Why Oming? Part One

Because Yellowstone National Park is there!

Jake and I left on Sunday and met my mom in Alpine, WY at a place called the Flying Saddle Resort. If you ever need to stay in the Jackson Hole area and you don't feel like spending a billion dollars on a hotel, stay at the Flying Saddle. It's a little bit of a drive, but it beats spending $500 on a mediocre room. Not exaggerating.

 

The buffalo in the dining room was staring at me while I ate.
O_o

The Tetons

More Tetons

My mom took a cab from the airport in Jackson to our hotel, and the guy who drove her told her that we had to go to Jenny Lake before we left, because apparently it was awesome. Jenny Lake is in Grand Teton National Park, so in we went!

Grand Teton National Park entrance

At Jenny Lake.

So, we get to Jenny Lake, and my mom is like, "Woo let's go for a walk!" And I'm thinking, "OK, a nice leisurely walk on the lakefront, probably on paved paths, or possibly barefoot in the sand."

No.

We went for a hike. She wanted to go all the way around the lake, which was a 7.4-mile trek.

That smile means she's plotting to kill me via overhiking.

A nice beach where we could have just
hung out for an hour or so.

Sloppy makeouts with Jake.

Camille capitalized on every opportunity she was given to
eat dirt and/or rocks.

Camille practicing her yodel.

Are those... rain clouds?

Yes. They were rain clouds.

We went about halfway around the lake, and then rain clouds rolled up over the mountains and started to doom-and-gloom their way across the lake.

They were coming right for us!

We started to head back, and about ten minutes after that, it started to sprinkle on us.

OK, sprinkling, not a big deal. I'm from Florida. I can handle a sprinkle. And Camille's backpack has a rain shield, so she was OK.

Dun dun DUNNNN!

It definitely started raining harder. Pouring, as a matter of fact. Jake started hollering about hail, and my mom kept wanting to take shelter under trees. Which would have been fine, but for the lightning. So we ran all the way back to the car, leapt in, and continued our drive up to the cabin in Yellowstone that we rented.

Camille enjoying a swing in front of the Canyon General
Store. Wheee!

Sounds scrumptious.  o_O

The map of the area where we stayed.

After we checked in, we got a little dinner, and then we went on a hike to the Lower Falls.

Right myuh.

This is a view of the Upper Falls from the
trail down to the Lower Falls.

My mom doing her end-of-tapdance-routine pose.

A view down the canyon from the top
of the Lower Falls.

Camille was angry that we turned her around and ruined
her view of the falls.

Camille loved it!

After the Lower Falls hike, we went on a little hike to Grand View, which is right up the road like 100 feet.

The views of this canyon were truly breathtaking. Every night we did a different hike in this canyon, and each of them was more awesome than the next. And I mean awesome as the true definition - inspiring awe - and not like... "this hot dog is awesome!" This canyon was awesome. It made me feel small and insect-like, but in a good way. I thought, wow, this canyon was around before homo sapiens. If it could talk, it would say, "Back in my day, I drowned a goddamn Tyrannosaurus rex!"

My mom got Camille a stuffed monkey, and she loves it.

We went back to the cabin and passed out. My dogs were barking. Not loud enough, though, because that night, a mouse sneaked in and ate my mom's nuts.

Walnuts.

Little bastard!

Stay tuned for another post on Day Two of our Yellowstone Adventure!