Day 3

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Day 3



Woke to a beautiful sunny day in Jackson. Had breakfast at the local restaurant and then we’re on our way to Yellowstone – Yogi here we come! Stopped for gas and used up the rest of the Shell gas card - thanks credit union! Stopped for one last photo at the town square (at the Elk Horns) and then the Dollar Tree for another styrofoam ice chest and we were on our way! BTW – Evan is the driver! First you go through the Grand Teton National Park. I decided to ask about the Access Pass at the Ranger Station – since I didn’t get it in the mail from the Parks Service before we left – and the Ranger – seriously – no questions asked – after I showed him Tyler’s Disabled Permit – gave us the Access Pass! It’s good for his life – free admission to all National Parks! Saved $25 on the spot. Continued to drive through the mountains to the South Entrance of Yellowstone..beautiful along the way. If you’ve never seen the Grand Tetons, they are a magnificent sight! Decided to go to Old Faithful first and then plan our day from there. We stopped at Grant Village first and the Ranger Station had 2:09 pm as the next time Old Faithful would go…it was about 1 ish so we figured we’d better hurry to get there. We rushed on over to see the hoards leaving the Old Faithful area..it went off at 1:25 pm! So the long wait began. We went to the on Visitor Center, I checked out the Old Faithful Hotel – AMAZING – and then we had our lunch while waiting for the big moment. After listening to a short Ranger talk – there went Old Faithful – at just before 3 pm - over 100 feet in the air! I took a short walk around the area to see some other geyser features. Met up with boys and drove East (in a circle) around the Southern area of the park. Visited Mud Volcano, Fishing Bridge, Canyon Village (Grand Canyon of Yellowstone) and then out the West Entrance. I would not suggest this short of a trip, but what we did was great. We saw lots of wildlife – chipmunks, deer, bison galore and birds. Ran into some crazy Californians who decided to get out of their car to photograph some bison by the side of the road...I took a picture of them taking a picture...It's amazing what amuses me! We just missed a couple of Grizzly Bears playing by the side of the road – we found out from stopped traffic along the way – and no bald eagles- although Evan looked! Lots of photos of other animals! Did a little shopping in the gift shop at Yellowstone, but didn’t break the bank.

Now a long drive awaited us..we needed to get to Idaho Falls for the night…we still had 3 hrs to go! Evan was hysterical looking at the clouds and telling me what they looked like – a dinosaur, pirate ship, etc. He's quiet most of the time - an observer- but has a great sense of humor and when he opens up a bit, he is a pleasure. Tyler was not feeling great so he chilled out in the back seat for a while. When we finally arrived, after 9 p.m, we were wiped out. Luckily, the room (Hampton Inn) was waiting for us and the beds are big and comfy. Evan went swimming – I went to bed! 11 hours in the car was enough for me!

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