This is

rutting season. We saw the males courting and making all kinds of noises.

*There is no internet in Yellowstone. We are in Montana now so hopefully I can catch up.

This is Harris and Marilyn Young at home in Denver. The buck mule deer we saw from their upstairs patio. The sunset towards Denver was also from there. We are leaving early tomorrow morning heading for Jackson Hole for 2 nights. We're hoping to do the alpine slide at Snow Hill Mountain.

Denver

We're in Denver getting our last minute things to take on our adventure. We read in the paper just right south of Denver that a bear got into an unlocked car because there was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in the front seat. The door closed on him and he panicked. He tore up the dashboard and the rest of the front seat trying to get out. Accidently he hit the gear shift and the car started rolling down the hill. After he hit several trees the car stopped in some bushes. He then sat on the horn. After a couple of hours a neighbor got out of bed to see what the noise about and was she ever surprised to find a bear in the car. He was a huge black bear and took up the whole front seat. The police thought that the call to them was really nothing until they saw the bear. They tied a rope to the door to let him out. He was not hurt but the car was demolished. Hope we have some good stories like this on our adventure to Yellowstone. We're leaving early Monday morning for the Grand Tetons. More later.

Experimenting

I am learning to use my laptop before I leave on Thurs. I walk every morning at Lake Eola and enjoy telling the people about our beautiful swans. Hopefully I'll be able to send some of the pictures that I have taken.