What We Did July 27- August 6

Hi all!  It's so nice to be home!  Isn't that picture of me amazing?  Elizabeth captured it on our vacation. So what have we been doing?! you ask.  Well, here's your answer.  July 27 and 28 we were mostly just driving.   We went into Glacier National Park on the 29th.   It is so pretty.

The 30th we drove more, and July 31 we spent a day in Spokane, WA.

The first day of the new month, August 1st, we mostly drove, then arrived in Packwood,WA...

...And stayed in a cute, rustic lodge.

When we went into Mount Rainier National Park on August 2, it was kind of foggy.  But look at the beautiful view on this postcard I picked up!

On the 3 Elizabeth and I excitedly went to the American Girl Store in Seattle, and we got to eat dessert in the Cafe!

August  4th we went sightseeing in Seattle.

 The next day, we walked to the Pike Market.  And rode on Ferry.
Elizabeth and I packed on the 5th, and flew back home to Florida on the 6th.
And that's what Elizabeth and I did July 27- August 6th.

July 22-26: Our Week at Yellowstone National Park

First of all, I appreciate your patience as I wrote this post.  I know it's over two weeks since Chrissa last posted.

We had a great time in Yellowstone National Park!  We hiked, took many pictures (that's part of the reason that you had to wait so long for this post), waded across mountain streams, breathed fresh mountain air, ate picnic lunches in the park, and, most of all, gasped at astonishing views.

Sunday, July 21, we drove 300 miles and stayed at a Holiday Inn. 

The next day, Monday, we drove through Grand Teton National Park on our way (the mountains at the top of the picture); and gladly arrived in Yellowstone.

Tuesday Chrissa and I enjoyed the park.  We hiked to Wrath Falls (1&2); gobbled up lunch (well, at lest Chrissa did) by a river (3); saw Mammoth Hot Springs (4&5); stopped by Gibben Falls (6,7&8); and lastly briefly glanced at Sheepeater cliff (9&10).

  

On Wednesday, we witnessed many interesting things, including a bison walking right in front of our car!  We also saw beautiful Tower Falls.

Thursday obviously not the only day we saw waterfalls and rivers, but that's the main thing that we looked at.  Inspiration Point was not very inspiring, because the part where you saw the beautiful view had fallen off in a earthquake.

Our last day in the Park, Friday, we spent our time around Old Faithful area.  (From top to bottom, left to right): A waterfall (I don't remember the name); Celestine Pool; Clepsydra Geyser, Silex Spring, Old Faithful; and Old Faithful Lodge (where we had lunch).

That was our amazing week at Yellowstone National Park.

Why We Haven't Been Posting

Hi all!  First of all, Elizabeth and I have not been posting because in order to have internet acess in your room, you have to pay fifteen dollers for three days.  Which we think is to much.  So how am I posting this? you ask.  Well, there is a business center on the 1st floor, and I have acess to that.  But there's no place to put in my SD card in the computer, so, unfortunately you can't see any of the hundreds of pictures Elizabeth and I have taken since we arrived in Yellowstone National Park on Sunday.  Hopefully, we will have pictures in the next post.



We're All Packed up and Ready to Go!

Well, Chrissa and I are completely done packing for our vacation near Yellowstone National Park.  We'll start driving tomorrow, and will be driving for the next two days.  So, we probably won't post again until we arrive in Yellowstone.  Really, I can't believe that our time in Colorado is done already!  It seems only last week that we came.

Along Old Fall River Road

Today was our last Saturday to go into Rock Mountain National Park, because next Saturday we would be packing.  Elizabeth and I chose to go on Old Fall River Road.  It's the original unpaved road up to the Alpine Visitors center. 

Our first stop on the way up was Chasm Falls.

Check out the beautiful waterfall!

Here's me,

...And Elizabeth in front of the falls.

We climbed down the trail a bit and took our picture by the river.

Most of the time we were in the car, enjoying the view from the open window.  The weather was just gorgeous!  It was also nice to fell cold (we don't experience that much in Florida).

Snow!!!

On the way back down, we saw these elk grazing.  We had a lovely last Saturday in Rocky Mountain National Park.

P.S.Are you all excited to see the Saige movie? Elizabeth and I can't wait!

A day at Rocky Mountain National Park (and Estes Park)

I hope you all have enjoyed your Saturday as much as we did!  It started out at sunny Fort Collins, where we were staying.  At around ten o'clock, we left the house for Estes Park (the city).  By the time that we got to Estes, it was raining.

"This ruins our plans." Chrissa said dejectedly.  "And I was so looking forward to feeding the chipmunks on Chipmunk Mountain."  I drove around Estes, trying to figure out what to do.

"We shouldn't go home, because we already drove all this way. We might as well go into Rocky Mountain National Park since we have a pass." I said.

"But it's RAINING!" Chrissa practically shouted. "How much fun can you have in a national park, where you spend all the time outdoors, when it's raining?!"

"Calm down, Chrissa.  It's not raining very hard right now anyway." I said.  Suddenly, a sound like pebbles hitting the car began.  It had started hailing.

"Well isn't this a pretty little mess." Chrissa said, scowling.

"I know!  We can drive up to Bear Lake.  By the time we get up there, the hail will have probably stopped and the rain will just be a light drizzle." I said.

"But won't it be unsafe to drive up a mountain with the weather the way it is?" Chrissa nervously asked.

"Don't you worry.  It'll be fine." I comforted.

"Ok, if you say so." Chrissa sighed.

Just as I predicted, the hail had stopped and the rain was very light by the time we were at Bear Lake.  Chrissa and I took a very enjoyable hike around the lake.  Unfortunately, we couldn't bring our new camera out of the car because of the rain.  After Bear Lake, we drove to Sprauge Lake to have lunch.  Here are some pictures from our walk around the lake.

After Sprauge Lake,  it had cleared up, so we drove back to Estes Park and Chipmunk Mountain.  

We road the tram up to the top.

The view was breath taking.

Here's a chipmunk eating one of the peanuts we gave him.  Chrissa has decided that besides dogs, chipmunks are now one of her favorite animals.  Usually, there are tons of chipmunks, chasing after you for peanuts, but yesterday it was hard to find any chipmunks who were hungry.  After taking the tram back down, we had dinner at McDonald's, then drove home.  How did you spend your Saturday?

Hiking at Lily Lake

What did you do yesterday? We went to Lily Lake, as you can see from the photo.  After lunch, we climbed a short hike almost all the way around the lake.

It was a beautiful, sunny day.

Chrissa and I in front of the lake.

Here is part of the path we hiked.

Once you got to the top, the view was amazing.

Here's a rock Karen.  In some places of a hike, it's hard to see the trail, so rangers will put a pile of rocks (called a "Karen") so hikers will know where to go.

On the path, Chrissa found this neat little cave.

After our hike, Chrissa and I looked at the waves of the lake, it strongly reminded us of the ocean.  And our house.

"I miss our house, Elizabeth." Chrissa sadly said.

"I do too, Chrissa, I do too."

Traveling is fun, but there's no place like home.