Cross Country Trip Day 29 (Thursday, 7/23): Hike Out and Yellowstone

Crystal Lake

I woke up and saw the sun rise, caught a few shots, and then ducked back inside the tent when another wave of wind and rain washed over us. We were grateful that the rain cleared long enough to make and eat breakfast and pack up our gear, get it loaded in the kayak. Just as we were loading the last few things into the kayak, it started to spatter us with cold drops. We pulled on our ponchos over our backpacks and I headed out with the older girls while Yvonne paddle Mem and Zoë paddled the two boards out.

Morning sunrise

Loaded, Packed and ready to go

Remember this shot from a few days ago? It was much warmer and sunnier...

Miranda carrying her pack. I was worried about her, but she did GREAT. Until we reached where we started and then had to go further to get to the truck. That last mile was really hard for her. But she made it! I was so proud of her and how well she hiked and how she didn't complain.

Poor, chilled Zoë. We could NOT have done this trip without her!

Look at that awesome woman!

Nica in her rain gear and backpack

Violet, a pro, loved hiking

Megan was great, and enjoyed the hiking almost as much as the water

Sage didn't bat an eye at the rain.

I look ridiculous. No really....

I truly look ridiculous!

The girls played on the saddles while the moms loaded up the truck with all our gear.

We left the Grand Tetons and headed north a short ways to Yellowstone National Park

This time I got Miranda, Megan and Sage. They were tired, and a little chilled.

This was SO STINKY! The girls don't seem to be all that thrilled.

Dragons?

Yvonne's truck with all the fun gear, my minivan right behind.

Miranda, Sage, Megan, Zoë, Veronica, Yvonne, Mem, and Violet

Same girls, just with me

We drove to another mud pit. 

This was just as stinky

Mem was happy to be sitting in the pack

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this pic!
Mem's smile and head tilt show so much of her personality.

It started raining, and got really cold. But I wanted to see the view of the waterfalls. So we donned ponchos and pulled out umbrellas (those pink ones the girls bought at BYU)

Cold, Wet, Windy. Can we go?

View of the waterfall. It was truly beautiful. Just wish we could've seen it in the sunlight.

We didn't stop there! We checked to see if there were places for us to stay near the park, but all the camp sites were full. So we decided to drag the girls around a few more places, despite the rain and cool weather

Hey that sun might just be coming out!

Sage, Zoe, Yvonne and Miranda walking across the wet parking lot that shows the sun is almost out

Back Row: Nadine, Memory, Zoë, Megan, Yvonne
Front Row: Nica, Sage, Miranda
Not Picture: Violet (who wasn't feeling well and stayed in the truck, and Ember who wasn't yet born)

Violet emerged and her mom was pointing out the waterfall

Me with all the girls!

All 9 of us:
Two Moms
Three sets of sisters (2, 4 & 4)
Seven Cousins

The rain left little water droplets on each pine needle. If you zoom in you might see them

I'm sitting with my feet in an arch

My view when sitting in the arch

Wild Life, and elk

We stopped at this picnic site for dinner. Yvonne was hungry and tired and pregnant, any one of which makes one cranky. To add to the adventure, the girls were in/out of the truck, and accidentally locked the keys inside. Yvonne was NOT happy, started freaking out, and then crawled through the back truck window to get the keys (yes, big belly and all!). I joked her out of it after she got some food and was feeling a little better.

Ninja Nica

Do you see what I see?

We got no closer than this (which distance gave Yvonne heart palpitations)

Elk

Oh yeah, we're having fun! But this was the last shot at the geyser springs

Run Run! (I think she was the only one who got a nap)

Mem was a little too freedom-running-loving, so she got scooped up into the backpack

Rainbow grass

Boardwalk along the rainbow grass

Green drago

The wind cleared just long enough I was able to snap a shot of these beautiful girls

G'bye Yellowstone

We left the park in the dark, got home about 12am. We considered (briefly) of trying to camp for the night, but I think we were all ready to not deal with setting up and taking down camp in just a few hours later, so we drove the 2 hours back to Yvonne's place and the Hawkin's apartment where we crashed.