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.