Grand Canyon, Day 3

Today was the last day of our grandkids trip and we had lots to pack in.

1^st off, catch the 8a.m. shuttle bus to Hermit’s Rest for the Junior Ranger/Family Hike. We haven’t been to Hermit’s Rest in many years and think that we just stopped and looked much like yesterday, but we didn’t even know about the trail so this was all new.

We got to the trail and found the ranger, there was only 2 other people, a father and his son so we were lucky to be in such a small group.

The Hermit’s Rest trail is mostly unmaintained which means that it is rocky and uneven. It is really a beautiful trail but steeper than the Bright Angel with many steps carved out of rock that are tall. I think that it would be very difficult to hike with a large backpack on. The trail does meet up with the Bright Angel but again I don’t think that I’d hike this one with a big pack on. The kids had no problem with this trail though.

We spent time at the Hermit’s Rest after the hike and were so amazed at the structure. It was designed by Mary Colter who also designed the Bright Angel Lodge, Lookout Studio and Desert View. There is a huge fireplace that is lit, as per the staff, during the winter on very cold days. I think we will try to go there during the winter. They also welcome dogs during the winter, purchasing dog biscuits for our furry friends.

From Hermit’s Rest we thought that we’d stop along the way so that Christabel could finish up her Junior Ranger book. I had the big idea that we could stop at the Lookout Studio, we would enjoy the view and some coffee while Christabel completed her last page, a drawing.

Dale and I were sitting when Bel rushed up crying, she had placed her book on the ledge so that she could get her pencil when a gust of wind blew her book right off the ledge and down into the canyon. What a catastrophe!

I hurried Bel to the ranger at the Vercamp’s, now mostly a visitor’s center, thinking that the ranger on staff would help. We found Ranger Eric and I explained what had happened; Christabel had finished everything but one page including the Junior Ranger Hike (Charlotte brought her book along as proof). Ranger Eric listened to poor Christabel’s tale of woe and told her that it was ok. Ranger Eric gave Bel the pledge and the badge and we were able to obtain the Hike Patch after all. We got ice cream floats in celebration!

We then took the kids to see the Ancient’s ruins and Desert View before returning to the RV.

For our last evening I put into a large pot, sliced potatoes, sliced carrots, chicken thighs and dumped in leftover chicken broth. We then packed up a table cloth, napkins, our picnic basket and pack then took off again to one of the rim overlooks.

At the overlook we backed the pickup up to the rim walkway and put the tailgate down. We got the camp stove out and I put on the pot of chicken stuff. We set up our foldup picnic table, put on the tablecloth, poured some wine and enjoyed the evening. When our dinner was ready we all sat down and ate by the rim.

Wow, what a way to enjoy our last night together!

Grand Canyon, Day 2

We had planned to get up early, be on the 8a.m. shuttle to the end of the road at Herman’s Rest then go on the 9a.m. Family Ranger Hike down the Herman’s Rest Trail. Unfortunately we learned, earlier, that our campsite was reserved for the night so we would need to move.

The host told us of another site which was likely to be vacated but we  needed to make certain. We finally saw the campers and verified that they would be leaving so went to dump while we waited. We dumped at a private campground and were happy that we were in Ten-X rather than have full hookups with internet and close neighbors.

By 11:30 we packed up a lunch, got into Grand Canyon Park, parked at the Bright Angel and hiked down the Bright Angel Trail about 1-1/2 miles. It was getting really hot so we just turned around after lunch but the kids had a great introduction to hiking the canyon. Christabel, the one who really didn’t like to hike asked if we could hike down to the bottom of the canyon sometime.

We took the shuttle all the way to Hermit’s Rest just for the ride then road one stop back to the Village where we hopped out to walk to the Abyss. The trail goes along the edge of the Canyon, some of it right on the edge.

 We got back on the shuttle at the Abyss, tired but happy!

Grand Canyon, Day 1

Another day of driving and we were at the Grand Canyon south rim. As the campgrounds were full we stopped at a campground just south of the park called Ten X. The campground host saw us looking for a site, we’d left Bel and Elias at one already. The host gave us the number of one he thought was perfect; he went and picked up the kids while we got into our campsite.

In the morning we went straight to the canyon as we wanted to eat breakfast at the El Tovar. When our boys were young and the farm was falling apart we went to the Grand Canyon and someone told us to go to the El Tovar for breakfast as one can find a cheaper yet just as lovely meal. We have always done that.

The kids were excited to go into the El Tovar for a meal but careful not to look like we were out of place. Bel reminded me not to look around too much as to seem as if I never go to a place so nice. We had a great breakfast, kids were convinced, once again, that they had the best meal ever.

From the El Tovar we gathered the Junior Ranger booklets and then walked along the canyon enjoying the views. At the lookout studio we took a photo of all of us, and found some books at the Kolb studio.

We had an early dinner back at the campground where the kids played rock hopping games and then a nice campfire.

A Day in Taos

I hate it when I’ve written a bunch and then it gets deleted. So I must start this day’s blog over:

The plan for Taos was mostly eating, the Taos Pueblo, The San Francisco de Asis and more eating. We have been to Taos many times and had our favorite restaurants, but as we all know, things change.

We had to check in at the office so I asked the person running the campground where to find the best sopapillas was. Unfortunately the place we’d always gone had changed hands and was no longer the best. She reported that the best place now is El Taoseno. We went to El Taoseno and found a very authentic restaurant, nothing fancy at all. We asked for the sopapillas but they were not serving them until 11:30a.m. The waitress asked the cook who did make them for our grandkids. I ordered chili stew which was some of the best I’ve had since “The Shed”.

We were able to get into the Taos Pueblo and spent a couple of hours wondering around. Dale and I have wonderful memories of Christmas Eve there years ago but it was nice to wonder at our leisure. This pueblo has been in existence for over 1000 years and people live much the same now. The council has decided to rebuild those homes which have fallen into disrepair so it was interesting to see how the building proceeds. I paid the extra fee to take photos but agreed to not use the photos except for my own use so cannot post any here.

We did do a short visit to the San Francisco de Asis, those of you who have visited us know that I have photographed this church. As a storm was approaching we did not spend much time and I don’t know if the kids took an interest in it.

The staff at the campground had made a recommendation for a place to eat great blue corn enchiladas at Orlando’s. This does not sound like a New Mexico name but the place is great! It is a very small restaurant, 2 rooms with limited tables and outdoor seating. Kids were very impressed too.

From the restaurant we found that we were close to the Rio Grande. If you have never crossed over the Rio Grande just outside of Taos, this is another must do. The gorge is a couple of hundred feet deep with the river running thru it. The bridge has walkways on both sides of the road and a lookout in the center. There was a full moon so we were able to see the river by the light of the moon giving it a different effect than in the day.

Trying to Get to Taos

We love Taos, we’ve even looked at moving to Taos or Santa Fe, it is a place we escape to when we can take a break. Taos not only has wonderful food but just an atmosphere about it, artistic and holistic. We wanted to share this place with our grandkids.

We started off with a bang, literally. Driving down I-25, just before the New Mexico border smoke started pouring out from under the RV. Dale was driving and I had been sleeping before my turn to drive. I woke up and was doing something or another when smoke pouring out on my side caught my eye. I told Dale “something’s burning; something is burning, smoke, smoke”.

Dale found a place to pull over on a wider part of the shoulder and found the rear right spring broken. This same spring broke a couple of years ago in the northern coast. At that time we had huge hassles with buying another spring and had to buy a set. Now we were glad that we had an extra spring along saving us the hassles of finding one.

Dale was working to get the spring off of the RV when another RV’er stopped. He came over and introduced himself offering to help. The man had been very ill and when his tire blew out was hardly able to change it. No one stopped to help him at that time and he vowed that he would never leave another RV’er by the side of the road without offering to help. What a great philosophy!

After Dale and our new friend worked for probably an hour we were ready to head on down the road again. We gave him a bottle of wine from our collection and we were on our way to Taos.

We arrived at the campground lots later than we had hoped and needed to start immediately on dinner. Charlotte wanted to BBQ some cod and steam some potatoes. We formed our plan to get everything done as quickly as possible.

Dale started a fire in the BBQ and it was about ready for the fish when a camper came by. He told us that there were no fires allowed at all, signs were all over stating that fact. That may have been true but we didn’t see any signs but then we were not paying attention to anything other than the fact we needed to get dinner on. The camper went on to tell Dale that if Dale were caught with the fire we would be fined or that he would be jailed. OPPS! Guess the BBQ wasn’t such a great idea after all. We moved the cod cooking inside and got on with our meal.

On the Road to the Top of the World

A road goes nearly around Rocky Mountain National Park that starts down in Boulder, thru Estes Park and then over a 12,000+ summit and onto the west side. The road, at 12,000 looks down onto most peaks full of snow and glaciers.

We thought that we’d drive up to the Alpine Visitor’s Center just past the summit on our last day in the Rockies. A plus is that part way up is a Junior Ranger Headquarters and Christabel could get her Jr. Ranger Badge here.

We started out and it is a drive that I highly recommend. Near the summit the road is above tree line and mountains are visible to the west. It is amazing to look down onto mountains that look so high from Denver and see the peaks.

Herds of Elk were at the top where we also encountered snow and hail then pouring rain. A visitor’s center has exhibits on building the road and a few other things, it is small but the gift shop next door is huge with lots of stuff and a café. We were able to eat our picnic lunch in the café without being bothered which was nice that we were not forced to purchase something.

Upon our return to Granite Basin we hopped on a free shuttle bus just to ride around once. We got off at Bear Lake and were going to walk around the lake but mosquitos were so bad we found the first shuttle bus out and hopped on it.

Time to pack up for the drive to Taos.

Hike to Sprague Lake

Waking up in Rocky Mountain National Park is a wondrous thing. The Glacier Basin is surrounded by mountains so clouds are over some with other peaks visible. The basin campground has campsites are on ½ of the area with a large glassy area around the entry. A river runs along one end of the campground from the mountains on thru the valley.

Kids woke up and informed me that they had already had 2 hikes, one just after I left and one yesterday. They really wanted for us to go back to Sprague Lake a 1-1/2 mile hike each way. This sounded great as I’d been sitting for way too many hours.

We packed up a picnic lunch complete with tablecloth, wine, cheese, meat and breads in our picnic backpack and took off for the lake. On the way the kids pointed to the general area that a hawk is protecting, swooping at passersby. The hawk had been busy dive bombing another person when they went thru so that the hawk ignored them as they passed.

The hike is so scenic but then it is in the Rockies. A stream runs along most of the trail all the way up to the lake.

As we were hiking along and talking 4 kids emerged from the forest on the other side of the stream. They asked if we knew how to get to Sprague Lake and we said yes that the kids had been there already and were leading us. They asked if they could come along, they had been hiking and had taken a wrong turn and had gotten lost. We had the 4 new kids join our group and they told us everything we ever needed to know about them on the way up.

When we got to the top the lost kids found their parents, we took photos of the lake and then our kids found the perfect picnic spot where we spread out our picnic lunch.

Back to My Vacation

Needless to say after a day of workshops, a very boring afternoon I may say, I hopped the hotel shuttle for the airport. I didn’t have much to eat during the day as there wasn’t much gluten free food and I was anxious for dinner and a cappuccino. Security was empty so I rushed thru to get to the food only to find that I was on the far end of the airport in a very small wing. There was only one vendor with pre-made sandwiches, some bananas and canned sodas. GURR! I started to blog but then the battery started dying and the outlets didn’t work. Oh well, I got to read the book I’d brought along “Packing For Mars”.

Thunderstorms were once again in the Denver area when we took off but by the time we arrived they had moved off to the east and traffic was going again. Lightning was flashing and the ride was bumpy but we made it.

Dale was there to pick me up at the curb and we were soon headed up to the mountains.

By this time I was really hungry. We stopped at Burger King but they did not make, or even know what a lettuce wrap was. We then went next door to McDonalds who said “oh yes, we can make a lettuce wrap”. We paid and picked up our food then driving down the road I opened my hamburger only to find a regular hamburger that included a piece of lettuce inside the bun. I’m guessing they don’t know what a lettuce wrap is in Denver!

Now to the Rockies

We’d planned to spend 3 days in Rocky National Park but having never been there before were unsure of what exactly we would do. Then in Minnesota, Crawford called asking me to please attend a workshop in Dallas, they would pay all expenses. This would occur during our Rocky Mt. time. I thought that Dale and the kids could still enjoy the mountains and I could make a quick trip from Denver.

When we got into the park we found that all of the National Park campgrounds were full except one another hour away with a pass of 12,000’. We found a private campground nearby instead for the night.

Early in the morning Dale and I got up and went to Glacier Basin, the one nearby campground that takes campers on a stand-by basis. We got to the campground by 7a.m. and got on the list and by 7:30 we had a site for the night. We assured the ranger that we were flexible we just wanted to stay for 3 nights.

Dale and I drove back to the private campground where we’d left the RV with kids sleeping, packed it up and went back to Glacier Basin. When we arrived the ranger had a different site for us, one that was open for 7 days so that we would not need to change sites during our visit.

We sat up camp then Dale and I took off for Denver so that I could catch my plane. Since we were concerned about him being gone so long from the kids he dropped me off at the curbside.

I became concerned about Dale when, an hour or so later, a huge thunderstorm hit the area. It was lightning right at the airport so that no flights could take off or land. 3 hours later the storm finally moved off of the airport and planes could take off. The airport was jam packed with people and they were practically pushing the people onto the planes. Finally after midnight I got into my hotel room in Dallas.

A Detour On the Cut-off

The new adventure began after leaving Mt. Rushmore; we were heading southeast towards Wounded Knee, then planned to turn south. It was getting late and we still needed to make and eat dinner. After driving for some time we had the great idea that we’d take a cut off road to the Badland’s on the south border then camp for the night in the park. (thinking like some of the pioneers) We turned to the east on the cut-off road which was a great road, at least for a few miles. The road then turned to gravel but it was a good gravel road so we were not too concerned, we only had another 30 miles or so. Well the fact was that the road turned narrow and full of ruts, we were only able to drive at 5-20 mph.

We finally, a couple of hours later, arrived in the Badlands and the paved road only to find that there was no place to pull off the road. We drove north for quite a few miles when we finally found a space to pull off we did and started our dinner, 10:30pm. A couple of cars came roaring by blasting their horns and we determined that we were on a road that was more than a just turn off.

In the morning we woke up and found that we were not only on a dirt road but taking up ½ of it. Dale thought that he could just drive up a little further and turn around in a wide place in the road. Great except that the side dropped off more than he had anticipated so he could not turn around at all. He, unfortunately, had to polish up his backing up skills and quick. After lots of starts and stops he backed up for probably ½ mile to the main road.

Wounded knee is a very moving place. The museum was not open, they were on Indian time and did not open while we were there. We walked up to the grave site and read the names on the gravestone. Then we spent a little time reflecting on the horrible massacre that occurred and the innocent people who died.

After driving south for a couple of hours we were hungry for lunch and turned off at Fort Robinson. We drove around a bit finding a place to park near the historic fort buildings. There, next to us, was a monument on the spot where Crazy Horse was stabbed and died. A fit ending to our Crazy Horse investigation.

Crazy Horse & Mt. Rushmore

8 years ago we came thru this area on our way to Mt. Rushmore passing the Crazy Horse sculpture. We didn’t stop because we did not want to spend too much extra money but did take photos from the road. Since that time we learned that the Crazy Horse Memorial is only being made thru private donations. Also because we were spending time with American Indian issues we thought it would be a good time to visit.

Crazy Horse is a very short drive from Custer although driving an RV adds to the time for us. I think it takes about 1 hour with an RV.

The memorial is well organized with lots of RV and auto parking. We paid $25 which is the price for a car load of people. After parking visitors enter into a Visitor Center to watch a film on the building of the memorial and then enter a very large museum. Many people have made donations of historic items filling several large rooms. It is really collection overload.

From the museum, people go onto a patio where the models of the monument are located. Everyone takes a photo of the model with the actual sculpture in the background; well I didn’t but others did. We wanted to go out to the actual monument but there is a charge of $4 or $5/ person to ride a bus to the base and $125/person to go up on the arm. We didn’t feel like paying so much more so we just looked from the patio.

I should mention that the exhibits also include a couple of rooms of the home of the sculpture and a peek into his workshop.

Mt. Rushmore is only another hour away so worth a visit. When we arrived at Mt. Rushmore it was starting to rain so we went into the Visitor’s Center 1^st, but we needed to collect the Jr. Ranger info anyway.

It continued to rain and mist but we enjoyed the visitor’s center, learning about the area. We would go out on occasion, when the clouds would lift, for a look and photo or two. We were lucky though, the rain stopped and we were able to do some walks before leaving. A longer walk is available that goes to the sculpture studio and then back to either the visitor’s center or the parking lot. The walk is considered more strenuous but we didn’t think that it was so bad and it was very scenic.

4th of July in Custer, S.D.

Before we could leave the Badlands we had to make one last trip to the Visitor’s center for the last purchases: a Junior Ranger hat for Christabel, books for Elias, water bottles for the RV.

Today is July 4^th so we wanted to take the kids to Custer, S.D. We were here 8 years ago for the 4^th and it was so fun that we thought that the kids would like that too. I found on-line that there was to be an old-time parade and fair in the afternoon and a kid’s area for old-time games.

After a drive thru the black hills we got to Custer when it started pouring rain. We dropped off the RV at the park and then went downtown to the fair. The fair was held at the historic courthouse and was very small but fun with booths of jewelry, candles, quilts and wood work stuff. Old cars were to be on display but when we arrived it was raining so we do not know if the cars had already been towed off.

We walked thru the fair looking at the displays then listened to the kids singing on a stage. I entered a raffle for $5.00 to win a handmade quilt. It was still raining and nearly over so most people were leaving early.

After a quick dinner we decided to go to the fireworks area. We’d heard that they might start at 9:30p.m. but the web-site said 8:30 so we went early. The fireworks display is held on Pageant Hill, a hill behind the town of Custer. The hill has a grassy bottom with the ¼ top of trees. The fireworks are on the east side of the clearing, set off near the tree line and viewers are to the east/left and about 200’ away. Admittance is thru donation only, people park on the hill and we watched the show from our pickup bed.

It was still light when the parade of fire trucks came; lights flashing and sirens blaring. The trucks made a parade up the Hill and around the hill then continued their parade around the town. A vender was making warm kettle corn that could be smelled all over the hill.

Finally it was dark and the fire department started their show. A DJ started the music but there were few fireworks. Finally the DJ announced that the music had been started much too soon so everything had to start over.

This show lasted about 45 minutes with many overhead displays; it was an excellent program. We believe that it is one of the best in the country.

The Badlands and A Birthday

The Badlands are an interesting place; it reminds me of the Grand Canyon in a way. The northern part appears to have larger, taller buttes while the southern side has mostly small buttes. Stripes of orange run across the middle of the buttes.

We arrived in the late afternoon and were pleased to find that there were still sites left with electric power hookups. We found a site on the left side of the road so that we could put the slide-out up and have a view. Kids tumbled out of the truck and started running for the buttes. We made sure that they had a walkie talkie before they cleared out. Apparently they climbed several buttes, a couple quite high and had stories of how they slid down on their butts or did a modified ski stance to slide.

We’d planned to go to the Ranger Talk but a storm came up with heavy rain, thunder and lightning. We ate dinner to the strong summer storm, happy we were safe inside our RV.

We made the requisite visit to the Visitors Center to pick up Junior Ranger materials and get our bearings. We also bought birthday presents for Christabel as this was her birthday.

We had to rush back to the RV as we needed to bake a cake and make her tortilini’s she had picked out from the store. Timing was critical as Charlotte was also going to make soufflé. What we decided to do was to bake the cake then start the dinner. As soon as we sat got up from dinner Charlotte would put the soufflé in the oven.

Dinner went as planned and the Ranger Program was about the stars with telescopes for viewing after the program. We got to see Saturn with several of the moons. Other telescopes were set up but we still had a birthday party to attend to.

Going back to Pierre South Dakota

From the shore we headed straight south then west to Pierre, the capital of South Dakota.

We’d been to Pierre 8 years ago and wanted to show the grandkids what we’d discovered. 8 years ago we were on the road to Mt. Rushmore. We’d stopped at a rest stop for the night, just before the turnoff to Pierre. In the morning we got out and I found the little information stand with info on Louis & Clark in Pierre so we went there finding a day full of activities.

We didn’t bring along the pamphlet on the driving tour but thought it would be easy to find. Well it wasn’t.  We went first to the Chamber of Commerce, where we remembered going 8 years ago, but it was flooded nearly to the door so there was no one in to help.                                                 

We drove to the cultural center but no one there knew what we were talking about. Apparently the driving tour is no more. I got online and found the turtle effigy with directions but by then we were starving. After a quick bite to eat we went thru the museum at the cultural center. We showed the kids the plate brought over by brothers sent by the king of France, declaring the land for France. We also pointed out the shirts worn by the Indians massacred at Wounded Knee and a bullet used by the American Calvary to shoot them.

If you are ever in Pierre, S.D. then stopping at the Cultural Center is an absolute must. There are many hands-on exhibits for the kids/adults that are interesting, we were surprised at our own grandkids and how interested they were in the exhibits. The museum covers American Indians, homesteaders, miners, farming and so on.

From the Cultural Center we drove up to the Turtle Effigy. There are about 100 known effigies in S.D. This particular effigy is on a bluff overlooking the river. The story is that a young Indian was on the bluff when he saw a war party arriving. He was running to warn his tribe when he was shot. He continued to run up the hill bleeding and then fell down dead. The warriors were so impressed with his bravery that they placed a rock over each drop of blood and then placed the turtle effigy over the site of his death. We parked at the bottom of the hill then walked until we found the rocks leading up the hill following them to the effigy.

Now off to the Badlands

Down by the Lake Superior

The road from Yellowstone to Duluth is long! Long with lots of delays. We thought it would be a 17 hour drive and maybe it was, but it seems to drag on and on.

There is lots of road work going on, seems like they must work on the roads quickly in the summer. We used the GPS which directed us on what looked to be a highway but in reality a surface street, winding thru the hills. It is very scenic but much the same, lots of trees and once in a while we’d glimpse a lake.

We didn’t get to the cabins until after 11pm so Dale’s family was already asleep. We sat around drinking wine while kids played around glad to be free of the RV.

The cabins are located right on Lake Superior about 50’ from the shore. A grassy area is between the cabins and the very rocky shoreline. The shoreline has large rocks to jump on and small rocks to build cairns with. One cannot see to the other side of the lake so it appears to be like an ocean with small waves. Once in a while a large ship goes by in the distance.

It was so good to see the family again. At the last reunion here Mark, Dale’s younger brother was alive and well. He had started his own business as an independent editor and then died 1-1/2 years later at the age of 58. Brian and I talked about how the seemingly healthiest sibling died while our brother-in-law Roger, in the poorest health, remains in poor health but is still alive.

Roger and Carolyn, Dale’s older sister, just celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary so to celebrate they took all of us to an early dinner. We had dinner at a little restaurant by Lake Superior enjoying some local grilled seafood.

We built fires in the fire pit having smores one night and potatoes and raclette the next. Sitting around a fire during the very cold evenings was a time to just talk together.

Eight years ago all of the siblings went hiking at Temperance Falls State Park; we hiked to the falls then down along the river path. Now Dale’s brother is gone and his sister cannot walk like that anymore.

As the state of Minnesota was threatening to shut down due to budget discussions we were really lucky. Those of us who could walk hiked to the falls on Wed but it was a short hike so that we could join those who couldn’t walk. Then on Thurs several hiked to another falls at another state park. As we left the roads in were closing. By evening every state run thing seemed to be shut down We had to drive all the way to South Dakota with only stops at gas stations as the rest stops were shut down too.

We felt so bad for the people headed for the shores as much would be shut down for them. 

A Day In Yellowstone

We did arrive in Yellowstone but not when we wanted, it was late in the evening and the park campgrounds were full. I should have guessed that the campgrounds would be full before leaving but I had no time to think about this trip so I was just hoping that our luck would hold out.

We looked for a campground in West Yellowstone but everything was full so ended up driving back west to something a little further out where we snagged the last site. Looked like lots of people were in the same situation.

It was Christabel’s turn to make dinner and she had chosen to make French toast and crumbled sausage. We’d found some fresh gluten free bread at Whole Foods so I was able to eat with everyone.

By the time we’d parked in our site we were all a little cross; it was 10pm and we were all tired and hungry. Bel and I started getting her ingredients out when Charlotte asked if she could help. Bel said yes so I ducked out of the way. Charlotte and Bel mad wonderful French toast together, consulting each other over various steps. This is really what makes our trips so great, the time together and the bonds that form.

We knew that we wouldn’t have lots of time in Yellowstone but thought that if we could leave by 5pm we’d get into the reunion in time. NOT!!! Why didn’t I think this thru? 1^st of all when we get into National Parks Christabel loves to get her Junior Ranger designation and it was no different here. Getting this badge takes time so we spent several hours doing this and Charlotte joined her.

We did see Old Faithful erupt several times and sat on the veranda at the lodge people watching and geyser watching while girls finished badge projects. When they were finished and had taken the Junior Ranger Oath we got back to the RV for a picnic lunch. We wanted to do a walk but then couldn’t find the spot called Morning glory Pool. I looked at maps and decided that Mammoth Falls would be interesting and since it is at the north exit, the exit we needed to take it seemed like a good choice.

If you have never been to Mammoth Falls in Yellowstone it is a must do. There are actual falls, not large but the colors from the water make for the most amazingly beautiful scenes ever. There was a short loop we decided to take but when on the trail found that the path had been destroyed by the springs. There are several other paths but they can take up to 2 hours to walk so we just shot our photos and left the paths for another visit.

Elias made our dinner on the road of potato soup with Rosemary, his creation. I’d never had potato soup with rosemary sprigs in it and it was surprisingly good!