But I'd better start at the beginning before I get ahead of myself.
We left our daughter last Tuesday night after I put her to bed. I left her room in tears, knowing it would be a week before I saw her again. I knew she'd be in safe hands with my mom, but I also knew I would miss her terribly. Once we left I was fine, though. It felt like we were out on a date--that I can handle! We drove the two hours to the hotel where we'd spend the night. We knew we had to get up at 4:00 the next morning, so we went to bed early and got up with the roosters the next morning, ready to go. We took the shuttle to the airport and, after much waiting and two flights, we landed in beautiful Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It's a small airport, so you get off the airplane on the stairs outside, so we walked out onto the tarmack staring at the beautiful Grand Tetons. It was a gorgeous day and a perfect welcome.
We rented our car (a navy blue Chevy Malibu, for anyone who cares--we've decided it's our vacation car because I think it's our third one we've gotten on our trips...not because we love it particularly, but because that's what they give us for a mid size car) and took off for the town of Jackson. First we took care of the most important part--we ate lunch! We asked at the airport where a good place to eat could be found, and the guy recommended Bubba's. So Bubba's it was! It actually was really good, authentic barbeque. Just what you want when you're out west. Next we went to KMart--doesn't everyone go to Kmart on vacation? The reason we went there was because I forgot my sunglasses and wanted some cheap ones and because we wanted to buy a cooler to keep our food in while we traveled. Kmart was the best place in this little town to do both. We decided on a foam cooler, since it was cheaper and we could just leave it there in the garbage when we left.
Then it was off to the grocery store to buy the food. We stocked up on sandwich supplies and snacks. When we came out it was raining a little. We quickly put the groceries in the trunk, trying to put the things that needed to stay cold into the cooler. My husband couldn't get the lid to stay on right, so he pushed a little harder....which broke the cooler. So it was back to Kmart for another cooler. This time we got a little better foam one with clips that kept the lid in place. We switched the food to the new cooler and were on our way.
Since it was raining we decided to tour the town of Jackson instead of sightseeing in the mountains. Jackson is a touristy town with lots of shops. (and a horse and carriage for tourists):
He hates that part of vacation....shopping....but it's one of my favorite parts. It was nice to start it out that way! This is the entrance to the town square in the center of town. Each corner has one of these arches made of elk antlers.
We drove up into the park, then--Grand Teton National Park. We stayed in a little cabin inside the park--rustic, but cute.
The next morning we woke up VERY early (Wyoming is two hours behind us, so 5:00 am to them felt like 7:00 am to us) and decided that since we were up so early we'd take a drive up the mountain to see the sunrise over the mountains. It was beautiful as the sun changed the colors on the mountain faces.
On the way down the mountain we saw our first bear! It was just on the side of the road digging in an old stump. He was oblivious to our being there and didn't even bother looking up. We snapped a few pictures and moved on.
When I saw the bear my husband slammed on the breaks and guess what happened to our cooler in the trunk? It crashed forward and broke! Another one bites the dust.....so that afternoon we went BACK to Kmart and this time invested in a regular hard sided cooler...so in trying to save money we ended up paying double! Ugh. I guess we'll learn from that mistake next time!Next was our float trip. Our guide was great and told us all kinds of interesting facts about the park. He pointed out lots of wildlife (we saw about 5 eagles!)
and answered everyone's questions. This was by far my favorite part of the whole trip. It was a perfect day and I loved the views of the mountains. 
The rest of the day we drove through the park, stopping at pull offs so my husband, the photographer, could take all of his pictures. I love the results....it just takes a long time to get just the right shot. We have SOOOOOO many pictures of those mountains! These are a couple of my favorites.
This is a church in the park (they still have services here).
When you walk in and look at the altar, this is the view you see. How awesome is that? 
The next day we got up early and headed to the boat dock on Jenny Lake (a famous lake at the base of the Tetons) to take a boat across the lake. Once we were on the other side we hiked up into the mountains a bit to a place called Hidden Falls, 
and then on a little bit further to Inspiration Point. I'm not much of a hiker, so it was strenuous for me, but we both enjoyed it, and the final destination was gorgeous. This is inspiration point (with a tired Weed recouperating down below!)
That afternoon, after a herd of bison passed us on the highway,
we drove up to Yellowstone, which is just north of the Grand Tetons.
We drove up to Old Faithful, where we stayed in the very old, VERY cool Old Faithful Inn. We took a tour of the hotel and learned all about the history of it. It was really interesting and we both really enjoyed it.
That night we ate in their dining room--you have to make reservations well in advance, which we did--but it wasn't worth it AT ALL in our opinion. The food was dry and tasteless and we were very disappointed. I guess you pay for the ambiance there....that part was nice. 
After dinner we watched Old Faithful erupt, but it wasn't much of an eruption, so the next morning after breakfast (we ate again at the Inn and they redeemed themselves--breakfast tasted much better!) we watched it again. This time it was much more satisfying and the spray traveled up much higher. It was neat to see all of the steam coming up from all of the geysers.
and then on a little bit further to Inspiration Point. I'm not much of a hiker, so it was strenuous for me, but we both enjoyed it, and the final destination was gorgeous. This is inspiration point (with a tired Weed recouperating down below!)That afternoon, after a herd of bison passed us on the highway,
we drove up to Yellowstone, which is just north of the Grand Tetons.We drove up to Old Faithful, where we stayed in the very old, VERY cool Old Faithful Inn. We took a tour of the hotel and learned all about the history of it. It was really interesting and we both really enjoyed it.
That night we ate in their dining room--you have to make reservations well in advance, which we did--but it wasn't worth it AT ALL in our opinion. The food was dry and tasteless and we were very disappointed. I guess you pay for the ambiance there....that part was nice. After dinner we watched Old Faithful erupt, but it wasn't much of an eruption, so the next morning after breakfast (we ate again at the Inn and they redeemed themselves--breakfast tasted much better!) we watched it again. This time it was much more satisfying and the spray traveled up much higher. It was neat to see all of the steam coming up from all of the geysers.
The rest of the day we drove around all of the many, many, many geysers, hot springs, and other thermalological (sp?) features in the park. It was a very hot day, there was very little shade around all of these places, and I didn't really enjoy all of this. My husband, the geologist, of course loved it all, and didn't understand why it was unexciting to me. I twisted my ankle on a hike around the geyser basin, so that just added to my frustration. I was very glad to see this day end. We drove up to the north end of the park to Mammoth Hot Springs...another old lodge, but not as cool as the first one. The best part about this place was that out our window in the mornings a huge herd of Elk came to eat the grass. I sat up in bed and there they were, both mornings. 
The next day we drove down to what's called "The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone." It's a big, beautiful canyon with waterfalls. I liked this part much better. Something I didn't know about Yellowstone is that every part of it is really different. Every day I felt like we were in a whole new land. The geyser part looked like Mars to me, but the Canyon part looked like pretty, mountainous places are supposed to look.
We hiked down a couple of trails into the canyon--the first one we got halfway down and then found out the trail was closed before you get to the bottom of the waterfall. Then we had to hike all the way back out. We were both so mad that they hadn't posted a sign and we did all that work for nothing. As we came up I told everyone we passed so they wouldn't make the same mistake we did. Well, stupid us, at the top of the trail there WAS a sign. It had big red letters at the top that said "WARNING!" We missed it (but so did all of the people we passed on the trail, so I don't feel quite so idiotic!).
The following day was our last full day, and my husband wanted to hike Mt. Washburn. One of his life goals has always been to climb a mountain. So this was it. I didn't want to do it, so we drove him to the trailhead and I left and came back to the village where I could shop, read, and relax. It was nice, though I was a bit worried about him climbing all by himself. It's a busy trail, though, so I knew someone would help him if something happened to him. Around noon I went to pick him up and he had just finished. He was very tired, but very happy to have achieved one of his goals.
He slept most of the afternoon as I drove us back down to Jackson Hole again. That night we finally had internet, TV, and air conditioning--the first time for all three for the whole trip! And boy, were we thankful for the A/C--they hit record highs out there while we were there, so it was always hard to go to sleep in the heat (most places don't have A/C, even the expensive ones, because it NEVER gets hot there!!).
Then came the Amazing Race..... We got to the airport on time that morning and got all checked in. While we were waiting to board they came on the loud speaker and told us we were going to have to stop for fuel in Denver! Denver???? That wasn't on our agenda!!! We were to have a two hour layover in Dallas and then fly back to where we started. When we got on the plane they announced that because it's so hot in Jackson they can't fly heavy planes out of the mountains very easily, so they needed to lighten the load by not having as much fuel in the plane, which meant we had to stop in Denver for more gas. Well, it took an hour to land in Denver, taxi to the gate, get fueled, and take off. There went one of our two extra hours we were supposed to be in Dallas. Then there was a thunderstorm outside of Dallas, so we had to fly around the storms and take a different route, which took almost another hour! We had to wait to pull up to our gate, which took more time, and we were chomping at the bit to get off that plane and make it to our next flight, in a whole different terminal!! By the time we finally got off the jetway, we had 9 minutes. We flew down the hall and up the escalator to the tram that takes you from terminal to terminal. We had a little rest on the tram as it went from our stop to the next, where we needed to get off. Then we FLEW down the escalator (my husband ran ahead of me to try and stop the plane from leaving because I had sandals on and couldn't run as fast as he could) and down the hall as fast as we could to the gate. It was a long run, and I've never run so hard in my life. As I approached the gate I saw a long line at the desk and I thought, "Oh no, they've cancelled the flight." I got there and my husband, who had arrived a little bit before me, was giving me the thumbs up. Another flight had gotten cancelled, but not ours. They hadn't even boarded yet, even though it was scheduled to leave in one minute. We were out of breath, but thankful that we hadn't missed it.
We waited and waited in line, boarded the plane, and then waited and waited at the gate--for who knows what. We were supposed to leave at 6:00. We didn't leave until 7:15! And we hadn't even eaten dinner because we hadn't had time....and they don't serve food on airplanes anymore...so we were starving.
We arrived at our destination city at 10:45 instead of 9:35 like we were supposed to. We went down to the baggage claim and waited for the bags to start circling around the belt. They started coming...and coming...and coming...and no bags that belonged to us came out!!! Our luggage hadn't made it. By this time we were beyond exhausted and starving and just wanted to see our little girl!!!! We found out that a previous flight had been cancelled so most of their luggage was on our flight, which meant there wasn't enough room for our luggage--it happened to three or four others on our plane. Another flight was due in about a half hour, they said, and our luggage would most likely be on that plane. So we waited...since we didn't want to drive two hours back the next day to pick up our luggage. My husband went back to the hotel to pick up our car and drove back, while I waited for the luggage. The next flight got in around 12:00 and thankfully, our luggage was on it. I was SO relieved to see it come around that carousel!!
So we stumbled out to our car, loaded up, and were on our way. We stopped to get gas and dinner (dinner at 12:30 am??? Something's very wrong with that...) and arrived at my parents' house at 2:30 am, weary and sooooooooo glad this day was over.
Or was it??? We went up to peek in our little one. I was so happy to see her, even in the dark! Well, the light must've disturbed her because she woke up! And after she saw us, all she wanted to do was get up and play! Well, since we were so glad to see her, we wanted to play, too! So from 2:30-3:00 in the morning we all played together and enjoyed being together again. A late, but happy homecoming. I put her back to bed and she went to sleep, and then I fell into bed. Just after I fell asleep, at 3:30, I heard her crying. She wouldn't stop. So I went in and gave her a drink. It took a half hour to get her settled down, but she finally went to bed. But at 6:30 she woke up, all ready for another day! Mommy wasn't, though! But I so wanted to be with her, so I got up with her, even though my mom would've gladly taken care of her for me so I could sleep. We played until 8:30, when she let us know she was ready for her nap, so I put her back to bed, and I went back to bed, too. I enjoyed the next two hours of sleep immensely!!
We drove back yesterday afternoon and I went to bed very early. I woke up this morning still feeling exhausted, so when she went down for her nap, so did I again. I don't do that much anymore (I did all the time for the first several months she was born), but I definitely needed it this morning. Today has been a whirlwind of catching up on laundry, grocery shopping, phone calls, mail, email, and so forth. Whew! I'm ready for bed again!
So there you have it....a novel of our adventures....the kind of vacation my husband lives for. Vacations are nice, and we both enjoyed ourselves, but I like the comfort and routine of home and my little girl. There's no place like home.
The next day we drove down to what's called "The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone." It's a big, beautiful canyon with waterfalls. I liked this part much better. Something I didn't know about Yellowstone is that every part of it is really different. Every day I felt like we were in a whole new land. The geyser part looked like Mars to me, but the Canyon part looked like pretty, mountainous places are supposed to look.
We hiked down a couple of trails into the canyon--the first one we got halfway down and then found out the trail was closed before you get to the bottom of the waterfall. Then we had to hike all the way back out. We were both so mad that they hadn't posted a sign and we did all that work for nothing. As we came up I told everyone we passed so they wouldn't make the same mistake we did. Well, stupid us, at the top of the trail there WAS a sign. It had big red letters at the top that said "WARNING!" We missed it (but so did all of the people we passed on the trail, so I don't feel quite so idiotic!).
The following day was our last full day, and my husband wanted to hike Mt. Washburn. One of his life goals has always been to climb a mountain. So this was it. I didn't want to do it, so we drove him to the trailhead and I left and came back to the village where I could shop, read, and relax. It was nice, though I was a bit worried about him climbing all by himself. It's a busy trail, though, so I knew someone would help him if something happened to him. Around noon I went to pick him up and he had just finished. He was very tired, but very happy to have achieved one of his goals.
He slept most of the afternoon as I drove us back down to Jackson Hole again. That night we finally had internet, TV, and air conditioning--the first time for all three for the whole trip! And boy, were we thankful for the A/C--they hit record highs out there while we were there, so it was always hard to go to sleep in the heat (most places don't have A/C, even the expensive ones, because it NEVER gets hot there!!).
Then came the Amazing Race..... We got to the airport on time that morning and got all checked in. While we were waiting to board they came on the loud speaker and told us we were going to have to stop for fuel in Denver! Denver???? That wasn't on our agenda!!! We were to have a two hour layover in Dallas and then fly back to where we started. When we got on the plane they announced that because it's so hot in Jackson they can't fly heavy planes out of the mountains very easily, so they needed to lighten the load by not having as much fuel in the plane, which meant we had to stop in Denver for more gas. Well, it took an hour to land in Denver, taxi to the gate, get fueled, and take off. There went one of our two extra hours we were supposed to be in Dallas. Then there was a thunderstorm outside of Dallas, so we had to fly around the storms and take a different route, which took almost another hour! We had to wait to pull up to our gate, which took more time, and we were chomping at the bit to get off that plane and make it to our next flight, in a whole different terminal!! By the time we finally got off the jetway, we had 9 minutes. We flew down the hall and up the escalator to the tram that takes you from terminal to terminal. We had a little rest on the tram as it went from our stop to the next, where we needed to get off. Then we FLEW down the escalator (my husband ran ahead of me to try and stop the plane from leaving because I had sandals on and couldn't run as fast as he could) and down the hall as fast as we could to the gate. It was a long run, and I've never run so hard in my life. As I approached the gate I saw a long line at the desk and I thought, "Oh no, they've cancelled the flight." I got there and my husband, who had arrived a little bit before me, was giving me the thumbs up. Another flight had gotten cancelled, but not ours. They hadn't even boarded yet, even though it was scheduled to leave in one minute. We were out of breath, but thankful that we hadn't missed it.
We waited and waited in line, boarded the plane, and then waited and waited at the gate--for who knows what. We were supposed to leave at 6:00. We didn't leave until 7:15! And we hadn't even eaten dinner because we hadn't had time....and they don't serve food on airplanes anymore...so we were starving.
We arrived at our destination city at 10:45 instead of 9:35 like we were supposed to. We went down to the baggage claim and waited for the bags to start circling around the belt. They started coming...and coming...and coming...and no bags that belonged to us came out!!! Our luggage hadn't made it. By this time we were beyond exhausted and starving and just wanted to see our little girl!!!! We found out that a previous flight had been cancelled so most of their luggage was on our flight, which meant there wasn't enough room for our luggage--it happened to three or four others on our plane. Another flight was due in about a half hour, they said, and our luggage would most likely be on that plane. So we waited...since we didn't want to drive two hours back the next day to pick up our luggage. My husband went back to the hotel to pick up our car and drove back, while I waited for the luggage. The next flight got in around 12:00 and thankfully, our luggage was on it. I was SO relieved to see it come around that carousel!!
So we stumbled out to our car, loaded up, and were on our way. We stopped to get gas and dinner (dinner at 12:30 am??? Something's very wrong with that...) and arrived at my parents' house at 2:30 am, weary and sooooooooo glad this day was over.
Or was it??? We went up to peek in our little one. I was so happy to see her, even in the dark! Well, the light must've disturbed her because she woke up! And after she saw us, all she wanted to do was get up and play! Well, since we were so glad to see her, we wanted to play, too! So from 2:30-3:00 in the morning we all played together and enjoyed being together again. A late, but happy homecoming. I put her back to bed and she went to sleep, and then I fell into bed. Just after I fell asleep, at 3:30, I heard her crying. She wouldn't stop. So I went in and gave her a drink. It took a half hour to get her settled down, but she finally went to bed. But at 6:30 she woke up, all ready for another day! Mommy wasn't, though! But I so wanted to be with her, so I got up with her, even though my mom would've gladly taken care of her for me so I could sleep. We played until 8:30, when she let us know she was ready for her nap, so I put her back to bed, and I went back to bed, too. I enjoyed the next two hours of sleep immensely!!
We drove back yesterday afternoon and I went to bed very early. I woke up this morning still feeling exhausted, so when she went down for her nap, so did I again. I don't do that much anymore (I did all the time for the first several months she was born), but I definitely needed it this morning. Today has been a whirlwind of catching up on laundry, grocery shopping, phone calls, mail, email, and so forth. Whew! I'm ready for bed again!
So there you have it....a novel of our adventures....the kind of vacation my husband lives for. Vacations are nice, and we both enjoyed ourselves, but I like the comfort and routine of home and my little girl. There's no place like home.
The coolest was the hippos swimming in their tanks. I couldn't believe how HUGE they were! They swam right by us and just seemed to go on forever! Enjoy the pictures. Daddy got some great ones.
She loved it. She especially loved getting down to the bottom of the gorge and getting out of the backpack and running around. 
She did a nose dive, which is why we're sitting on this log (I was comforting her and then cleaning her up), but she recovered just fine and was ready for the trip back up. Here are some of the things we saw.
She also got to go to the beach. It wasn't a great beach--very rocky and little sand to play in, but she still enjoyed it. The water was cold, so she only went in up to her ankles, but she enjoyed having the waves come up on her legs. 
Our room had a balcony/patio so when she napped we could go sit out there and look at the lake and not have to stay in the dark room with her (though one time I did go to sleep when she did at 7:30 pm!! Daddy went out with a friend from work who was there, too and took pictures of the sunset while his friend fished.)
One night she woke up several times, which means we woke up several times. She was inconsolable, which means I had to take her out of the room so Daddy (and those in the rooms around us) could sleep. We went down to the big lobby where there was a gas fireplace that she LOVED--everytime we went out into the hallway she started running toward the lobby saying, "hot, hot, hot," talking about the fire she knew was down there. So at 2 AM she and I were in the lobby in our pajamas rocking in a rocking chair by the gas fireplace in the middle of June. Then she got down and started boogying to the Muzak being pumped through the speakers. The security guy behind the desk just looked at me and gave me a sympathetic smile (I'm sure I was a sight in my PJs, half asleep, standing by with my wide awake, happy, dancing toddler).