Geisers, Waterfalls, Canyons and Mountains Galore

Andi enjoys Old Faithful

Alex in front of the Prismatic Spring

We spent our first full day in Yellowstone exploring the geisers, boiling pools, and steaming springs near Old Faithful.  Natalie and Alex were most impressed with the amazing "Prismatic Spring" -- a bubbling, boiling, multicolored pool that produced kaleidoscopic steam.  We were disappointed to find that after unloading all of the bikes for a ride, the bike trail did not connect with the area where our RV was parked.  On top of that we had to work the RV out of a major traffic snarl in the
parking before driving back to the RV camp. 

The "Grand Canyon of Yellowstone"

The following day, we drove to the south rim of "Yellowstone's Grand Canyon" and found a good spot to park the RV.  Natalie once again baked some fresh biscuits to start our day, and we hiked five miles along the scenic south rim trail, checking out the canyon and waterfalls.  After our hike, we ate a late lunch in Canyon Village before heading back to camp.  We decided to try our luck with the bikes again and stopped at another bike trail near the RV camp.  This time we found the trail, but we weren't very impressed with it.  Good bicycle paths were definitely the one thing missing from Yellowstone (and most other national parks).

Grand Teton

Grand Teton

We left Yellowstone this morning via the southern exit and headed in to Grand Teton.  The drive through Grand Teton provided some of the most stunning mountain vistas we have seen on the trip (and by this point, we've seen a lot).  We decided to spend our limited time in this magnificent park doing another hike along one of the scenic trails.  We parked the RV at Jenny Lake and hiked the three mile trail along the southern tip of the lake to Hidden Falls.  After reaching the falls, we walked down to the shuttle boat launch and took the shuttle across the lake and back to the parking lot.  It was a great hike and a fun ride on the little shuttle boat.

Jenny Lake hiking trail at Grand Teton

Nat on Jenny Lake hiking trail

Jenny Lake Shuttle Boat

Next, we drove another 30 miles or so to Jackson Hole, Wyoming--home of the famous ski resort.  This was a fun little resort town where we had dinner and did a little shopping before continuing down Highway 89 through Wyoming and in to a small piece of Idaho where we made camp at the KOA in Montpelier.  The drive from Yellowstone to Montpelier was absolutely stunning and might even qualify as the most beautiful leg of our journey to date. 

Jackson Hole, Wy