Yellowstone and Grand Teton

We arrived in Yellowstone Thursday morning and drove around the upper loop.  First stop: Mammoth Hot Springs where it was crazy to see steam coming out of the ground.  The ground was white and trickles of water were all around.  There were many boardwalks and stairs leading to many different views.  It was something I had never seen but I wouldn't say it was pretty or scenic - just interesting and smelled terrible.  The sulfur smell from the hot springs fills the air with what I would describe as someone burning rotten eggs, It was hard not to hurry back to the car.

My favorite view of the whole trip happened next in Calcite Springs.  It was a view from the top of a cliff where you look down over the Yellowstone River with one bank being white (I believe that would be the calcite).  You could hear the rushing water of the river and it was so peaceful.

Supporting the Hurricanes from Yellowstone!

After a few more stops to view waterfalls and other scenery we made our way to our room for the night at the Old Faithful Inn.  Our room wasn't ready yet so we took a tour of the property and saw the geyser go off.  Old Faithful is impressive and a huge tourist attraction.   We have had almost every other park to ourselves but Yellowstone was jumping. 

So Old Faithful Inn...what to say...it is a large wooden cabin looking lodge.  It was pretty and you felt like you went back in time especially in the rooms.  No AC, internet, phone or TV made for a long night.  Some find it nice and relaxing to get away from it all but we aren't those people.  I was actually ok after I put my ear plugs in since I couldn't hear people, doors, toilets or creaking floors and I went to sleep.

We did decide to only stay the one night instead of our planned two because rain is heading in and we wanted to see the Grand Teton National Park in nicer weather (not to mention some of the road closures in Yellowstone added an extra few hours of driving time if we stayed another night).

Friday started still in Yellowstone seeing the Grand Prismatic Spring and whoa tourists.  We could barely find a parking spot and walking on the boardwalk wasn't easy with people stopping in the middle and flipping their hair to do a selfie.  We got to see the spring along with other geysers but it was very steamy and you really couldn't see the color variation like on the postcards.

Next we went to the Grand Canyon in Yellowstone and it made me want to see the real Grand Canyon.  It was beautiful with waterfalls going over steep canyon walls.

Yellowstone Lake was huge and had some of the best views of the trip.  It had everything - mountains, water, changing leaves and wasn't as crowded as the rest of the park.

Also, Yellowstone has giant Ravens that are loud and not afraid of people. They will walk right up to and either take food or squawk for a handout.

Grand Teton National Park is just south of Yellowstone so we made our way there and because you only have to pay once for both parks we didn't have to stop at a ranger station so we didn't have  a map.  We first came to Jackson Lake and then headed toward Lake Jenny and took a scenic drive along the edge of the mountains.  I think I liked this better than Yellowstone.  Yellowstone was a lot of driving through pine trees so it was hard to see the mountains but Grand Tetons you can see the whole time.  It was less crowded and made our stops to see the sites more enjoyable.

Nebraska...Who Knew?

What a great day!

Started early leaving the icky hotel and driving from Cheyenne, WY to Gering, Nebraska.  The scenery was amazing.  Going through the prairies you can see forever and then you start to see the sandstone bluffs on the horizon. 

We stopped at Scotts Bluff and walked on the Oregon Trail a little, took some fun pictures and then headed up to the top.
The rock formations are beautiful. I couldn't get enough and took a ton of pictures.

We kept going east and saw Chimney Rock (just from the car), Courthouse Rock and Jail Rock.  There was a great sign and view from a spot just off the road.

After a lunch of McDonalds (don't judge - the grand city of Alliance, NE didn't give us many choices), we saw Carhenge.  It was worth a 20 minute walk around and some goofy pictures.

On our way to South Dakota we drove through Oglala National Grasslands/ It was interesting for about 5 minutes but then it was just a whole lot of grass.

Finally at the Holiday Inn in Rapid City, South Dakota and getting ready for a big day at the Badlands tomorrow!

Weird Little America

Okay this hotel was just weird.   You know when you are using the bathroom and you suddenly think I could really go for a soda and a hot pocket?  This hotel solves that little life problem like this:

That's right it is a mini fridge and microwave right across from the toilet!  Yuck just yuck!

They must also feel like the 70's look isn't working anymore and are redecorating but the furniture is outside and has been for for at least a day and night.

Hartford - Denver - Cheyenne

We said goodbye to my parents and our puppies and departed Hartford at 1pm EDT.  After a brief layover in our beloved NC (Charlotte) we arrived in Denver at 6pm Mountain time.

We proceeded to baggage claim and then Enterprise for our ride (Kia Sportage) and hit the open road.  Next stop - Cheyenne, WY. 

Made it to our hotel:

This sign and the lobby are beautiful but the room is straight up 70's shabby (no chic). 

Some sleep and then up early heading to Nebraska!