From Colorado to Yellowstone

I'm a bit late posting these, as I uploaded them to my facebook page a couple of days ago. The upside to that, though, is that I'm posting pictures from my new laptop now instead of having to sit at the computer! Not that owning a laptop gives me more time to post or accomplish anything, but at least I can take it with me and steal an extra minute or five here and there. My last laptop gave up the ghost several months ago, so I am thrilled to pieces to have this really cool new one. It was Jeff's 10-year anniversary present to me. Love you, sweetie!

And now I'll try to ignore the guilt that is building since I got an awesome computer and I didn't get anything for him...on our anniversary, we were in the middle of vacation, after all...

So, without further ado, here are the pictures from our 1½-day drive from Colorado Springs to Yellowstone. We drove through the night, so no camp pictures.


On our way out of Colorado Springs, we stopped at Seven Falls (I think). Jeff and the kids made the short hike up to the bridge and beyond, while Lily and I stayed at the bottom. She was out of her stroller, and I was in a boot, so we didn't even attempt to keep up with them.

We did eventually climb up the rock stairway, though. This is the view from the same bridge, looking further up the falls.

A couple of hours later, all of the kids had fallen asleep, so we stopped at a rock store, for lack of a better word. They do landscaping and sell huge rocks and fountains, and in the front of the building is a gorgeous rock garden that's open to passersby. Perfect for them to run around & wake up!

The boys decided we needed a a rock like this. That would be one heck of a game of marbles.

I may just have to find Jeff a chair like this one!

Well, we can't very well travel to England, so here's our Stonehenge substitute:

After driving/napping all night, we stopped at a picnic area just outside the Tetons to wake up the kids, get dressed, and eat breakfast. The hitch platform made a great breakfast table.

An hour or so later, we finally made it! (In case you're wondering, no, Lily did not take the picture. ;) She was asleep in her carseat just out of your sight, but not out of ours.)

I don't remember if this was just before we got to Yellowstone, or just after, but as I was driving and starting to get a little sleepy, I saw a marker for another set of waterfalls. Perfect timing! Kids can stretch their legs, Mom can wake up so she doesn't kill anyone.

We did finally make it to Old Faithful. We ate a picnic lunch and then headed to the viewing area. Thankfully, and quite accidentally, we timed our arrival just right and only had to wait about 30-35 minutes to see the eruption!