Day 3: Bubble, Bubble, Boil and Trouble!

Our third day in Yellowstone landed us exploring the southern loop. We started off with sunrise pictures over Lake Yellowstone (the lake our cabin was on). We drove out to the east entrance past Fishing Bridge in hopes of finding more grizzlies. We enjoyed Lake Butte and Lake Sylvan along the way. The calm, serene lakes reminded us of the Klondike Highway in Alaska.

On our way back to the main loop, we spotted a traffic jam. They had spotted a huge male grizzly "strolling" along side a lake. We followed him for a few miles (he was hauling!) and were impressed by his ability to run sideways across a mountain.

After bear time, it was time to head to the most famous Yellowstone attraction-- Old Faithful. Ironically, Old Faithful isn't as reliable as it used to be. She goes about every 90 minutes now, so we were able to see it from the grandstands once and from the end of a hike we did 90 minutes later.

Perhaps one of the best experiences we had here was doing the geyser stroll. With the boardwalks to ourselves, we timed our walk by the Plume Geyser perfectly. She erupted with us about 30 feet away. Nearly scared us off the planks, but pretty spectacular! After our time at the geysers, we explored the black sand basin, rainbow and emerald pools. This was what we had remembered the most from the north island of NZ.

We left Yellowstone in time to catch the sunset at Oxbow Bend in Grand Teton National Park. Because of a wildfire on the western slope of the tetons (Idaho-side), the tetons weren't as visible as they could have been. We still managed a few really pretty shots-- one made even more magical by the female moose strolling through the water!

As it turned dark, we made the scary, windy, gravel road drive to Teton Village where we checked into a really nice ski-in-ski-out mountain lodge resort. We ate a fancy restaurant where we had halibut and a food resembling crab cakes that I can't recall it's name. It was a fun day, but we were exhausted and anxious to start our day in the Tetons.

Day 2: Bison, Wolves, and Bears OH MY!

Our 2nd day found us up and on the road at 5 am so we could catch the wolves as they wake up to play in Lamar Valley. We drove the very scenic Beartooth highway into the NE entrance of the park. We nearly immediately encountered bison on the road, dead moose in the prairie, and wolves in the valley. We spent an hour or so watching two wolves play. We were lucky enough to sit next to a spotter who comes out to the valley every single morning before work. He follows the wolves and knows their habits. We learned the black wolf was a 6 month old pup. Quite big already, but pretty neat to see a black one! The gray/silver wolf played in the water for us. Pretty neat!

On our way towards the top half of the famous figure-8 loop of Yellowstone, we spotted a grizzly off the side of the road. We were able to watch him dig up roots from about 20' away. Dave commented later how his flight-or-fight mechanism was kicking in just as the ranger asked the group to proceed slowly back to their cars. The bear wanted to cross the road and we definitely didn't want to be in his way!

From here, we headed to Tower Falls where we could no longer travel south due to wildfires, but did manage to encounter lots of long-horn sheep including a little baby. Nearing lunchtime, we headed to the elk-infested Mammoth Springs for a quick bite before doing the hikes through the neat calcium and travertine tiered beds. Reminded us of a less-smelly version of Rotoura, NZ. We thought some of the best geothermals were at the start of this hike and the stairs probably just weren't worth the effort!

Mammoth Springs

The top western part of the loop had some really neat open fields that had turned golden yellow. While we didn't stop much here, we did snap a few photos of the mossy river beds in foliage. We completed our day heading to the famous Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and the wonderful Lower and Upper Falls. This is probably the most photographed part of the park. I think we took every pull out and walked every lookout, but in the end, the famous "Artist Point" was the best shot.

We checked into our cabin for the night and got dinner in the lodge cafeteria. Nothing special, but a decent homestyle meal. The cabin was another story. The only available place left in the park by the time we booked, it was made of wood panelling, sheets from 30 years ago, and a shower full of pink mildew. Luckily it had heat and was relatively quiet (minus the roaming bison at night) or we would've preferred to have camped! We went to bed early knowing we wanted out of our horrid cabin as soon as possible in the morning.

Day 1: Drive Drive Drive

The first day of our anniversary trip to Yellowstone and the Tetons was spent driving. After saying goodbye to the girls (so hard to do!), we set out for the 9 hour drive to Cody. We encountered a few unusual spots of terrain we weren't expecting (see pictures), but it was an otherwise pretty uneventful drive.

We arrived in Cody just prior to dinner time. And while I had planned on us going to a Wild Wild West dinner and show (chuckwagon style), they had stopped it the week prior for the season.

Luckily, (to our surprise), the towns fall festival was going on. They had a fashion show and many booths of crafts, gifts, and food set up. The fashion show was all cowboy-style but it was very representative of the rest of the town. Dave and I had immediately noticed we were one of the view not wearing cowboy boots, hats or leather pants.

We ate at the restaurant several locals recommended where we both had delcious slow cooked ribs. After taking in a few stores and getting photography ideas for the upcoming days, we hit the hay for a very early start to our day.

Crescent Moon Tri

It was early to bed, early to rise for this race. Dave was up and heading out at 5 am and I trailed behind about an hour. We had beautiful sunny weather (surprise, surprise!) but I am sure the water was still chilly! Dave was the first wave out (with the elites). I couldn't believe how push and shove it looked. Each of the 7 waves were ~100 people, so you can imagine the kicking that had to go on until they got a bit more spaced apart.

Dave's entire wave wore green caps, so it wasn't easy to spot him, but luckily, I had anticipated his 750m swim time (15 min) just right!

I sprinted up the huge hill to the transition area and even caught Dave mounting his bike. 12 miles and about 30 mins later, I snapped a few photos as he completed the bike leg.

His T2 (Transition #2) time was spectacular. As of an hour after his finish, his T2 time was 2nd place out of everyone at 27 seconds! Keep in mind, he must put his bike back on the assigned rack, change shoes, and take his helmet off and proceed to the running exit. All that in less than half a minute-- quite impressive!

He ran the final leg at ~6:45 pace. He felt he could've done better on the run but his legs had cramped up after the swim and bike.

Afterward, they served Jim and Nick's BBQ. We enjoyed it down at the picnic tables by the lake. It was really yummy!

I am quite proud of my husband! He has trained so hard this past year to compete in these triathlons. It's amazing how great in shape he is as a result.

Picnic in the park

As I'm sure you've heard in the news, we've had fantastic weather. Of course this has equated to no rain which has caused serious wildfires in the area. I'm really loving our fall so far though! Today was yet another beautiful day (75-sunny) to enjoy a picnic lunch.

We walked the girls to Subway and then to the neighborhood's main park. We remembered the girls' 40' tie-outs so they had lots more freedom. We even spent some time being kids on the jungle gym. I sure don't remember monkey bars being so difficult! HA.

We enjoyed our lunch while we watched a man train his extremely obedient lab to fetch items out of the lake and fields. The girls watched intently and hopefully picked up a tip or two. Ah, who am I kidding?! They are huskies afterall!

At one point, Dave walked beyond the girls' leash reach to throw trash out. This caused little Sequoia to get really upset. Dave had to console her upon his return. It was pretty adorable.

We walked back via the scenic route along the lakes and creek. All in all, it was a great way to spend our lunch and afternoon!

Team Jacob or Team Edward?

Dave and I finally saw the 3rd Twilight movie (Eclipse) this weekend and it was definitely very heavy on the Team Edward vs Team Jacob. Gotta say, I am still Team Edward. And the final installment better find my team winning! :)

Sorry for the lack of exciting posts these weekend. We had two date nights (dinner+movie on Friday) and dinner last night. We scattered in a bunch of home projects for which I'll post pictures of when complete. We contemplated a hike today but after finding out the Pack's first game would be televised here in CO, we couldn't pass up being lazy!

Buck Bowling

We ended our Labor Day weekend with dinner and bowling with our friends Brian and Miranda. They recently made the (becoming common) move from Sunnyvale to CO. We are very excited to have more of our CA friends out here!

Dave struggled the first few frames but rallied!

We were surprised to find out that it was dollar-mania night at the alley. We got there a bit late so we only had time for 2 games, but judging by our team score in that final game, it was probably all we needed!

Brian and Miranda

As you know, I didn't inherit my mother's talents in bowling. I'm normally very ecstatic to score above 100. Well, our friends must've been the magic ingredient as I bowled EXCEPTIONAL! I had 3 strikes and 3 spares in the first game for a 140!

Oh, and I almost forgot the best news of all regarding our friends moving here! They are currently under contract on a house in our neighborhood! We are so excited to have them close-by!

Been there, DUNE that!

We have wanted to get out to the Dunes for quite awhile, but timing of life has gotten in the way until now. I'll be honest, until I moved here, I did not know that North America's tallest dunes were in Colorado! I guess I had never really thought of CO as desert-like!

Great Sand Dunes National Park

We were actually kind of glad the timing had us going in September because I'm not sure the June-August summer heat would've allowed us to take the dogs. The highs while we were there were mid-70s and the overnight lows in the 40s [perfect camping weather!].

Not quite half-way up to High Dune

We decided to load up on water and make the trek to the top of High Dune. With a 700' climb, we figured it would be cake! What we did not account for was the lack of rain in the past weeks. This, combined with high winds, made the sand very loose and deep. Rain can help firm it up which makes it easier for hiking. It was definitely very different having your foot sink in a few inches with each step you took.

One of the many ridgelines we traversed on our way up

The hike was pretty slow going as a result, but at least the weather was not hot! We kept an eye on the sand temperature (actually, I hiked most of it barefoot) so that we knew when it was time to put the booties on the girls. About half-way up, we stopped to rest and eat our lunch. Sequoia had a blast playing with the little wiener dog that was off leash. From our lunch location, you could see a ton of dunes-goers [most of which would never make it as far as we had for lunch].

Our lunch location-- aren't the girls cute?

After lunch, we had two more major dune ridgelines to traverse before we had a more gradual climb to the top of High Dune. At this point, the girls were doing better than I!

We are almost to the top!!

From the top of High Dune, we got to enjoy 360 degree views of the Sangre De Cristos, the San Juans, and sand dunes for as far as you could see! There were several folks who had hiked to the top with snowboards, so we enjoyed watching them cruise down the dunes. The secret is apparently WD-40. Not that you'll ever get me to hike up those dunes with a snowboard in tow!

Family photo at the top of High Dune

On the way down, the girls paws got hot. Sequoia started to walk funny and would randomly sit down. After we got their booties on, they charged full-speed down the dunes. Going down was (obviously) much easier than going up. While we had to zig-zag all the way up, we took the faster, more efficient way down.... straight. It was quite fun!

Dave with the girls and their booties

Girls first camping trip!

After our time in Buena Vista, it was off to the Great Sand Dunes. Because we left a day earlier in anticipation of large holiday crowds, we were able to get nearly a first pick of all the campsites.

The girls LOVED camping!

We found a site with shade (trees), a great view of the Sangre De Cristo mountains and the Sand Dunes, and one that came with a firepit and picnic table. We got the tent assembled pretty quickly and the girls almost immediately fell asleep on their tent beds.

The view from our campsite of the Dunes

After relaxing for a bit, we headed down to the National Park to wander around. It was the girls first experience on sand, so they had a good time! We snapped some sunset photos of the dunes and the wildlife before grabbing a hot meal at a restaurant near the campgrounds.

Our campsite

Dave's big camping thing is smores. We didn't pack any of the necessary gear or supplies (woops!), so we had to stop at a convenience store. We got a good fire going (yay Dave!) and we roasted marshmallows for those oh-so-gooey-and-perfect smores. I think Dave took down half a dozen of them!

Yummmm!

Beautiful Buena Vista

Our Labor Day camping weekend started in the Pike National Forest. We drove far deeper than we had ever gone on 285 exploring areas like Santa Maria, Kenosha Pass, and Buena Vista.

Santa Maria; Pike Nat'l Forest

We've always heard from locals that we should go to Kenosha Pass in the fall and I think we just might now! The entire area is covered in Aspens and I can imagine turns beautiful gold in late September.

The dogs love car rides!

As always, the girls were great travelers. They pretty much sleep in the car until it slows down. Then they sit up, put their noses all over the windows, and try to figure out where or what we are doing. Once we get going again, they lay back down.

Kenosha Pass-- those are all aspens!

One of the highlights of our day was Buena Vista. The Collegiate Peaks were a big surprise for us. I hadn't realized there were THAT many 14'ers in that area. And the dramatic contrast of the peaks to the plains was just breathtaking. We had meals at Pizza Works and K's. The wait at K's was ridiculously long, but the ice cream more than made up for it!

Collegiate Peaks outside Buena Vista