We started today at IHOP - take my word for it, stay away from the stuffed french toast - OMG! Cream filled (as in Bavarian Cream Donut) and drenched in strawberries and strawberry syrup, topped off with whipped cream.....oh man, just give me enough so I can make my hips and buttocks even as I can imagine that that is where this stuff will head!
Bryce Canyon was our destination today and not having been here before, but having combed several books on the place, we were ready to be awed by nature......and we were not disappointed. You enter by traveling through aptly named Red Canyon - where you drive through not one but two arched tunnels. Great photo ops fer sure!
Ever heard the song "Jar of Hearts" by Christina Perry? There is a line in there "who do you think you are, running 'round leaving scars, collecting your jar of hearts"....well, Bryce Canyon has a geological phenomenon called "hoodoos". This song played through my head as we drove through the park today. I think the hoodoos captured my heart!
Hoodoos are actually piles of sandstone that have been whipped and eroded by wind, rain and other elements and all throughout the many canyons you can see hoodoos in various shapes and sizes. After contributing to the well-being of the local economy and getting stamps for our passports, we stopped and looked at Agua Canyon, Black Birch Canyon, Bryce Point, Farway View, Rainbow Point and Sheep Canyon. All of the vistas are breath-taking....but Rainbow Point was the highest elevation we reached (9115 feet) and it was by far the coldest, most snowless blizzard we have ever experienced! It was a good thing that there were rails to keep things from going into the canyon as that wind could have blown even large objects into the canyon - whew! It was cold! Temperature in the car said about 36 but I wish we had had a wind meter as I would have bet that the wind would have exceeded 40 mph!
We encountered a few feathered friends at the various points we stopped - a raven (who had extremely acute hearing that liked pre-chewed beef jerky), a Steller's jay that looked at us and basically posed for a photo op, and a small chickadee that was so excited to see the camera that he could not stay on the log on which he was landing!
After taking in all of the sights in the southern area of the national park, we decided to head north to see if we could hike the Mossy Cave trail and find the waterfall. You know those great intentions that oft go astray - well that is an apt description of this afternoon. We headed to Mossy Cave but we never found it. Either the federal budget cuts forced the removal of the sign, or some animal removed it because we never saw it. We knew that we had passed all chances of seeing that cave when we saw the signs for entering "Great Staircase - Escalante National Monument". We continued on to this area that does in fact look like staircases from heaven to valleys below. Many different shades of orange, red, brown, green provide a kaleidoscope for your eyes! We made our way through the Dixie National Forest (settlers of the area thought that the climate reminded them of their native "Dixie" so they called this by that name.)
Picture this - a two lane road about 30 feet wide, with sheer cliffs on either side that drop about 5000 feet down. Can you say that you would be driving the speed limit? Luckily the speed limit was 25 mph....and I can imagine that it took some pretty disastrous events for them to post that speed limit. While we traveled through the national forest and monument, we encountered some interesting wildlife - wild turkeys and a herd of about 50 elk. The elk were foraging in a valley about 30 feet below the right side of the roadway - they were all female and we could not see any males. Since we were in high elevation, there was still plenty of snow so the finding of food for wildlife is difficult. The elk did not seem to bothered by our watching them so we took a few photos and then moved on to more narrow roads with sheer cliff sides.
Chuck and I have always taken the road less traveled, and Highway 12, the Scenic Drive in Southern Utah, is definitely the road less traveled. We encountered less than 25 cars on the entire route....too bad all those folks who were not on this road missed this natural beauty. After reaching the end of Highway 12 on Torrey, we enjoyed dinner at Sandstone Restaurant and Conference Center then headed west on Highway 24 to Richfield, UT where we will spend the night. The hotel we are staying in has an indoor pool so Rachel and Chuck can swim, Ryan and I will wash clothes and I can keep all of our friends and family jealous that we are frolicking without them......but any of you can do this same trip - I will even let you borrow my books. You are on your own for gas money and your passport for the National Parks!
Click here for photos from the day - prepare to be awed!
We're pretty open for tomorrow, and our only concrete plans are to spend the night back in Salt Lake City so that we can catch our flight on Monday afternoon. Who knows what kind of adventures we will find.....we'll fill you in later!
The Frolicking Featherstons
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
Zion National Park - Awesome Revisited
You may recall that we visited Zion National Park in November 2007 and were awed by the sheer vertical cliffs and red sandstone. That hasn't changed.
We headed south on I-15 to Kolob Canyons - the northwestern region of Zion National Park. We had not been able to visit this section of the park on the previous trip so this was new to us. We got the requisite stamps in our passports and supported the local economy once again then drove the 5 mile scenic drive to the top of the mountain. We saw a squirrel dart across the road then scurry up a rock and pose for a picture! (Don't laugh - but he was the only wildlife we saw other than two birds!)
After leaving Kolob Canyon, we listened to our growling tummies and headed to Hurricane, UT -- like they have a reason to be called Hurricane! -- and had lunch. Funny thing about the folks that travel within Utah -- either they don't eat on the road or they bring picnic lunches as there are fewer restaurants along the roadside than there are checkers open at the super center! After lunch we took the scenic route to Zion National Park and made our way to the Visitor Center (more stamps!) then we went for a hike. We hiked up the side of the mountain to see Weeping Rock and the waterfall. On our way I spotted a young man wearing a Cypress Ridge High School shirt -- that school is less than 4 miles from our house! This is a gorgeous site. As we were heading down the mountain, a large crowd passed us. Moments later we heard loud shrieks -- turns out that they had all filled the small walkway behind the waterfall and the wind that had been blowing one direction shifted and soaked everyone on the walkway! Timing is everything, eh? :)
After visiting Weeping Rock we continued on the scenic route that we had not taken on our first visit and saw the Court of the Patriarchs....so named by early explorers of the park. The peaks are named Abraham, Isaac and Jacob after three Hebrew prophets. After Court of the Patriarchs, the road twists and turns to the Temple of Sinawava - an outdoor "amphitheater" that has vertical red sandstone walls and a beautiful waterfall. Here the kids got to do something they had been asking to do for days....throw rocks in the water! They lobbed rocks of every shape and size into that river and had a blast.
The road forces you to return the way you came at the Temple of Sinawava so we retraced our steps and found our way to the tunnels in the park. One thing you notice as you are wending your way up the mountain is that every once in a while you see what look to be like arched windows cut into the side of the mountain. From the road they appear to be just black portholes, but once you are driving in the tunnel (1.1 miles long, completed in about 2 years in 1930) you see the portholes of light and they offer vistas that are breathtaking.
After you go through the long tunnel, you exit into what appears to be an entirely geologically different area. Whereas the first part is red and dark red sprinkled with some light sandstone, mostly hard looking rocks, the area you exit into after the tunnel is much lighter, much more sandstone and definitely much softer stone than in the first part. The Checkerboard Mesa is here - and it is a large hill that looks like someone has drawn lines to represent a checkerboard on the sandstone. We made our way to the east entrance and turned around to retrace our steps as we had a special treat planned - a sunset safari in an open-air vehicle! We had not told the kids about this, so it was a treat to them.
As we were waiting for the magical hour, we picnicked on ham and turkey sandwiches and chips. Not a gourmet meal, but we were together in one of the most beautiful places, what more could we want? An open air jeep ride at sunset!
Zion Sunset Safaris takes folks in modified Ford F250 trucks with a roll bar cage at the back and seating for 12. We would go onto "backcountry" routes (read REALLY BUMPY ROADS!!) and make it to a plateau to view the sunset. Our guide Bruce was great - he took us up the mountain and regaled us with stories and trivial bits as we went along.....like the bridge that we went over was originally completed in the 1930's.....and that the road that we were on was THE ROUTE from the town of Springdale to the Grand Canyon prior to the completion of the longer tunnel in Zion. Seems that the tunnel route took 60 miles off of the trip. He called the hill that we were traversing "Grafton's Hill" and my comment was that I would swapped the "i" in Hill for an "e" for a more apt description. That road was awful....bumpy does not begin to describe it....but for the view of the sunset and rising full moon, it was almost worth it. In addition to seeing a really neat sunset, we saw some cows with bells around their necks and their little calves. Bruce commented that "even Momma cows like their bling!" I agree!
Our safari ended after one last bump down Grafton Hill and going back over the ancient bridge
to our starting point at Majestic View Lodge. A short ride to the hotel later and we were ready for bed!
Click here for the sights of the day.....
Looking forward to Bryce Canyon and other interesting points on Saturday!
The Frolicking Featherstons
We headed south on I-15 to Kolob Canyons - the northwestern region of Zion National Park. We had not been able to visit this section of the park on the previous trip so this was new to us. We got the requisite stamps in our passports and supported the local economy once again then drove the 5 mile scenic drive to the top of the mountain. We saw a squirrel dart across the road then scurry up a rock and pose for a picture! (Don't laugh - but he was the only wildlife we saw other than two birds!)
After leaving Kolob Canyon, we listened to our growling tummies and headed to Hurricane, UT -- like they have a reason to be called Hurricane! -- and had lunch. Funny thing about the folks that travel within Utah -- either they don't eat on the road or they bring picnic lunches as there are fewer restaurants along the roadside than there are checkers open at the super center! After lunch we took the scenic route to Zion National Park and made our way to the Visitor Center (more stamps!) then we went for a hike. We hiked up the side of the mountain to see Weeping Rock and the waterfall. On our way I spotted a young man wearing a Cypress Ridge High School shirt -- that school is less than 4 miles from our house! This is a gorgeous site. As we were heading down the mountain, a large crowd passed us. Moments later we heard loud shrieks -- turns out that they had all filled the small walkway behind the waterfall and the wind that had been blowing one direction shifted and soaked everyone on the walkway! Timing is everything, eh? :)
After visiting Weeping Rock we continued on the scenic route that we had not taken on our first visit and saw the Court of the Patriarchs....so named by early explorers of the park. The peaks are named Abraham, Isaac and Jacob after three Hebrew prophets. After Court of the Patriarchs, the road twists and turns to the Temple of Sinawava - an outdoor "amphitheater" that has vertical red sandstone walls and a beautiful waterfall. Here the kids got to do something they had been asking to do for days....throw rocks in the water! They lobbed rocks of every shape and size into that river and had a blast.
The road forces you to return the way you came at the Temple of Sinawava so we retraced our steps and found our way to the tunnels in the park. One thing you notice as you are wending your way up the mountain is that every once in a while you see what look to be like arched windows cut into the side of the mountain. From the road they appear to be just black portholes, but once you are driving in the tunnel (1.1 miles long, completed in about 2 years in 1930) you see the portholes of light and they offer vistas that are breathtaking.
After you go through the long tunnel, you exit into what appears to be an entirely geologically different area. Whereas the first part is red and dark red sprinkled with some light sandstone, mostly hard looking rocks, the area you exit into after the tunnel is much lighter, much more sandstone and definitely much softer stone than in the first part. The Checkerboard Mesa is here - and it is a large hill that looks like someone has drawn lines to represent a checkerboard on the sandstone. We made our way to the east entrance and turned around to retrace our steps as we had a special treat planned - a sunset safari in an open-air vehicle! We had not told the kids about this, so it was a treat to them.
As we were waiting for the magical hour, we picnicked on ham and turkey sandwiches and chips. Not a gourmet meal, but we were together in one of the most beautiful places, what more could we want? An open air jeep ride at sunset!
Zion Sunset Safaris takes folks in modified Ford F250 trucks with a roll bar cage at the back and seating for 12. We would go onto "backcountry" routes (read REALLY BUMPY ROADS!!) and make it to a plateau to view the sunset. Our guide Bruce was great - he took us up the mountain and regaled us with stories and trivial bits as we went along.....like the bridge that we went over was originally completed in the 1930's.....and that the road that we were on was THE ROUTE from the town of Springdale to the Grand Canyon prior to the completion of the longer tunnel in Zion. Seems that the tunnel route took 60 miles off of the trip. He called the hill that we were traversing "Grafton's Hill" and my comment was that I would swapped the "i" in Hill for an "e" for a more apt description. That road was awful....bumpy does not begin to describe it....but for the view of the sunset and rising full moon, it was almost worth it. In addition to seeing a really neat sunset, we saw some cows with bells around their necks and their little calves. Bruce commented that "even Momma cows like their bling!" I agree!
Our safari ended after one last bump down Grafton Hill and going back over the ancient bridge
to our starting point at Majestic View Lodge. A short ride to the hotel later and we were ready for bed!
Click here for the sights of the day.....
Looking forward to Bryce Canyon and other interesting points on Saturday!
The Frolicking Featherstons
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Day 4 - 900 miles in!
Want to know how far it is from Layton, UT (north of Salt Lake City) to Cedar City? Just ask my bottom.....it is far!
We had to make a couple of stops looking for contact lenses....I know that I did not mention this earlier, as it just opens me, "The Queen of Planning & Bringing EVERYTHING" up to ridicule. See, I packed everything except spare contacts.....and as Murphy is my not-so-Guardian Angel, I got something in my eye Monday night and managed to not only wipe my contact out of my eye, I tore the darn thing in half! Tuesday was a full day on snowmobiling so I waited until Wednesday to call Carol at Dr. Murrell's office and have her fax my prescription......and then I visited an optical and was told "that is an older brand....we don't stock it." Several other opticals later, I ended up at, where else, WalMart! Got the new eyes in less than 20 minutes and I was back in the land of 20/20 vision! Off we were south-bound on I-15.
You think Houston has road construction? HA! Salt Lake City must have gotten a windfall and spent it all on major road construction.....orange barrels and cones line the roads. First stops were the Utah State Capitol then Council Hall and then onto Temple Square in downtown SLC. Council Hall is now home to several State offices - one of which is the Utah Film Commission. Did you know that Thelma & Louise, High School Musical and 127 Hours were filmed in Utah? n Neither did I - we both learned something today!
We've been to Temple Square before, but it was in November 2007 and wanted to see if they looked different at the end of winter as opposed to the end of fall.....and it does not.....pansies were still planted and blooming all around, miniature irises as well. There were no leaves on the trees, and bushes had been pruned for their Spring Debut. As the MercyMe song goes "I can only Imagine" what this place would be mid-Spring. No wonder there are more than 20 weddings here most spring weekends....no kidding!
We toured the Assembly Hall (built between 1877 and 1882) as well as the South Visitors Center and the Tabernacle - yes, the very one that has a choir named after it! There was a performance by that very same choir tonight, but since TQoP&BE (see above - The Queen of Planning & Bringing EVERYTHING) was not aprised of the schedule, we were not able to fit it in....
After Temple Square we set Garmina to guide us to the next stamp possibility - Timpanogos Cave Monument in the Uinta National Forest. As we were making our way there, we saw a sign that I made Chuck back up to so that I could take a picture of it -- it is a white sign with dark (maroon?) letters on it that say "Texas Longhorn Meat" and has the logo of the Dirty Spur Cattle Company. I looked at Chuck and said "Wow, an Aggie has made his way up here and is grilling BEVO!" I can't wait until our friends Dave and Karen see it -- they will WHOOP it up!
Back to the cave stuff.....we could not get in to the cave as it was closed for the season (how did I not know this? My crown will rust for sure......) but we met a ranger named Karissa whose father lives in Houston and she was so nice to allow us to use her stamp and stamp our Passport! We even got to feel one piece of a stalactite from the cave. Glassy smooth, and not as wet as those that are in the cave! There was a sign on the road as we were driving through the forest that indicated that for the next one mile, we could possibly see big horn sheep - but they must have gone south for the winter as they were not seen. Beautiful views though from the lookout at American Fork Canyon.
Making our way back to I-15, we questioned the kids about how they liked the hotel that we stayed in last night, (TownePlace Suites by Marriott - two bedroom unit) and Ryan responded "I could have done without Sissy".....Chuck and I almost choked....he has come out with some really funny sayings this week and it makes me wonder how he is when he is not around us. Seems that he got the best of both of senses of humor!
Click here to see the shots of the Utah State Capitol, Temple Square and some really pretty shots from the National Forest....last one is of the setting sun as we motored on south to Cedar City ....
Tomorrow we head to either Bryce Canyon or Zion National Park and possibly even Cedar Breaks National Monument. Since the full moon is Saturday night, there is a good chance we will have a shot at rising moon photos - I can't wait!
Have a great rest of the week - I know we will!
The Frolicking Featherstons.....
We had to make a couple of stops looking for contact lenses....I know that I did not mention this earlier, as it just opens me, "The Queen of Planning & Bringing EVERYTHING" up to ridicule. See, I packed everything except spare contacts.....and as Murphy is my not-so-Guardian Angel, I got something in my eye Monday night and managed to not only wipe my contact out of my eye, I tore the darn thing in half! Tuesday was a full day on snowmobiling so I waited until Wednesday to call Carol at Dr. Murrell's office and have her fax my prescription......and then I visited an optical and was told "that is an older brand....we don't stock it." Several other opticals later, I ended up at, where else, WalMart! Got the new eyes in less than 20 minutes and I was back in the land of 20/20 vision! Off we were south-bound on I-15.
You think Houston has road construction? HA! Salt Lake City must have gotten a windfall and spent it all on major road construction.....orange barrels and cones line the roads. First stops were the Utah State Capitol then Council Hall and then onto Temple Square in downtown SLC. Council Hall is now home to several State offices - one of which is the Utah Film Commission. Did you know that Thelma & Louise, High School Musical and 127 Hours were filmed in Utah? n Neither did I - we both learned something today!
We've been to Temple Square before, but it was in November 2007 and wanted to see if they looked different at the end of winter as opposed to the end of fall.....and it does not.....pansies were still planted and blooming all around, miniature irises as well. There were no leaves on the trees, and bushes had been pruned for their Spring Debut. As the MercyMe song goes "I can only Imagine" what this place would be mid-Spring. No wonder there are more than 20 weddings here most spring weekends....no kidding!
We toured the Assembly Hall (built between 1877 and 1882) as well as the South Visitors Center and the Tabernacle - yes, the very one that has a choir named after it! There was a performance by that very same choir tonight, but since TQoP&BE (see above - The Queen of Planning & Bringing EVERYTHING) was not aprised of the schedule, we were not able to fit it in....
After Temple Square we set Garmina to guide us to the next stamp possibility - Timpanogos Cave Monument in the Uinta National Forest. As we were making our way there, we saw a sign that I made Chuck back up to so that I could take a picture of it -- it is a white sign with dark (maroon?) letters on it that say "Texas Longhorn Meat" and has the logo of the Dirty Spur Cattle Company. I looked at Chuck and said "Wow, an Aggie has made his way up here and is grilling BEVO!" I can't wait until our friends Dave and Karen see it -- they will WHOOP it up!
Back to the cave stuff.....we could not get in to the cave as it was closed for the season (how did I not know this? My crown will rust for sure......) but we met a ranger named Karissa whose father lives in Houston and she was so nice to allow us to use her stamp and stamp our Passport! We even got to feel one piece of a stalactite from the cave. Glassy smooth, and not as wet as those that are in the cave! There was a sign on the road as we were driving through the forest that indicated that for the next one mile, we could possibly see big horn sheep - but they must have gone south for the winter as they were not seen. Beautiful views though from the lookout at American Fork Canyon.
Making our way back to I-15, we questioned the kids about how they liked the hotel that we stayed in last night, (TownePlace Suites by Marriott - two bedroom unit) and Ryan responded "I could have done without Sissy".....Chuck and I almost choked....he has come out with some really funny sayings this week and it makes me wonder how he is when he is not around us. Seems that he got the best of both of senses of humor!
Click here to see the shots of the Utah State Capitol, Temple Square and some really pretty shots from the National Forest....last one is of the setting sun as we motored on south to Cedar City ....
Tomorrow we head to either Bryce Canyon or Zion National Park and possibly even Cedar Breaks National Monument. Since the full moon is Saturday night, there is a good chance we will have a shot at rising moon photos - I can't wait!
Have a great rest of the week - I know we will!
The Frolicking Featherstons.....
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Traveling down the Yellowstone Road.....
Today we departed West Yellowstone, MT and vowed to come back! We had such a great time from the snowmobiling to the hotel stay. According to all we talked to, it is a spectacular showplace in the spring and summer.
We got to see lots more snow on the roads, houses, farms and trees than we saw Monday....pictures have been uploaded - click here to see the white wonders!
I got to drive in snow (caked on the ground.....ugh) as well as drive during a blowing snow storm which, while it is not one of my favorite things to do, I can say that I caused no damage to the rental car, nor did I scare any of the occupants of same rental car! Did you know that the speed limit in Idaho and Utah is 75 mpg? And yes, they do know how to drive up here at that speed!
We lunched in Pocatello, Idaho on Idaho Famous Potatoes.....mine was a baker as was Chuck's and Rachel and Ryan had mashed with white gravy.....I also had Idaho trout and it was fresh and delicious! Chuck tried the chicken fried steak...but had no comment on it....but I can tell it was not as good as a Texas chicken fried steak!
We made it to just north of Salt Lake City and found our hotel and much to Rachel's disgust, Mom had committed the ultimate sin in her eyes.....the hotel had an outdoor swimming pool - and it was CLOSED for the season. Boy, I had to promise to change our reservations for Sunday night as we were scheduled to stay in this same hotel......must remember that indoor swimming pool is number one on the list.....oh well, I have already made the change and confirmed to her that tonight should be the only night that she will not get to swim. I think that child was a fish in a former life!
Tomorrow we head south to Cedar City for two days to go explore Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park. We will also try to see several other national monuments and historical sites. (And just in case you are wondering, yes, the hotels we are staying in for the rest of the trip DO have indoor swimming pools! :)
Stay tuned for more frolicking.....we're enjoying ourselves!
The Featherston Family
We got to see lots more snow on the roads, houses, farms and trees than we saw Monday....pictures have been uploaded - click here to see the white wonders!
I got to drive in snow (caked on the ground.....ugh) as well as drive during a blowing snow storm which, while it is not one of my favorite things to do, I can say that I caused no damage to the rental car, nor did I scare any of the occupants of same rental car! Did you know that the speed limit in Idaho and Utah is 75 mpg? And yes, they do know how to drive up here at that speed!
We lunched in Pocatello, Idaho on Idaho Famous Potatoes.....mine was a baker as was Chuck's and Rachel and Ryan had mashed with white gravy.....I also had Idaho trout and it was fresh and delicious! Chuck tried the chicken fried steak...but had no comment on it....but I can tell it was not as good as a Texas chicken fried steak!
We made it to just north of Salt Lake City and found our hotel and much to Rachel's disgust, Mom had committed the ultimate sin in her eyes.....the hotel had an outdoor swimming pool - and it was CLOSED for the season. Boy, I had to promise to change our reservations for Sunday night as we were scheduled to stay in this same hotel......must remember that indoor swimming pool is number one on the list.....oh well, I have already made the change and confirmed to her that tonight should be the only night that she will not get to swim. I think that child was a fish in a former life!
Tomorrow we head south to Cedar City for two days to go explore Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park. We will also try to see several other national monuments and historical sites. (And just in case you are wondering, yes, the hotels we are staying in for the rest of the trip DO have indoor swimming pools! :)
Stay tuned for more frolicking.....we're enjoying ourselves!
The Featherston Family
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
There was NO TOMORROW!
We started planning this trip in December 2010 and as far as Yellowstone National Park is concerned, there was no tomorrow....it was today or go home without snowmobiling through the one of the greatest wilderness areas of our country!
We arrived yesterday and noticed a lack of visitors, and when we made our reservations with Yellowstone Adventures, we were told that the National Park would close at 9pm on Tuesday, March 15. It would close to allow the bears to awake from hibernation without feasting on humans, and it would allow the park employees a break as Mother Nature waved her magic wand and melted the snow. Knowing how fickle Mother Nature can be, the park staff also needs time to plow the many miles of roadway to remove the snow that has piled up.....and let me tell you, there is A LOT of the white stuff, and some brown stuff! I just can't believe that there were not many more people like us -- you know, the ones that wait until the last minute to do something?
So, we started today at the Chamber of Commerce to get our National Parks Annual Pass and once we had that in-hand, we proceeded to Yellowstone Adventures for our day on snowmobiles. We were able to rent the complete gear package as well as the snowmobiles and what a good decision that turned out to be. We were give face masks, gloves, helmets, and the weather-impervious jumpsuits. (We had all dressed in layers so we had a good start - not a one of us got cold - except for Chuck's nose!)
We got suited up, saddled up and away we went! It was snowing as we took off and it just got better. We were less than 7 miles into the park and made our first stop to gawk at elk getting water from the Madison River. There was so much snow that we all ended up knee deep in the drifts just trying to get close enough to get pictures of the animals. Within five steps I buried my leg up to my knee ( each time!) and had to be rescued several times. So you are probably laughing now, but let me tell you, the first one who calls me "Knee Deep" will get a snowball thrown directly at them!
Throughout our travels we saw about 200 head of bison, one bald eagle, one chipmunk (he darted out between our snowmobiles!) and lots of elk and Canadian Geese.
We stopped at the Upper Geyser Basin and like other times, neatly parked our snowmobiles in orderly rows as directed. Our guide Dan implored us to take all backpacks with us and leave nothing behind on the snowmobiles. He recounted a story of how he had left his backpack on his ride and asked several who were not taking the walk to the geysers to keep an eye on his pack and not let the ravens get in to it. When he returned to his machine, not only had the raven gotten into his backpack, he had discarded Dan's possessions as trash as he emptied the backpack. He even "tagged" Dan's seat with raven poop. Dan was a little put out and asked those that had stayed behind what happened, and they replied, "just what you think happened, and we have pictures to prove it!". Having heard that I unbungeed my backpack and told the raven in the tree to find some other bag to play with. Little did I know that upon our return, I would find his "tag" on my machine!
We walked on snowcovered boardwalks and saw various geothermal examples like Celestine Pond, Clepsydra Geyser, Jelly Geyser, Fountain Paint Pots as well as cactus growing amidst them all! The boardwalks throughout the area were packed with snow - about 2ft deep in some areas, and some spots had melted and turned to ice. I did a fancy jig at one point and stayed vertical despite the ice! I turned to the folks following us and said "Consider that a public service announcement with fancy dance!"
We saddled up, and headed out to explore more of the frozen wonderland. Humming along at 35 mpg on snow, with a powerful machine under you gives you a Harley feeling -- you know, like when you ride a Harley then you have to go buy one cuz you need to feel that feeling again? Well, you've been warned....
As you can expect the journey had a destination - Old Faithful Geyser. We arrived at the Visitor's Center, ate lunch, shopped and got our National Parks Passport stamped, and again did our part to bolster the local economy! After the display by Old Faithful we headed back to the snowmobiles for the return journey.
We visited Firehole Falls at Firehole Canyon (got to find out why they named it this.....) and despite the warming temperatures (locals said today was supposed to be a warm one -- look for the one that took that seriously in the photos!), it was still snowing as we completed our day in Yellowstone. Snowmobile riding is so fun, except when the snow turns to slush and mush, and your tail end swings out wildly, much like some folks' dancing! (But you got to admit, it is fun to watch!)
After returning to the hotel, the snow continued so Rachel and Ryan built a snow fort, climbed the snow drift that was shown in first photos from yesterday and generally had a good time playing in the snow.....what fun they have! Chuck and I watched it all from the warmth of the hotel room and thought "ain't life grand?". Yes, it is!
Click here to see all the photos we took (yes, even Chuck took pictures with "our" camera!). I let the kids take photos with our older Kodak cameras today and will cull through those photos and post the really funny ones.....I will tell you though that they consider themselves photographers and refer to the Kodak cameras as "their cameras"!
We are off to Salt Lake City tomorrow, one night there then south to Cedar City which will be our "base" as we explore Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks....and any other "National" sites I can convince Chuck into stopping at so I can get stamps for my passport!
Check in later for more frolicking.....
The Featherston Family
We arrived yesterday and noticed a lack of visitors, and when we made our reservations with Yellowstone Adventures, we were told that the National Park would close at 9pm on Tuesday, March 15. It would close to allow the bears to awake from hibernation without feasting on humans, and it would allow the park employees a break as Mother Nature waved her magic wand and melted the snow. Knowing how fickle Mother Nature can be, the park staff also needs time to plow the many miles of roadway to remove the snow that has piled up.....and let me tell you, there is A LOT of the white stuff, and some brown stuff! I just can't believe that there were not many more people like us -- you know, the ones that wait until the last minute to do something?
So, we started today at the Chamber of Commerce to get our National Parks Annual Pass and once we had that in-hand, we proceeded to Yellowstone Adventures for our day on snowmobiles. We were able to rent the complete gear package as well as the snowmobiles and what a good decision that turned out to be. We were give face masks, gloves, helmets, and the weather-impervious jumpsuits. (We had all dressed in layers so we had a good start - not a one of us got cold - except for Chuck's nose!)
We got suited up, saddled up and away we went! It was snowing as we took off and it just got better. We were less than 7 miles into the park and made our first stop to gawk at elk getting water from the Madison River. There was so much snow that we all ended up knee deep in the drifts just trying to get close enough to get pictures of the animals. Within five steps I buried my leg up to my knee ( each time!) and had to be rescued several times. So you are probably laughing now, but let me tell you, the first one who calls me "Knee Deep" will get a snowball thrown directly at them!
Throughout our travels we saw about 200 head of bison, one bald eagle, one chipmunk (he darted out between our snowmobiles!) and lots of elk and Canadian Geese.
We stopped at the Upper Geyser Basin and like other times, neatly parked our snowmobiles in orderly rows as directed. Our guide Dan implored us to take all backpacks with us and leave nothing behind on the snowmobiles. He recounted a story of how he had left his backpack on his ride and asked several who were not taking the walk to the geysers to keep an eye on his pack and not let the ravens get in to it. When he returned to his machine, not only had the raven gotten into his backpack, he had discarded Dan's possessions as trash as he emptied the backpack. He even "tagged" Dan's seat with raven poop. Dan was a little put out and asked those that had stayed behind what happened, and they replied, "just what you think happened, and we have pictures to prove it!". Having heard that I unbungeed my backpack and told the raven in the tree to find some other bag to play with. Little did I know that upon our return, I would find his "tag" on my machine!
We walked on snowcovered boardwalks and saw various geothermal examples like Celestine Pond, Clepsydra Geyser, Jelly Geyser, Fountain Paint Pots as well as cactus growing amidst them all! The boardwalks throughout the area were packed with snow - about 2ft deep in some areas, and some spots had melted and turned to ice. I did a fancy jig at one point and stayed vertical despite the ice! I turned to the folks following us and said "Consider that a public service announcement with fancy dance!"
We saddled up, and headed out to explore more of the frozen wonderland. Humming along at 35 mpg on snow, with a powerful machine under you gives you a Harley feeling -- you know, like when you ride a Harley then you have to go buy one cuz you need to feel that feeling again? Well, you've been warned....
As you can expect the journey had a destination - Old Faithful Geyser. We arrived at the Visitor's Center, ate lunch, shopped and got our National Parks Passport stamped, and again did our part to bolster the local economy! After the display by Old Faithful we headed back to the snowmobiles for the return journey.
We visited Firehole Falls at Firehole Canyon (got to find out why they named it this.....) and despite the warming temperatures (locals said today was supposed to be a warm one -- look for the one that took that seriously in the photos!), it was still snowing as we completed our day in Yellowstone. Snowmobile riding is so fun, except when the snow turns to slush and mush, and your tail end swings out wildly, much like some folks' dancing! (But you got to admit, it is fun to watch!)
After returning to the hotel, the snow continued so Rachel and Ryan built a snow fort, climbed the snow drift that was shown in first photos from yesterday and generally had a good time playing in the snow.....what fun they have! Chuck and I watched it all from the warmth of the hotel room and thought "ain't life grand?". Yes, it is!
Click here to see all the photos we took (yes, even Chuck took pictures with "our" camera!). I let the kids take photos with our older Kodak cameras today and will cull through those photos and post the really funny ones.....I will tell you though that they consider themselves photographers and refer to the Kodak cameras as "their cameras"!
We are off to Salt Lake City tomorrow, one night there then south to Cedar City which will be our "base" as we explore Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks....and any other "National" sites I can convince Chuck into stopping at so I can get stamps for my passport!
Check in later for more frolicking.....
The Featherston Family
Monday, March 14, 2011
We found SNOW!!!
Well, we started the day in Houston at just aunder 60 degrees, (at 4 AM no less!) and definitely no SNOW! Made our flights with no problems, other than some very chatty and almost obnoxious teenage girls. We made it to Las Vegas ($5 doesn't go far in a nickel slot machine) and Ryan and I were treated to the sight of a hot air balloon rising over the mountains in the distance as our plane taxied to take off...what a sight! Chuck and Rachel were sitting on the opposite side of the plane (my idea of "divide and conquer" as far as traveling with 7 year olds.... :) ) so they only got to see other planes landing and taking off.
Arrived in Salt Lake City with no problems, got our luggage, and then secured the rental SUV. Our trusty Garmina is along for the ride so we plugged in the address to our hotel in West Yellowstone, MT and off we went.....5 hours and 24 minutes, fifteen different states license plates sightings (yes, we saw a TEXAS plate all the way up here!) later, we pulled into the Chamber of Commerce in West Yellowstone to purchase the Annual Pass for the National Parks, only to discover that the ranger left between 4 and 4:30! We'll try again tomorrow morning prior to our adventure.
We toured West Yellowstone and managed to stimulate the local economy with purchase of supplies and dinner...pizza! Wild West Pizzeria has some really good pizza - we tried the "Sitting Bull" pizza and were not disappointed!
We ended the day just above freezing with snow flakes blowing around us. We swam in the heated pool at the hotel and relaxed in the whirlpool.....nice way to sit and look at the snowflakes swirling in the lights!
We took a few shots of the local scenery and have uploaded them to our gallery......click here to take a peek!
Tomorrow we are off to get our Annual Pass then hop aboard snowmobiles for an all day adventure through Yellowstone National Park! After the snow that we saw today, we are all very excited about zooming across the snow and seeing the wildlife, flora and fauna that this beautiful area has to offer.
Stay tuned.....
The Featherstons
Arrived in Salt Lake City with no problems, got our luggage, and then secured the rental SUV. Our trusty Garmina is along for the ride so we plugged in the address to our hotel in West Yellowstone, MT and off we went.....5 hours and 24 minutes, fifteen different states license plates sightings (yes, we saw a TEXAS plate all the way up here!) later, we pulled into the Chamber of Commerce in West Yellowstone to purchase the Annual Pass for the National Parks, only to discover that the ranger left between 4 and 4:30! We'll try again tomorrow morning prior to our adventure.
We toured West Yellowstone and managed to stimulate the local economy with purchase of supplies and dinner...pizza! Wild West Pizzeria has some really good pizza - we tried the "Sitting Bull" pizza and were not disappointed!
We ended the day just above freezing with snow flakes blowing around us. We swam in the heated pool at the hotel and relaxed in the whirlpool.....nice way to sit and look at the snowflakes swirling in the lights!
We took a few shots of the local scenery and have uploaded them to our gallery......click here to take a peek!
Tomorrow we are off to get our Annual Pass then hop aboard snowmobiles for an all day adventure through Yellowstone National Park! After the snow that we saw today, we are all very excited about zooming across the snow and seeing the wildlife, flora and fauna that this beautiful area has to offer.
Stay tuned.....
The Featherstons
Friday, March 11, 2011
We're off on another Family Frolic!
Just a "head's up" that we will be visiting a few of our National Parks soon - with the trip starting off in Salt Lake City, UT and us visiting Yellowstone National Park on Tuesday. We will be on snowmobiles and can't wait!
Follow us here as we post our frolics....you can live vicariously through us at no charge and in the comfort of the heat and humidity of Houston (or wherever you are!).
Frolicking to follow.....you've been warned!
The Featherston Family
Follow us here as we post our frolics....you can live vicariously through us at no charge and in the comfort of the heat and humidity of Houston (or wherever you are!).
Frolicking to follow.....you've been warned!
The Featherston Family
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