Day 9! The mountains are calling, and I must go...

Alright!  Feels good to have some speedy internet for a change!

Gotta get everyone up to date on what's been going on!..

On Saturday night, (June 29th) we went for a "Chuck Wagon" ride!.. What a blast!  It was a wagon ride out to a remote area of Roosevelt (Yellowstone) where we had a Cowboy Cookout (it was all-you-can-eat)!..  So naturally, I ate three large and delicious steaks! We also saw our first black bear of the trip!

That evening I played the pipes at sunset... It was a great way to end the day!

Shortly afterwords, we had our second bear encounter!.. The black bear was a hundred yards away, but it was very special because we were the only tourists around!

The next morning (June 30th) we woke up early to see two last geyser basins in Yellowstone (Mammoth Hot Springs and Midway Geyser Basin).  But even before we left our hotel, there was a nice surprise waiting for us outside!  Two baby Elks with their mothers! (the mothers aren't pictured here).

Mammoth Hot Springs was beautiful...

As was the Midway Geyser Basin.  Grand Prismatic Spring is the largest (and most beautiful) hot spring in the United States, and the third largest in the world.  It's steam was glowing blue in the early morning sun!.. Gorgeous!

But alas, all good things must come to an end.  We said our farewells to Yellowstone and hit the road for Jackson, WY (home to my all-time favorite hero-- Han Solo!).  The drive from Yellowstone to Jackson was awe-inspiring.  The Grand Tetons were still capped with snow and their beauty seems impossible to describe...  But in the words of John Muir -- "The mountains are calling, and I must go" seem to do the trick.  This morning we rode a ski-lift to the top of Jackson Hole and hiked around the mountain for a while!  The view was once again incredible!

After our hike we left Jackson and headed for Fossil Butte National Monument which was incredible.  I took a two mile hike around a chunk of the 2 billion year old lake which holds thousands of incredible fossils.  It was awesome!

 We even saw a phenomenal sunset on our way to Rock Springs, WY!.. We are truly blessed to live in a country that is home to such immeasurable natural beauty... What a grand place this is!

--JW