August 31st to September 7th

Please pardon our lack of updates for the last month but we have been
blessed with company from home for the entire month.  We started  August 31st, with by brother Dan and his new wife Amy arriving.  We spent the first day of their visit touring the Canyon Area.  The first picture is of "Uncle Tom's Trail".  A 328 step stairway down into the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone as viewed from the Lower Falls overlook.  We didn't give this one a try.  We know our limitations. 
We then went up to the Roosevelt Lodge where we took a trail ride on wagons to the Cowboy Cookout.  It is a 25 minute ride out to a picnic area in the mountains where you have a wonderful steak dinner, cowboy music, and a campfire with real "Cowboy Coffee".  A horseshoe thrown in for flavor so the legend goes.  We spent the night at Mammoth Hot Springs cabins and the next morning did some touring of the travertine terraces there - quite a site and the visitor center, Gibbon Falls and 
Firehole Canyon drive where we caught the chipmunk posing in the sun. Then headed back to the Old Faithful area just in time for my sister Judy and her son Randy to arrive Friday afternoon.

On Saturday the six of us did some intense touring of the lower loop.  Our first stop was West Thumb Geyser Basin which we toured along with a herd of elk.  Also stops at Gull Point, Yellowstone Lake Hotel, LeHardy Rapids, a picnic lunch, Hayden Valley (lots of bison), Mud Volcano, Canyon Visitors Center which has an awesome topographical map of the park, then into West Yellowstone, MT for pizza & beer. 




Dan & Amy left on Sunday Sept. 4th and Judy, Randy, Jim and I did the geyser tour down the west side of the park including Norris Geyser Basin, Fountain Paint Pots, and Midway Geyser Basin.  Saw all kinds of fascinating geysers, mud pots, steam vents, etc.  Stopped for another picnic lunch and a dip of the toes in the Firehole River which is warmed by Excelsior Geyser at Midway Geyser Basin by dumping 4000 gallons a minute of hot water into the river.

Tuesday Jim had to work so Judy, Randy & I toured the Canyon area and Randy did "Uncle Tom's Trail".  He said it was a tough one so we were glad we decided to wait at the top for him.  Then headed back to the Old Faithful area and toured the Upper Geyser basin.  Ended the tour with a really nice dinner at the Old Faithful Inn.  They departed on Wed. the 7th and toured the Grand Tetons on their way back to Jackson Hole to fly out on the 8th.  



It was wonderful  having visitors from home!!



More to come.........
Ann