~FINDING FALL~

I have needed a little R&R for a while and decided that I wanted to see Yellowstone and the Teton range again. It has been years since I have been there and with winter just around the corner what better time to take advantage of this beautiful weather! Steve was just as interested in going as I was but for very different reasons...It being where the "deer and the antelope play sort of thing. I was in it for the mountains, rivers, waterfalls and color!!!

The week before we left I started thinking about how much my dad would like to see that part of the country again too so, I called him and invited him to come with us. He was so much fun to have along. There is not anything he will not try. The guy amazes me everyday. We hiked and hiked, one day doing 385 stairs down to the bottom of Yellowstone falls and then 385 stairs back up! There is not a place in Yellowstone that doesn't include a lot of walking. Dad is better at that then I am! I hope I grow up to be just like him.

We saw so many things that I can't remember all of them by name but, I have lots and LOTS of pictures. Here are some of my favorite. Most were taken in the bright sunlight making it hard to really appreciate how absolutely beautiful everything really was up there. Yellowstone is mostly pines so the fall color is not like it is here but, still very, very pretty. In 1976 over half of Yellowstone was destroyed by a fire that was started by a "controlled" burn. You can see in one of the pictures how much the trees have come back. They are about 10 feet tall now and SO thick. I would be completely lost in 5 minutes...Pure bear bait! Notice how tall the burned pines are. It really makes the little ones look small and they truly are about 10-12 feet tall!

From Yellowstone we made our way south to the Grand Teton National Park. What can I say? I think I will just let the pictures do the talking...And yes, my dad hiked up to inspiration point! It is a steep, rocky trail full of twists and turns yet, he was ahead of me the whole way. I never even heard him get winded. The picture of him sitting with his arms around his knee is at the top looking down over the lake. I can not tell you how many times I have seen him in this exact same pose. I had to snap a picture. He started to get a bit annoyed at me and my camera after about the millionth picture, well, as annoyed as my dad ever gets. I just told him it was for posterity and he seemed fine with that. hehe.


1. Colors of fall

2. The Teton's @ Jenny Lake

3. Jenny Lake

4. Look close, you can see the railing
from part of the stairs leading to
the lower Yellowstone Falls.

5. Inspiration Point

6. All three of us

7. View from Jenny Lake

8. Signal Mountain

9. Lilly Pads at String Lake

10. Can you tell I LOVE the Tetons...

11. From the dam

12. Old Faithful

13. Castle geyser

14. Steve and Dad at Mammoth

15. Yellowstone lower falls

16. The STAIRS! 385 down, 385 up.

17. At the bottom of the falls

18. Burned but not dead!

19. Chillin

20, 21, 22, 23, 24, Mammoth Hot Springs.

25. Petrified tree...Thought to be around 50 million years old.

26. Tatonka

27, 28, Painted Pots

29. My typical view.

30, 31. Riverside
Geyser