Day 6- Old Faithful

We were so busy yesterday that I didn't get a chance to write. We saw Old Faithful and myriad other geysers and hot springs.

We just pulled the doors off the Jeep and are heading North for some Polaroid moments. So far, they've been plentiful.

I promise to take more time to write tonight even though I may not get to post until tomorrow.

I'm dying to show you these photos...


KoP

Day 5- On The Road

(This was all written yesterday on the road, but with no internet connection to get it posted.)

Right now, we are on the road somewhere in Wyoming jamming out to Def Leopard. The scenery is nothing short of spectacular. I mean, I wouldn’t really want to live here because it’s very desolate, but, wow, it is breath taking.

We’ve been driving under the speed limit pretty much all day, just taking it in. We stop whenever anything catches our eye and looks photograph-worthy. We even go off on these dirt roads if they look like they might lead to some cool rocky crag or cliff.

We’ve been seeing tons of wildlife too(haha Def Leopard is singing “Animal”). So far on this trip, we’ve seen:
Elk
Axis deer
Pronghorn Antelope
Moose
Elk
Geese
Horses
Cows
Sheep
Goats
Hawks flying overhead with a fish clutched in its talons. Seriously, it was cool.
Bald Eagle
White tail deer
Chipmunks
Ground Squirrels
Marmots
Porcupine

… ok, we’re stopping for gas. Be right back…
Ok. I’m back with some beef jerky and a map of stuff to see in Wyoming.
It looks like Independence Rock is only 15 miles out of the way so we’re going to check that out now.

There is NO cell phone signal up here. There’s barely any in Colorado, but ever since we left this morning, we’ve been incommunicado. That’s why I’m writing this entry in Word right now. I’ll just have to post it later when we get service… IF we get service.

We’re going to try and make it to the Wind River Indian Reservation by this evening. I don’t really know what there is to see there, but it’ll be pretty cool anyways. We’ll probably stay near there overnight and then head into the Teton National Forest in the morning. There is a lot of cool stuff to see there for sure.

***EDIT***
I have to add one more critter to the wildlife list:
Prairie Dog
We just stopped for lunch, and since we are in the part of our trip where we aren’t going to be staying in hotels or eating at restaurants, we just found a nice view, pulled off to the side of the road as far as we could and ate. We brought some lawn chairs and ice chest for this sort of thing and it was just SO cool being out in the middle of nowhere. When we got out, there was a very strong smell of sage because there was sage brush everywhere, that and Prairie dog holes. They started barking at us right away.
After lunch and many high fives ‘cause “We’re really doing it, man” we packed up and are now on the road to Independence Rock. cya


KoP

Day 4- Heading Out

Colorado has been cool... and wet, but tomorrow, we're heading North to Wyoming.

I'll chat with ya then.


KoP

Day 3- Wildlife

Today, even though it rained a lot, ROCKED!
We decided to go into Boulder to check things out and took a route through the Rocky Mountain National Forest. It was $20 to drive through it, but man, it was well worth it! We saw plenty of wild life and there was snow, SNOW! all over the place. The highest altitude on the road was 12,400'... or so. I was really surprised at how much snow there still was. The temperature is in the 90's at home, and in the 30's on top of the mountain.
Right off the bat, we saw some moose. MOOSE! We also got shots of a lot of mule deer, but I don't have those uploaded yet.
















This is the view from the top.



G'night, kids.


KoP

Day 2- Winter Park, Co

While we're in Colorado, we've decided to stay at the timeshare and do some day hikes, among other things, while we relaaaax.

What an awesome drive in. It was a little rainy when we got into the mountains, but the cloud formations looked so cool pouring over the peaks. The roads were pretty slick and treacherous through the switchbacks, but I wasn't nervous at all. I just put the Jeep in 4wd and enjoyed the incredible view over the cliffs.
Amy, however, literally chewed her new fingernails off. She does not like driving through the mountains, especially when it's all wet.
I wanted to stop on the shoulder and get some photos, but Amy wasn't having it. hahaha She's such a scardy cat.

It's a little colder here than I thought... it got down into the 40's while we were crossing the pass. It might be a little more chilly if we hike up another 1000'.
Next week, we'll be driving North to Montana, that's another 800 miles. I hope it doesn't get colder as we go, because THAT'S where we'll be doing the long overnight hikes.

These are the peaks of Winter Park in the background from our lodge parking lot.



KoP