Anniversary trip to Yellowstone

The best thing we have done so far this summer is for James and I to take a trip, all by ourselves, to Yellowstone for our anniversary. It was so wonderful! It was totally worth the expense for hotels and travel to rejuvenate and reconnect and just bask in the wonder of our nation's first national park.

I have so many pictures and videos from that weekend, over 230, so this blog cannot even begin to cover the highlights. I'll just summarize the main attractions:

1. Buffalo and wildlife
Since Grandma McCartney is a buffalo fan, and she was watching our children for the weekend, we took lots of pictures so she could see the buffalo. We also saw elk, deer, moose, birds, a fox, and we saw people who were seeing wolves through their binoculars but we couldn't see them, but we saw no bear or eagles. The elk in Mammoth Springs area would just lay on the lawn of the hotels and residences and their calves were right next to them.

Elk

Buffalo

Moose (in Grand Teton National Park)

2. Geologic features
I am fascinated by geology, and brought along my book, Roadside Geology of Yellowstone. It explained a lot about how the hot pots and springs formed, and the history of the volcanic episodes of the park. I loved the falls, geysers, springs, mountains, and especially the petrified tree.

This was an ancient redwood tree that got covered in one of the volcanic flows and was petrified.

Old Faithful

Beautiful hot spring terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs. The colors are made by thermophile microscopic creatures that live near the vents of heated water.

Me in the morning mists coming of the spring terraces.

At the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Artists' point.

The Grand Tetons are indeed grand, with Jackson Lake in the foreground.

3. Nice hotels and time with my husband.
Our cabin in Yellowstone was quaint and just perfect for a couple. The night we checked in there was a rainbow above us... a good omen!



Each cabin had a porch, two beds, a sink, closet, dresser, lights, and alarm clock.... no phone or tv, no bathroom. (The cabin down the road held the bathroom and showers.)

Our second night was spent in Jackson Hole at The Point Inn and Suites. We had a king size bed and jacuzzi tub! Ahh, wonderful and relaxing.

I truly love my husband and I am so glad we had this weekend to reconnect and enjoy ourselves. In Jackson we went to the Ripley's Believe it or Not museum, shopped around the town square, and ate lunch. Then it was back home, but the memories from this weekend should keep us going for a good, long time!