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Thursday, June 28, 2012


The Grand Tetons






Allie at the top of Signal Mountain overlooking the Tetons.



We took a River Float down the Snake River, which was fantastic. The guide was very entertaining and we learned a bunch about the local economy, weather, animals and geology. We saw FOUR bald eagles!  And we saw an Osprey snag a fish from the water. When we finished the float, we had an amazing meal of Brisket, Beans, Salad and Strawberry Shortcake - on the banks of the Snake River. Very nice.




This is an Osprey carrying a fish that it just caught. We watched it dive down on the Snake River, grab the fish and fly off. Incredible.






June 27 - Grand Tetons

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

West Yellowstone, Montana

There is a town just outside the West Entrance of Yellowstone National Park called West Yellowstone. Quite the town. For starters when you enter the town you see these series of no-name run-down motels, such as Joe's Two-room motel, which looked as if dinosaurs first constructed it. As expected, the town is a hotspot for tourists visiting Yellowstone and is almost all hotels and restaurants. There are three Best Western hotels within about 300 feet of each other. We stayed at the Best Western Weston, and there were also Best Western Desert's and Cross-wind's motor. Both were within eyesight of our hotel. Another oddity about this strange town was the fact that we had a very difficult time finding a place to eat, at 7:45 on a Monday night. We went to three places and put our name in, all having 25 minute waits. We finally got a spot in a pizza place around 8:20. I imagine several places continuing to shout out "Scott! Table for 4!" Anyways, to top off the town, we ate lunch at a local deli, and when we ordered our sandwiches, they didn't have pickles or banana peppers, so the employee went to a grocery store while we were waiting! We also spotted a man who appeared to be dead at a corner, and my dad yelled out, "Hey there's a statue!!!" The man gave my dad a dirty look.

First Full Day at Grand Teton National Park

Today, Wednesday June 27th was a great day! We enjoyed a nice relaxing morning at colter bay cabins then headed up to Signal Mountain which has an incredible scenic view of the Grand Tetons.  After about a half hour we started making our way to Jackson Hole which was about an hour from where we were staying at colter bay cabins.  The drive to Jackson Hole flew by fast due to the myriad of wonderful outlooks.  We stopped at an Italian restaurant for lunch which was incredible; great view of the tetons and the food was amazing.  After our bellies were filled up, we went to downtown Jackson where Mom and I shopped and Dad and Chad played basketball for about a half hour.  We then ventured off to one of the Barker Ewing headquarters where we were scheduled to have a scenic boat ride on snake river.  The boat ride was amazing, it was about two hours of amazement.  The tour guide was full of unique stories and the view of the Tetons blew us away.  When the boat ride ended, we enjoyed a nice dinner of brisket, beans, garlic bread, salad, and strawberry shortcake for dessert.  We lingered around the picnic area for a little bit, enjoying the view before we got back into the van that would drive us back to our car.  It was definitely an experience that I will never forget.  We are looking forward to two more days in Grand Tetons with bike rides, boat rides, kayaking, running, and just relaxing.    

Friday, June 22, 2012

Mule Deer!!! (thanks Julie!!)

Right on side of the road!!

Thursday, June 21, 2012

On the way to Yellowstone

We had another long drive  - from Sheridan WY, to Yellowstone ahead of us.  Four hours seems like a lot, but this isn't up 128 in traffic or going from CT and through RI up to Boston. There are no cars, the speed limit is 75 and the scenery is stunning. You can see forever.  For much of the ride we were in awe. Chad has been an ace with the maps, and also had provided insights into the towns we're driving through. So many of the towns in WY have less then 500 people. The 10th largest city in Wyoming has 10,000 people. So when we pull into these towns it's an experience. One gas station, speckled houses. And no other towns for 30 miles in each direction. 










A view as we climbed the Bighorn Mountains.







A random, unnamed rock formation by the side of the road.




Buffalo Bill State Park in Wyoming.


The Glutton for Punishment Section:
June 21 - Sheridan WY to Yellowstone

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Happy Anniversary!

Wishing you a Happy Anniversary, Mom & Dad/ Pete & Sheila/ Grammy & Grampy from Devil's Tower, Wyoming!

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Where Are You From Map

Allie and I were shopping in a little place called Hill City. We saw this map in a bathroom there... push pins in a box under the map asking us to show where we live. As you can see we were the only visitors from NH!!

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Please notice the diversion to location "D". It was decided by the team that we should step foot in Nebraska, which happens to be the Official Home of Arbor Day.  The town of Lusk doesn't appear on the map until you zoom in 6-7 clicks. The 456 people of Lusk may be displeased. Or more likely they have no need to be recognized on your google map.


View Larger Map

  We are currently in Hot Springs, South Dakota which is in the southern part of the state.