Road Trip Day 20

Day 20
First thing this morning, we went BACK to Jackson Hole to pick up our car and return the rental car.

Everything went without a hitch, we got our car back and it is working well! We had promised the kids that we would have a chill day with no driving and no hiking! Our campground was part of the Grand Teton Lodge Company. The Jackson Lake Lodge is also part of the same company so we were able to visit for the day, for free. We also had cell service AND wifi!!!! We had a great day swimming in the FREEZING cold water and just relaxing!

When we came back, we hung out around the campsite while I cooked dinner.

Then while I was frying bacon, from the hammock, Lucy yelled, "A bear, a bear! I am NOT joking. It is really a bear!" Just up the access road from our campsite, was a bear. It was SO crazy! I was holding the bacon and trying to figure out what to do. I was thinking, that everyone loves bacon, surely a bear does too! It ended up just walking slowly into the woods. I thought that I would struggle sleeping because it was just a few hours before we went to bed, but it didn't. We all slept great in the tent, despite the bear. It was definitely a memory we will all remember!

~ Juli

Road Trip Day 19

Day 19
Even though our car was ready, we paid for two days in the rental car. PLUS, we did NOT want to go BACK into Jackson Hole until we absolutely had to. So we decided that we would just drive the rental car around Yellowstone. There were 2 things I HAD to see in Yellowstone. I wanted to see the Lower Falls in the Grand Canyon of Yelllowstone and I wanted to see Tower Falls. As we looked at the map, we decided that we were going to go the opposite way that we went yesterday and we would drive the ENTIRE park! We woke up very early and started. Our first destination was West Thumb. It is a section in the geyser basin where there are just all of these thermal pools. This was awesome because it was on the bank of Yellowstone Lake so it had these amazing views!

 The Lower Falls in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone did NOT disappoint. It was absolutely beautiful. Our experiences have been similar to ours in Hawaii. What I see with my eyes is not represented in my pictures!! :-(

(Eli wasn't very excited to be at the Lower Falls so he stayed back near the parking lot. So that is why I don't have any pictures of him.)

The visitor centers seem to be our most favorite spots to stop. The kids LOVE to get their stamps and stickers. I love that they are enjoying this because this was my favorite thing to do. I only wish I could find my passport so I could be stamping these same places again!

We made it to Tower Fall. As a young woman, my grandma Maynard worked at this gift shop at Tower Fall and I believe my grandpa proposed to her here. So it is a super special place to our family!

We went further north to For Yellowstone and Mammoth Hot Springs. All through the village there were elk everywhere!

 We decided that we had seen enough Hot Springs, so we decided not to walk around Mammoth Hot Springs!

Our our way south, we passed Swan Lake!

There was some construction that we got stuck in and this bison was RIGHT next to the car

Another must stop on our trip around the park was the Great Prismatic Spring in Midway Geyser Basin. It was SO beautiful!

We also got to see 2 bear cubs from the road! It was a highlight for sure!

We drove ALL day long and saw the entire park in 10 hours. The kids (and Aaron and I) were exhausted. When we got back we made some dinner. Then went up to the Lodge at Flagg Ranch and had some dessert. Then we came back to the campsite and the kids played for hours with all of the other kids at the campground while Aaron chatted with some new friends and I read. We were so thankful to have a beautiful day to explore the park. It is such a cool place and I was filled with joy to share it with my own family. Tomorrow, we have to return the rental car and pick up our car. We have promised the kids a chill day with no driving. 

~ Juli

Road Trip Day 18

Day 18
Can I just say that I HATE cars! We left super early this morning to be at the car dealership when they opened.It took us about an hour and 20 minutes to get there. Once we were there, they didn't think they could even work us in for today :( So they gave us a ride to the car rental place. Aaron and I have worked so hard to be credit card free. That doesn't fly so well when you are renting a car. The rental company refused to rent us a car. So the car dealership came and picked us back up and took us to another rental company that my mom had found in town that would rent us a car.

 Unpacking our car and brushing our hair so we don't look completely homeless AND carless!

We refused to let the car situation dampen our day. Because we had done everything so early this morning, we still had a majority of the day to do some things. One thing that was on EVERYONE's list was to see Old Faithful. So we got in the rental car and went straight there!

All along the way, I had been telling the kids all about what I remembered about the Old Faithful Inn! It was exactly how I remembered it!

On our way back to the campground, we saw some beautiful sights!

Lewis Falls

As we were heading back, we got a phone call from the car dealer. They were able to look at it and discovered that there was just a loose wire and the car was ready. We already had rented and paid to have the car for 2 days but we were happy to know that it wasn't a major thing!

~ Juli