Central National Park Tour - July 23 - August 25, 2019 [ Please consider donating to our Hiking Pledge Drive | Join AlpineHippo facebook group to share your hikes! ]

Quick Links: Drive West Badlands National Park Devils Tower National Park Theodore Roosevelt National Park Glacier National Park Craters of the Moon National Monument Grand Teton National Park Yellowstone National Park Backpacking - Yellowstone National Park Jackson, WY Dinosaur National Monument Arches, Canyonlands National Parks, Moab

Hiking Log: Badlands - Notch, Window, Door trails - 3 miles Wind Cave - Boland prairie trail - 5 miles (800 ft gain) Black Hills - Little Devils Tower - 2.5 miles (750 ft gain) Glacier - Highline Loop with Garden Wall spur - 14 miles (2,500 ft gain) Glacier - Grinnell Glacier - 11 miles (2,000 ft gain) Glacier - Rockwell Falls - 7.5 miles (400 ft gain) Grand Teton - Swan Lake Loop - 3.8 miles Grand Teton - Lake Solitude - 15.5 miles (2,500 ft gain) Yellowstone - Geyser Basin - 8 miles Yellowstone - Hellroaring Creek and Trout Lake - 6 miles (1,000 ft gain) Yellowstone - Heart Lake Backpack with day hike - 26 miles(2,000 ft gain) Dinosaur - Box Canyon, Fossil, Harpers Corner - 5 miles Canyonland - Mesa, Grand View Point - 2 miles Arches - Fiery Furnace - 3.8 miles Arches - Delicate Arch - 3.1 miles Arches - Devil's Garden - 8.4 miles Mesa Verde - Cliff Palace and Oak Tree House Tours - 0.8 miles Total: 125.4 miles (200.6 km)

Drive West - July 23 - July 25, 2019

Day 1 (July 23, 2019) We started our big journey at 12:00 on July 23rd, 2019! The odometer was 10,035 when we started. We are driving through Maryland and Pennsylvania. We stopped for a short break and fuel in Pennsylvania. We have arrived at Ohio at our first night of camping at west branch state park. 345 miles from home. I played at the park. We made a steak dinner with a berry dessert in celebration of the official Christening of Js of Thunder!

Loaded, Hooked-up, Ready to depart!

Ms. Michelle caught us on the DOT cam leaving Maryland!

Lake at West Branch State Park in Ohio

Official Christening of Js of Thunder!

Dutch oven Berry Cobbler

Day 2 (July 24, 2019) Papa and Juju woke up early to get started going down the road early since we had a long day planned to get to Wisconsin with a few stops on the way. I kept sleeping in my bunk as we rolled out at 7:15. On the way across Indiana, we found a White Castle for lunch. I only had 2, but Papa had 8. We then went to the newest National Park, Indiana Dunes National Park, on Lake Michigan. We went or a short hike on a dune, through two types of forest growing in the sand. There was also a nice beach which was very crowded. The beach was short, though, because the lakes are at the maximum height of their 30 year cycle. There were the largest fresh water waves I had seen and the water felt great. We could also see Chicago across the lake. Today we drove through 4 new states for me, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin, covering 600 miles in 12 hours with a long stop at the Dunes. 945 miles total so far. We are getting 7.3 miles per gallon on flat highway. Juju drove half of the way! We arrived at our camp site and I went in the pool, which felt good after a long day of driving. After I showered, we went into town, Wisconsin Dells, which is a favorite tourist spot due to the nearby lake and rivers. It is like Ocean City. There things to do on the water, plus big hotels with huge water parks nearby. We bought candy, including fresh caramel and salt water taffy. We ate at Monk's Bar, established in 1947 and is a Wisconsin Badger bar. We had fried cheese curds and brisket sandwiches and burgers. That night, trains rolled by about 100 yards away, shaking the ground and RV.

Look what we found in Indiana!

Indiana Dunes National Park.

Monk's Bar with Big 10 Map.

Day 3 (July 25, 2019) We ate at Paul Bunyan's Lumberjack Cook Shanty. The donuts were the best. I saw a lot of saws and axes, plus Babe, the blue ox. The first road trip casualty was the power cord that connected the tow car to the RV. One end came unplugged and it dragged on the highway for a few hundred miles, oops. We found a new one at an RV store in a small town in Wisconsin, where we also got to see the old main street and buy some cheese. On our way in to Minnesota we crossed the Mississippi river. It was big and the water was high. The Minnesota welcome sign was cool. Across Minnesota, we saw hundreds of windmills. We stopped in Mitchell, South Dakota, where they have a Corn Palace that dates back to 1892. John Phillip Sousa played there, and so did Tommy Dorsey. We crossed the Missouri River today, going down to the river valley, then back up to the plains. Since it is such a long drive today and we will be arriving late, we made another 3 J's Pizza at 70 mph, South Dakota edition!

Wisconsin River in Dells.

Cheese Castle on Main Street.

Catching a few Z's during the drive.

Corn Palace, decorated with different colors of corn and corn stalk parts.

Making 3J's Pizza on the highway.

So good!

Badlands - Black Hills, SD - Devils Tower - WY - July 25-29, 2019

Day 4 (July 26, 2019) We arrived at Badlands National Park late in the day, just before sunset, after a long day of driving. We stopped at a turn off with a section of eroded hills that looked nice with the setting sun. We walked behind those hills to see the expanse of eroding landscape that makes up the Badlands. We set up camp. Papa set up the telescope and I could see Jupiter and its moons. Papa then went back in to the park to take photos of the ISS and Milky Way. I went to bed. We woke up at 6 o'clock. We went on our 1st hike at 7:30. We saw a lot of green rocks viens on the hike as well as different layers in the rock. Later, we learned the green rocks infiltrated the main rock, but the scientists don't know if it came from above or below. The yellow rocks are the ancient sea bed, and scientists have found skulls of giant ancient sea creatures from 65 million years ago. There were also ancient rhino-hippos from 32 million years ago in different layers. On our 2nd hike we saw the long and pretty badlands. On our last hike we walked on the eroding hills of the Badlands. It was too hot so I was grumpy. After all those hikes I got my first junior ranger badge of the day. We went to see the missile silo from the cold war. It was super awesome. I got my 2nd junior ranger badge. We went to the famous Wall drug store. We got some ice cream. We also got a head mounted jackelope because I am the Jackalope. After we went to the grasslands national park visitor center and I got my 3rd junior ranger badge. We went to a store and got firewood. On our way back home we drove through the grasslands and we saw some big horn sheep. We also saw a lot of prairie dogs, including some baby ones that were playing around. When we got home I went in the pool it felt good. We ate buffalo sausage for dinner for dessert we had banana with Cinnamon and sugar.

J's of Thunder arrive in the Bandlands.

Our friend Christina on board the International Space Station disappears into the Milky Way over Badlands National Park, South Dakota.

Milky Way and Jupiter with Badlands features in the foreground.

Wall of Badlands at sunset.

Badlands rock formations at dusk.

Rock formations on Notch hike with green vein.

Badlands extend in to the prairie.

View of rock formations from the 'Window.'

Minuteman II missile in it's silo.

Adult and baby prairie dogs.

Babies play, while adult is on alert.

Bighorn sheep.

Day 5 (July 27, 2019) We had a bit of a slow morning. Juju made banana pancakes for breakfast. We packed up and headed for the Black Hills. We set up camp at a nice campground with trees, then headed to Mount Rushmore. Mount Rushmore was be best thing I had seen on the trip so far. I had been looking forward to seeing it. The faces in the stone were amazing. We found a quite view point and I worked on my Junior Ranger Badge. We had a nice chance to enjoy the sculptures. We also saw a chimpmunk. I learned a lot as I earned my Junior Ranger Badge. We went to the town of Deadwood and saw the graves of Wild Bill Hickock (murdered in 1876) and Calamity Jane. We then went to Saloon No. 10, which was my first Saloon. It was a bit scary, but fun to see the history. There was sawdust on the floor and animals and old photos on the walls. We ate in the restaurant upstairs and I had an 8 oz. filet with bacon. We walked the town and I bought a western lever action rifle cap gun.

What is this thing that keeps following me!?

Grave of Wild Bill Hickock

Saloon No. 10.

Day 6 (July 28, 2019) We woke up early to hike in Wind Cave National Park. I was very excited to see my first Buffalo just as we pulled in to the park. There was one right near the road that ended up crossing in front of us. He was sad because his friend was hit by a car overnight and passed away close to the road. A little farther into the park, we found the herd. There was one fat boy with a big floppy chin that was dedicated to walk steadily across the prairie to cross the road to Buffalo on the other side. We had nice views of him and he was huge! Then we hiked 5 miles across the prairie and up a bluff for a nice experience in the prairie and views. There were tiny frogs on the trail, and gargantuan grass hoppers hugging the grass. We also found some cool rocks, quartz and rocks from the ancient sea. No Buffalo, though. I got grumpy and marched ahead to finish the hike faster. We ate lunch in the car and went to the Mammoth Site. At least 60 Whooly and Columbian Mammoth, plus many other animals, including the giant short faced bear, were trapped in a sink hole 140,000 years ago and preserved. This made an ugly hill after other layers eroded away, which was being bulldozed for a housing development when the first bones were discovered. The developer was smart and knew this was an important find and worked to protect it. Now scientists are spending years learning about the animals in the sink hole. It was awesome to see real bone fossils exposed in the ground. We drove to Wind Cave National Park again and watched the herd of Buffalo as they drank water then walked away. At the visitor center, we took an above ground tour to see the original, natural entrance to the cave. We had plans for a tour in the cave by candlelight, but all cave tours were canceled because the elevator was broken. The cave was discovered because of the sound that is made when air rushes out of the natural opening. In the 1890s, a 16 year old mapped out 8 miles of cave in 4 years. Now, 150 miles of cave have been explored and they think that is only 10%. So far, the cave is only below 1 square mile and is 550 feet deep. I earned another Junior Ranger Badge and I got a hat to put the Junior Ranger Badges on. We went on a second hike of 2.5 miles in the mountains, where we saw a really nice meadow area with many wild flowers and then climbed up to the top of the large rocks on the mountain. We could see for miles all around, including big, rocky mountains nearby. This was the initial area for the Mt. Rushmore carving, but the rocks were not good for carving. We saw lots of cool rocks, including quartz and shiny mica. My favorite part was climbing on the big rocks at the top. I also liked the way down, as always. Back at camp, we roasted sausages with croissant dough over the fire and had Rhubarb pie. It was a nice night in camp.

Tatanka!

Prairie Hike.

Prairie view from hike.

Tall prairie grass in bloom.

Nearly entire skeleton of a Mammoth.

Mammoth and me.

Multi-levels of Mammoth skulls, tusks, and bones.

Windcave natural entrance that the original explorers used. They must have been my size!

Wildflowers in the meadow.

Climbing through Granite crack.

Black Hills from the top.

Day 7 (July 29, 2019) We started the morning with eggs and pie! We finished our time in the Black Hills with a tour of Jewel Cave National Monument. The cave was filled with nailhead spar calcite crystals. We also saw boxwork and some stalactites and stalagmites. We went 379 feet underground. The cave has 205 miles of passages. Nine species of bats live in the cave. I adopted a bat that I named Chubs. We need to protect the bats from White Nose Syndrome, which is a fungus that grows on their noses and wakes them up early from hibernation, leading to their starvation since there is no food yet. We then drove on to Devils Tower. We had a campsite facing the tower. In the park, we had great views and hiked all around it. I earned my Junior Ranger Badge at both Jewel Cave and Devils Tower. I tried to go to the pool at the campground, but it was too cold. Juju made pizza in the RV and we ate while watching Close Encounters of the Third Kind outside at the campground. Papa went back in to the park to photograph the International Space Station flying by Devils Tower. Papa then took us all back in to the park to see the Milky Way and stars with Devils Tower all to our own. It was a cool experience to see them over the tower. We saw many shooting stars. We also saw the ISS fly over again. There were many bats flying around. In the dark, we did not know they were there, but when we turned on a light, dozens flew in and out of the light. It was awesome, but I was so tired. Papa rescued his nalgene bottle that he dropped in a deep hole in the rock earlier using a broom stick with a command hook taped to the end.

Calcite crystals in Jewel cave.

Boxwork are rare formations of gypsum.

Water flow makes stalactites and cool formations.

Formations high on a rock.

Depth of some passageways.

Red Squirrel.

Devils Tower! (I am in the orange shirt near the base, I love climbing the rocks)

Christina and the ISS fly by Devils Tower.

Many meteors, even one coming straight at us! (bright dot above Cassiopeia)

Devils Tower with the Milky Way (19 image panorama stitched together)

Js of Thunder at Devils Tower!

Theodore Roosevelt National Park, ND - July 30-31, 2019

Day 8 (July 30, 2019) For breakfast we had eggs and sausage with cereal ( Mm mm mm ). We had a amazingly pretty view of Devils Tower. We drove to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. While driving we stopped at Tastee Hut I got a pulled pork sandwich, Papa had a double cheese burger, and Juju had a really good chicken sandwich with a rhubarb shake. At Roosevelt National Park I got My 9th junior ranger badge. When we got to the campsite I got to slide out all of the slide outs YAY!!!! We went on a drive around the park. After seeing a lot of buffalo on our site seeing drive, we were trapped by a whole herd of Buffalo approached us while we were stopped on the road. There was a Buffalo that was bigger than our car!!!! They were so close, we could almost reach out and touch them. They were very hairy and made lots of noises. Some Buffalo were chasing others. Some were rolling in the dirt to scratch their backs. There were also baby Buffalo in the herd. We also saw two antelope, prairie dogs, and a bunny. I designed my own dinner. I made a homemade chicken pot pie with Pillsbury biscuits, chicken, veggies, and cream of chicken soup with no mold to hold the shape. I formed a bowl shape with one biscuit, put in the filling, and put another biscuit on top, sealing the edges. I wrapped it in foil and put it on hot coals to cook. It worked perfectly! Papa and Juju made a larger pot pie for them in a dutch oven. After dinner we went to an astronomy program. It was cloudy but they explained the telescopes and the solar powered trailer and RV they used for astronomy shows. For dessert we had yummy pie. After, I took a shower and went to bed.

Baby with Mama.

Buffalo crossing the Little Missouri River.

Buffalo baby.

Pronghorn.

Buffalo calling.

Do you want a piece of me?

I just want a hug!.

Making my dinner creation of chicken pot pie.

Day 9 (July 31, 2019) Today was a 580 mile drive day from North Dakota through Montana to Glacier National Park. Not very exciting. We bought some fresh beef from a small butcher in a small town in Montana. We left the Prairie to head to the mountains. There were many wheat fields. I finished by writing assignment for school. OK, a few cool things happened. We pulled in to the campground and I set up the water and electrical. Then, Ms. Michelle from Maryland came over! We were going to hang out with here and hike in the park for a few days. As we were driving back from dinner at Two Sisters, there were moose in the campground! A mom and a baby.

Mom and baby moose!

Glacier National Park, MT - Aug 1-4, 2019

Day 10 (August 1, 2019) We woke up very early to head to Logan pass with Ms. Michelle. We hiked the Highline trail on the Continental Divide. It started off with awesome views of the valley as we walked on a granite ledge. The views along the hike were amazing with contrasts between the flowers, trees, granite, and distant views. We saw fat little buddies that looked like mountain prairie dogs but were actually Colombian ground squirrels. We also saw some Hoary marmots and chipmunks. We hiked through a snow field and we had a snowball fight. The mountains along the trail were shear and high. There were many cool rocks, red, green, grey, and yellow. I was in beast mode during the hike. I didn't let myself worry about how long it was and kept going one step at a time. I also drank plenty of water and ate food along the way, so there was no crash. Tootsie pops helped, too. We took a side trail called garden wall for a view into the next valley. It was only a mile, but 1,000 feet gain in 0.8 miles. The view was awesome! We could see the Grinnell glacier and turquoise glacial lake with icebergs. The view was overwhelmingly breathtaking and worth the hike up. Later, there was a marmot that would get so close to Papa, he could almost touch it. The hike down the spur trail was not very fun and my feet hurt. There was a Chalet farther up the trail, so we stopped for a snack before heading down. The last two miles of the hike were exposed and hot. We were happy to catch a bus at the bottom back to the car. I hiked 14 miles! It had 2,500 feet of gain and 5,000 of down! Back at camp, we jumped in the pool and hot tub. Then, we cooked fresh steaks on the fire. I made an arrow out of a rock I found on the hike and a stick.

All of us ready for adventure!

Starting the hike at Logan Pass.

Narrow path on the granite cliff.

Marmot? No, Columbian Ground Squirrel, cousin to the ground beaver.

Photos can't capture the beauty of the flowers.

Vast views with contrasting color.

Marmot! Hoary Marmot.

View from Garden Wall of the Grinnell Glacier and lake. This glacier is expected to be gone by 2030. (105 image HDR panorama)

Beast Mode!

Day 11 (August 2, 2019) We woke up early and headed to Many Glaciers to catch a boat across some lakes to start some hikes. Papa and I started to hike to Grinnell Glacier and Juju and Michelle hiked to Grinnel lake. We saw a Grizzly bear! The bear was scratching his buttocks and his back on a foot bridge. Then he swam in the river. I had a great view of him as he played in the water. He was about 30 yards away. He sort of came toward us and the ranger with the big group behind us was very worried. A few more miles in the hike we saw a couple of huge moose it was awesome! One was a Male in the valley. Another was right near the trail and we could smell it. It grabbed a small branch with its mouth and stripped all the leaves off and continued munching. At the top, the lake with icebergs was breath taking. The water was freezing Brrrrr! There were huge pieces of ice in the lake and they were still blue. The edge of the glacier as it entered the lake was visible and also blue. We had lunch by the lake and saw a mommy bird feed a baby bird. There were huge pieces of iron in the seabed rock that had been worn away by the glacier. The way down my feet hurt a lot. Papa kept rushing me. We missed the boat back so we had to walk an extra 2.5 miles, which felt like 2.5 million miles. This made the hike 11 miles, with 2,000 feet of gain. We rested at a hotel and it felt good. We sat outside to enjoy the view and have some snacks and milk. We had a nice dinner in the historic lodge and then went back to camp and into the pool. We drove up to Logan pass for a star party. There was a ranger talk and 15 telescopes to look through. Unfortunately, it was too cloudy.

View from Many Glacier Lodge (18 image HDR panorama)

Boat ride to start the day.

Grizzly Bear! Smelling us perhaps?

Grizzly Bear!

Playing in the water.

Drying off.

We had to hike through some falls. Felt good!

Waterfall from the glacier with the glacier behind.

Grinnell Glacier and Lake (30 image HDR panorama)

Iceburgs!

Face of the glacier.

Lake Juju and Michelle hiked to. You can see the silt flowing in to the lake.

Baby birdie ready to be fed.

Moose just crossed the trail.

She grabs the stem, then slides her mouth up to strip off all of the leaves. Swoop!

Christina flies over again!

Day 12 (August 3, 2019) We woke up sort of early and ate sandwiches. My tummy hurt because of the jimmy dean sandwich, but I felt better after some water and a tootsie pop. We went on a hike to Rockwell Falls. It was a 7.5 mile hike, but only 500 feet of gain. When we finished the hike, I had hiked 32.5 miles in Glacier in 3 days! There were big ponds with beaver lodges and dams. At one pond, the beavers had dammed it to be a few feet higher than the pond below. There was a squirrel in a tree throwing pine cones and branch tips down all around. I learned that it was a pine musk. A cool suspension bridge crossed a river and only one of us could cross at a time. The waterfalls were the best I had ever seen. There was a wide one at the bottom over jagged rocks and a tall, skinny one at the top over smooth rock. We ate lunch on a ledge near a pool of the falls. There were people jumping off of rocks in a pool above, and I wanted to do it, too. But, after I put 1/4 of my baby toe in the water, I decided it was way too cold. Papa, Juju and Michelle walked around in the water. On our way back, we heard a slight sound and thought it was a pine musk throwing pine cones, but then, Papa saw the moose butt sticking out behind a tree. It was a huge moose with big antlers. He was close and we got to watch him nip and strip leaves off of branches. We could see the fur on his antlers, which had a bit of a pattern to them. He did not mind us and it was cool to quietly watch him. He crossed the trail a little close to Papa. After the hike, we had a snack by the lake. I found a pointy rock on the hike, so I found a stick to make a spear. I was excited and want to catch a fish with the spear. At camp we went in the pool. We had some pizza delivered to the pool and it was nice to relax. When I finished in the pool I played at the playground with some kids. Papa set up the telescope and we saw Jupiter and Saturn. I was astonished to see Saturn and the rings. In some ways, it seemed fake, but it was just like it is in books. It made me feel like there is so much out there.

A cool suspension bridge to cross a river

Rockwell Falls. (6 image panorama)

Big Moose!

I think he sees Papa!

Craters of the Moon National Monument, ID - Aug 4-5, 2019

Day 13 (August 4, 2019) We finished packing up at Glacier and hit the road to Craters of the Moon in Idaho. It was a long drive but we made it just in time to get to the visitors center. The landscape was amazing, just like newer lava flows on the surface in Hawaii. The last flow was 2,000 years ago. Apollo astronauts trained here to prepare for walking on the moon and learning how to evaluate geology to collect rock samples. We ran back to town to set up the RV and ate dinner at 'Pickle's Place.' Pickle is one of my other nicknames. There was a ranger program back at the park. After the program, it was very cool to drive around the park with the setting sun. We climbed a mountain of cinders and could see the orange and pink sunset on the thick clouds overhead. We found some interesting lava flow next to some spatter cones and waited for Mrs. Christina to fly over. It was a fitting overpass since given the landscape and history. We stayed longer and Papa set up the telescope for some great viewing of Jupiter and Saturn. I could see that the moons of Jupiter had moved since the night before. Io was on the other side of Jupiter. I could also see the Milky Way, shooting stars, other satelites, and lightening in the distance. There were bats flying in the spatter cones.

ISS over Craters of the Moon.

Day 14 (August 5, 2019) We ran back in to Craters of the Moon in the morning to see more of the park and to hike in a lava tube. It was amazing how big it was. I tried to imagine huge amounts of lava flowing in the tube. We could see where the lava flowed against the ceiling and walls and how it cooled on the floor as the flow ran out. Then it was back on the road to Grand Teton National park. Since I stayed up so late the night before, I slept for some of the drive. This included going over the big pass in to Jackson with a 10% grade on the way down. The brakes got a little hot.

Grand Teton National Park, WY - Aug 5-7, 2019

Tetons. (15 image HDR panorama)

Day 15 (August 6, 2019) In the previous afternoon, we arrived at Grand Teton visitor center and I joined a ranger talk about safety around bears. We then went to the campground where we were staying in a tent cabin. We had a nice hike around Swan lake and through the woods to the edge of Jackson lake, about 3.8 miles. Not much interesting wildlife. At camp, we made foil dinners (hobo dinner) with ground turkey, kielbasa, broccoli and potatoes. I heated up some brownies in foil on the fire, too. The shower house closed at 9, way to early to be useful, so Papa and I showered with the RV outdoor shower and the pop-up phone booth we have rigged with the RV. We read some ghost stories and jumped in sleeping bags in the tent cabin bunks. We woke up early and headed to Jenny Lake to catch a boat across the lake to start a hike. We hiked the Cascade Canyon between Grand Teton and Teewinot Mountains. The first part of the hike included the very popular Hidden Falls and up to Inspiration Point, which were not too crowded since it was early. We continued up and had great views of the peaks above. In the canyon, there was a river, that had falls and Rapids as well as slow flat spots. In one flat spot, there was a bull moose munching away with a female laying down. Then we saw Pika! They are fuzzy alpine hamster. We saw one gathering grass to dry and eat later. The lake was beutiful and we had a nice lunch. On the way down, we saw two bull moose near the trail. Closer to the bottom, we saw a female moose. The hike was 15.5 miles long, with 2,500 feet of gain, another record for me! We had an awesome dinner at the Jackson Lake Lodge. I had an Elk steak, and so did some wolves outside. I built a fire in the wood stove in the tent cabin so we would be warmer at night.

Lake Solitude at 9,000 feet with Grand Teton on the left. (42 image HDR panorama)

Bull moose near the lake. He was pretty close to the trial. He uses his tongue to grab a branch.

Female moose in the river in the canyon. She was nipping and stripping.

Nip and Strip!(Video)

Pika are so cute. They go 'Meee' to sound the alarm. Here one is storing some grass for later.

An owl keeps an eye on us and tries to find a good place to eat the mouse in his beak.

Yellowstone National Park, WY - Aug 7-14, 2019

Day 16 (August 7, 2019) We packed up the RV and prepared to leave the tent cabin. The fridge did not seem to be running due to the slope on which the RV was parked. We moved everything to the main parking lot with flatter ground, and headed out for some morning views of the mountains. We stopped at Jackson Lake lodge and had breakfast burritos on the back patio with a nice view of the Tetons. We also found a Uinta Ground Squirrel. I finished my Junior Ranger Badge. Smokey the Bear was at the visitor's center for his 75th birthday! As we drove to Yellowstone, a mama bear and three cubs crossed the road. The mama started to run, but the cubs were playing. The last one finally ran to catch up. After we checked in at the campground, we drove up to Old Faithful. Papa and I were so tired, we took a nap in the car. Juju found us waiting for the eruption. The Old Faithful eruption was cool, it went supe high! We walked around the other pools and geysers, which were also cool. We could see deep in to some of the pools with colorful water. Small pools seemed to fill, sputter, and drain as Old Faithful built for its next eruption. It was exciting to run around all of the features to see their reactions. We watched Old Faithful erupt again and also saw Castle erupt. We sat on the deck of the Old Faithful Inn and the got a table in the dining room for dinner. The inside of the Inn is amazing with a huge stone fireplace, big volume with many levels, and everything made form logs.

Old Faithful!

Systematic Spring

Old Faithful Inn.

Inside the Inn.

Day 17 (August 8, 2019) We woke up a 6:00. After a little bit of drive we saw a coyote pooping. Papa and I laughed our butts off. Not so long after, we saw a bear eating a carcass. It was a huge Grizzly that was laying on his back. The ranger thought he was 400 to 500 lbs. We could see him raise his head and paws. We went on a 4.4 mile hike. There was a cool suspension bridge across the Yellowstone river. We saw some grouse. I was a bit annoyed with the mosquitoes. In our drive across the Lamar Valley we saw a huge black bear. It was awesome!!! It was so big, the ranger was not sure what it was. We think it is a Black Bear, maybe a 'Cinnamon' Bear. He was eating flowers like crazy and he was close to the road. He was scared away by some loud motorcycles. He ran pretty fast. We went up to Silver Gate and hand lunch in the Log Cabin Cafe and got some icecream at Stop the Car General Store. Be also bought a mountain lion cougar print and a map by our friend and photographer Max Waugh. We drove some of the Bear Tooth Byway. After re-entering the park, we hiked up to Trout lake, which was beautiful in the evening. However, we did not see any otters. We headed in to the Lamar Valley to look for wolves. There were hundereds of Buffalo, some on the road. We had more close views. A baby was nursing right on the road. It started to rain, so we ate our sandwiches. While looking for wolves, we saw a bald eagle. We decided to start to head back as we knew there was another Buffalo carcass. As we watched with a crowd of people, a bear came down from the hill and started on the carcass. Our lens was not quite long enough to have a good view, but a nice lady let us look through hers. Then we drove home and I slept in the car. When we got to camp, we showered in the RV because the showers closed to early. Papa ran a 130' extension cord to the woman's bathroom because it was too late to run the generator.

Nice view of a Coyote!

This is what he was doing!

400 to 500 lb. Grizzly on a buffalo carcass

Black Bear eating flowers.

Some call this a Cinnamon Bear, which is a color of Black Bear.

Fuzzy Baby Buffalo.

Grand Prismatic Spring. The colors are due to different bacterial at different temperatures. Not many bacteria in the hot, blue center.

Bubbling Mud Pot, my favorite.

Mud Pot in action! (Video)

Top of Lower Yellowstone Falls.

Coyote hunting by jumping over bushes.

Day 18 (August 9, 2019) We slept in a little, then, headed out to see the thermal features. We picked up a young scientist tool kit, and I could measure the temperatures of the pools and streams. I learned that different bacteria of different colors lived at different temperatures. I also timed the eruption frequency of the Jewel geyser. By investigating and learning about the features, I learned the Yellowstone Young Scientist patch. We went to the Grand Prismatic spring, which is amazing with all of the colors. We continued around the park to the Norris Geyser Basin and the Artists Mud Pots. Mud Pots are my favorites, especially the thicker ones, because they sputter and splat. After Norris, we drove to Canyon to see Yellowstone falls and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. The top of the falls was amazing as huge volumes of water were pouring over the 390 foot drop. The canyon was extra dramatic with the setting sun. We stopped by the carcass in Hayden valley to see if anything new was happening. The bear was more active, standing up and eating. A Coyote came down the hill and started to jump around as it was hunting. The bear did not mind. It was later than we had planned, so we stopped at the lake for dinner and went straight to bed when we got back.

Day 19 (August 10, 2019) Today we woke up at 4:30 and arrived in the Lamar Valley at 6:30. Mr. Max would be proud. On the way, we saw two black bears coming out of the hills to go toward water. One was walking parallel to the road and was ahead of Papa, but behind us. Then, he doubled back and crossed the road near Papa. Papa was walking away backward and we got in the car. The bear sniffed toward Papa, but kept on his way. He was digging up plants for food. We continued to an overlook with some locals that track wolves. We ate our breakfast and waited. We were rewarded when 7 wolves appeared out of the sage to eat an old carcass and play around. We got to watch through some of their scopes. The wolves played around like labs. The alpha female went up the hill and one by one, the others left, too. One crossed the river in front of us and walked along the flat area. We could see him better with the binoculars, but he was still far away. We left the valley at around 10, and drove to Mammoth Hot Springs, which completed our full circumnavigation of the park. The springs were very beautiful, flowing down and making pools. I was sworn in as a Junior Ranger. The visitor center had very nice displays of all of the animals in the park, including wolf puppies. On the way to camp, we drove through the Hayden valley. We stopped to check on the carcass again. The bear had moved off and was taking a nap on the hill. He got up at one point and did not look too happy. Then, he laid back down. Maybe too much meat! My tummy hurt, too. There was a traffic jam due to the bison, so I had to run in to the woods. I felt better, but I was worried that a bison was going to come up behind me. We went to the Mud Volcano. The mud springs here were more soupy. I asked the ranger and he said that it was because of the different rock underneath. When we got home I tried to make a fire with natural materials except for matches. I tried for 45 mins, but the pine needles kept burning out before a large enough fire could start. We switched to charcoal to cook the Shepard's pie that Juju had gotten ready. It tasted good and we made a fruit cobbler ( mm mm) so good.

Bear heading down from the hills for food and water.

Pack of wolves playing and eating.

Wolf running along the river.

Elk.

Day 20 (August 11, 2019) We made a rest day out of today. We slept in, then made pancakes. I cooked some pancakes on a skillet right on some coals on the fire. We started to pack for the backpack. We went to the ranger station to get our backpacking permit and the training film made me nervous about the bears. We went over to the lake area and had some lunch. The power was out in most of the park. We had a nice view out of the Lake Inn windows. It was the first hotel in Yellowstone. We drove to the Fishing Bay area looking for Beaver, but all we saw was a lone bison walking on the road. We did see some Elk with antlers. On the way back, we stopped at the west thumb geyser basin. There were a variety of features right by the lake. Back at camp, Papa and I worked together to succeed at lighting a fire with only natural materials. The trick was small shavings of wood that could be lit with a match, rather than the pine needles. We fed it bit by bit until it was big. We roasted sausages on the fire, then made a cherry cobbler with chocolate chip cookie dough. We sat by the lake to enjoy our last sunset at the lake camp, before Juju was to head home.

While we headed off on our backpack, Juju headed to the Tetons.

She took the tram to the top of the Tetons!

Backpack to Heart Lake, Yellowstone National Park, WY - Aug 12-14, 2019

Day 21, 22, 23 (August 12-14, 2019) We woke up at 6:30 and we got ready for the backpack. I was so nervous that I had to go potty 3 times before starting on our hike we saw some hot thermal features, they were breathtaking. Some of them were boiling. We went in a river that was heated by a thermal feature. It felt so so good. The downside was there were some little red worms on us when we got out. We had to check to make sure there were all off. On the last 2.5 miles my foot hurt so much that every time I put weight on it. I went, "OW OW OW." We got to camp and I had hiked 9.5 miles with a 30 pound backpack. At camp we set up our bear bag, then our tent. We ate a snack at the lake, the lake is super pretty. We saw a tiny toad by the lake. We took a shower and the ate dinner. On the menu was freeze dried chicken and dumplings (Mm mm). For dessert we had a raspberry crumble, so delish. We saw two chipmunks playing around a stump, they were so cute. We also watched a mommy birdie feed a little baby birdie. The lake was pretty at sunset. Then, we went to bed in the tent. The water filter worked well to make us very tasty water. We woke up at 6:30 and made some breakfast, scrambled eggs with bacon (my favorite) and leftover desert. We did a 7 mile hike. We saw 2 skulls with antlers on them. The hike took us through some old growth forest that had not been burned in the fires. I had to wear a brace because I had sprained my ankle and the brace clip scraped my skin. Papa was good at wrapping the brace that he carried in his first aid kit. After the hike, we sat at the beach and we saw a weasel and it looked at papa and I funny. We took a nap on the beach. We ate dinner and then we slept on the beach. Papa and I herd a growling sound. I woke him up and Papa asked if it was him snoring. Later, he heard it too, it was super adrenalin rushing. Sleeping on the beach in the open was a very cool experience. The moon was so bright, we could see it through our sleeping bags. We woke at 5:50 and packed up. We had another nice breakfast on the beach. We left at 8:50 and our first 2 miles were 20 minute miles. I did great on the first half of the hike, up the hill. My foot was hurting at the end. I said during the trip, "this was the best backpacking trip ever." If my ankle did not hurt, it would have been even better.

Hiked through the forest to get the first view of the lake.

Trail through the exposed valley area.

Soaking in the warm water.

Little red worms on us.

I had to jump to cross the stream.

Made it to camp!

Chicken and dumplings are my favorite!

A deer came down for a drink.

Cute weasel!

Baby robin in the alpine.

Yum, yum, nut!

Foggy morning since the lake is warmer than the air.

My ankle wrap.

There are bears here! We saw scat, too!

Elk antlers.

Sleeping in the open on the beach.

Making our meals.

Thermal feature.

Hiking out.

Jackson Hole, WY - Aug 14-15, 2019

Day 23 (August 14, 2019) After the backpack, we drove to Jackson, Wyoming. We got to the RV and unpacked our stuff and showered. We ate at a restaurant named Gun Barrel, Papa and I both ate a 9oz tenderloin it felt so good to have real food. After the yummy dinner we went to a rodeo it was awesome. The bare-back riding was especially cool. One horse was doing a four leg jump, which is rare. I rode a fake Buffalo and the person had to work hard to shake me off. I got an awesome cowboy hat. At the end of the day we went to the RV and went to bed.

100 mile steak!

Rodeo

Mechanical Buffalo trying to buck me off!

Riding the Buffalo! (Video)

Day 24 (August 15, 2019) We slept in today it felt awesome after the backpack. We ate at the Virginian I got some French toast, papa got some pancakes. After a yummy breakfast, we prepared for whitewater rafting. When we got there, we rented some wet suits. We rode in a bus for 45 minutes. The people had to do a safety talk. When we got in the raft we saw a Otter. It was amazing to see one in the wild, they are so long. Our guide was Gavin, he was friendly. He let Papa and I sit in the front. When we hit some big waves I almost fell out, it felt good. We saw another Otter and he had a fish in his mouth. The last couple big waves were huge. The cold water felt nice on a hot day. After the awesome rafting trip, we went into town. We went in a store with a lot of animal heads and furs. We bought some stickers and I bought a Bobcat skull. At the White Buffalo Club Papa got a 6oz coulette cut and I got a 8oz tenderloin. We also had bone marrow for an appetizer. It looked a bit weired but tasted good. For dessert we got a chocolate sphere it tasted awesome after the steak. The club had a nice, dark steakhouse feel. Another table ordered a 35 oz bone-in ribeye on a salt block. I wanted to help them eat it. We walked home. We packed up the RV to leave. I went to bed at 10:50.

Big wave coming!

Dinosaur National Monument, UT & CO - Aug 16-18, 2019

Day 25 (August 16, 2019) We woke up and left Jackson. We saw a big moose. It looked fake but it looked so real at the same time. We drove through some cool mountains. We drove over the Flaming Gorge dam, then went on tour of the dam. The dam was build in 1960 the dam can power 96,000 households and it has 151 megawatts. The Grand Coulee dam in Washington state has 6,400 megawatts. At Dinosaur National Monument we set up camp. We visited the dino bones and we saw a lot of cool skeletons. They discovered the Allosaurous (witch means other lizard in Greek). We went to a Ranger talk about rock history, it was very interesting. We learned about how the area was covered and shaped by a rising and falling shallow sea. We ate leftovers for dinner. We had some fun shooting light up helicopters in the air with slingshots. As we prepared the RV for the night, we broke the window. After we patched up the window, we went to bed.

Flaming Gorge Dam of the Green River

Generator room.

Cool dam!

Wall of Jurassic era (150 Million Years Ago) Dinosaur fossils from ancient riverbed that was lifted up with the mountains.

The Allosaurus was the dominant predator of the Jurassic period, not the T-Rex, which was from the Cretaceous period.

Day 26 (August 17, 2019) We woke up at 6:30 and ate breakfast, but we did not leave until 10:30 as we enjoyed the cool morning and caught up on chores insied the RV. We visited a old little cabin and then we went on a hike called Box Canyon. I found a little fish fossil. We drove a little bit and went on Fossil Discovery trail. We saw some fish scales, ancient clams and a Dino leg bone. We drove a bit more and went on a scenic hike. On the hike we saw some lighting and some awesome views of the green river and a canyon. When we got home I went to a ranger talk about bats I got to touch a 50 million old bat skeleton. I also discovered that the cave I went Caving in in Pennsylvania has white nose syndrome. The White Nose Syndrome gets on bats and kills them. After the talk, I made a game pie with biscuits and a dessert with blueberries. We went to an astronomy program. We looked at some nebulas and Saturn.

Past inhabitants made petroglyphs.

Split Mountain. 23 layers of rock were pushed up in this region. The rock splitting as it bent. The Weber sandstone contains the dinosaur fossils.

View from Harpers Corner in the canyon area showing the canyon carved by the Green river as the rock was pushed up.

Day 27 (August 18, 2019) Pack up, fill up on water, leave Dino, get badge, arrived at Arches, got permit, went to canyonlands, saw mesa arch, hiked to point at sunset, setup camp

Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Moab, UT - Aug 18-21, 2019

Day 28 (August 19, 2019) Woke up at 5:30 and we arrived at Fiery Furnace at 7:30. We had the whole place to ourselves. We spent 4 hours climbing up and around the rocks to work through the maze across 4 miles. When we were in there we got lost a few times. My favorite time was when papa was too big to squeeze through the small crack so he had to Spider-Monkey up it ( he he he). We went to town with the plan on having lunch and taking a short nap at a coffee shop, but then we decided to rent a Razr and go off-roading!. We did the Hell's Revenge trail all the way around and we went on some pretty steep stuff. There were big mounds of rock to go up and down, and sandy patches in between. We did one of the bathtub obstacles. There was an obstacle called 'Escalator' that was so steep, I could not even walk up it. We did an easier trail and I got the drive some. I liked it when papa made us drift. We did I little hike to Delicate Arch. I was grumpy. The view of the arch was beautiful. When we got home we had no dinner as we were not hungry. I went to bed.

The Fiery Furnace. You can only hike here if you get a permit.

Had to climb down to get in!

Some spires we had to go around up close.

Some passages were dead ends, but I almost made this one...

A cool arch.

Tight spot!

Papa teaching me how to climb up some obstacles.

My turn to spider across a gap.

Here is our buggy.

Here is some of the Hell's Revenge trail.

I got to drive a little!

Hell's Revenge trail, one of the hill climbs.(Video)

One of the down hills.(Video)

One of the Bath Tubs.(Video)

Escalator obstacle. So steep, I can't even run up it!(Video)

A steep uphill! (Video)

Me driving! (Video)

Delicate Arch (yes, the famous one).

Day 29 (August 20, 2019) Woke up at 5:30 and drove back in to Arches National Park. We hiked Devil's Garden, which had a number of arches an intersting features along the 8.5 mile circuit. The hike itself was nice and the views of the arches were very neat. It was good we started so early, as the trip on the backside of the loop was hot. We had a little time to ourselves at Private arch and took a short nap in the shade. After the hike, we went to Moab for lunch. We had pizza again in an outside upper deck with misters on. Then, we went to a coffee shop to recharge and work on the blog. We called grandpa becase it was his birthday. We headed out of town and took the Shaffer Canyon trail with the CRV. The dirt road was decent, but there were a few times Papa had it on only 3 wheels. We did not hit bottom anywhere. We had amazing views of the canyon from the bottom up. We were near the river, and could see it as we went higher. We stopped at Thelma and Louise point. Near the end of the trail, we went up 1,500 feet very quickly with tight switch backs. The CRV did fine. We stopped by Dead Horse Point, since we were staying near it, then we grilled a bit of dinner and I went to bed. Papa stayed up using the telescope.

Landscape Arch, one of a number on the Devil's Garden trail.

Navajo Arch.

Cool Trail.

Double O Arches.

The Dark Angel.

Fin formations coming at us.

After the hike, we caught balance rock.

As we head up the Shaffer trail in the CRV, we can see the Colorado river as it cuts through the canyon.

Up on top is Dead Horse State Park, with the RV.

Cap rocks form when the softer layers below a hard layer erode away. Eventually the cap rocks fall.

Now that we are back up on the canyon rim, we can see the Colorado as it winds through.

Andronmeda Galaxy

Lagoon Nebula

Mesa Verde National Park, CO - Petrified Forest National Park, AZ - Prepare to go home - Aug 21-24, 2019

Day 30 (August 21, 2019) We tried to sleep in, but we woke up sort of early anyway. Papa went on a drive around the canyon and got the Canyonlands stamp while I stayed in the RV and rested and made fried eggs. On the drive to Mesa Verde, we stopped at the Arches visitor center and got my Junior Ranger badge. When we arrived at camp in Mesa Verde, we got ready for a tour of the dwellings. Our tour was awesome. We got to learn about their life style. On the tour we climbed up a ladder and we saw their rooms and kivas. Kivas were used to do rituals and it was were they ate and cooked. They also used them to sleep in in winter because it was easier to heat up. Our tour guild's name was Stanley. He knew a lot of interesting facts. When we got back we started to pack, but I was too tired, so I went to bed. Papa stayed up late.

Cliff Palace (21 image HRD panorama). About 120 people lived here until 1300 a.d.

A Kiva example. It would have a wood and plaster roof with an entrance through the roof, chimney hole.

Multi level set of rooms.

Day 31 (August 22, 2019) Today we had to woke up at 6:30 because we had a tour at 8:00. Our tour guide was the same Stanely. We had to scramble down some rocks. We saw some more homes and every time the ranger would ask a question he would say, "Not the DC people". After the tour I got my Junior Ranger badge for Mesa Verde. On our drive to Mrs. CC and Mr. Brian's house we stopped at Petrified Forest in Arizona. We saw some big petrified logs. Some of them were thicker than the length of my arm! They were from a forest that grew 218 million years ago when that area was near the equator. For diner we ate KFC in Phoenix, which I had been waiting for! When we got to Ms. CC and Mr. Brian's house we prepared to leave to DC.

Oak Treehouse, which is older than Cliff Palace and was started around 900 a.d.

Working on the blog through the trip!

218 million year old petrified forest!

Beautiful mineral petrification.

18 Parks and 18 Junior Ranger Badges, plus young scientist and lunar ranger badges

KFC in Pheonix, walking through the drive-thru!

Day 32 (August 23, 2019) Today we woke up at 6:00 and started to unload the RV. We went to go wash the RV. It toke us 2 and half hours and I got my work out for the day. The bugs were hard to get off. In the end, it was very shiny. When we got back, we finished unloading the RV and it was a huge pile. It was also 109 degrees outside, so I was very sweaty. We went to put the RV away and I was sad that our trip was over. On our way back, we dove the car through a car wash and I got a hair cut. When we got back, we ate lasagna and finished packing up while we watched a movie called The Interview it was funny. Somehow, Papa stuffed it all in.

RV all clean!

Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf!

RV parked. Bye bye RV, we will see you soon!

Day 33 (August 24, 2019) We flew home. It is sad to be leaving the RV and that the trip is over, but we are excited for future trips, including the west coat to Seattle next year. Hope you will follow us next time!

Flying home.

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