Day 8: Red Canyon, Bryce Canyon, and the Rodeo

We drove to Red Canyon to go horseback riding and everybody's horse had a different name- Mine was named Wrangler, Elyse rode Fredonia, Uncle Jay rode Buddy, Dad rode Bufford, Mom rode... Bob. We rode on a long hike. The horses had different personalities. Some were easy, some liked to eat, and others like to relieve themselves along the trail. Then we went to Bryce Canyon. It was a nice view except that the fact that Mom was having spaz attacks because we were getting close to the edge of the cliffs. Then we went to the visitor's center and watched a movie about Bryce Canyon. Then we went to a rodeo with a clown who had corny jokes that were annoying. Then we headed back to the campsite.
Posted by: Matt

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Day 7: Salt Lake City and Timpanogos Cave

When we woke up Uncle Jay called to tell us he missed his plane. So then we decided to do some other stuff in Utah near Salt Lake City. We decided to visit Timpanogos Cave. We hiked up and hiked up and up and up the switchback trails. There were cliffs with no railings and Mom was scared Matt and I would fall over the cliff. When we got to the top we went into three different caves. The first one was the Hansen Cave and people had taken a lot of stuff out of it. It had a cave lake in it. The next cave was the middle cave, which was really cool, and really cold! The last cave was Timpanogos Cave. The kids who discovered it were only 14. Middle Cave and Timpanogos were protected by the families who discovered them. When the tour was over we hiked back down the trail and went back to Salt Lake and drove to the airport and waited and waited for Jay's plane to arrive at 11 pm. Then we drove to Panquitch to our campsite.
Posted by: Elyse

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Day 6: Yellowstone to Bear Lake, Idaho

We started our morning leaving Yellowstone early so we could get to Bear Lake by early afternoon to celebrate Matt's 14th birthday. As we were leaving Yellowstone a big bear darted out in front of the RV ahead of us and crossed over into the woods. We drove back to Jackson, Wyoming and had a delicious birthday breakfast at a local restaurant. Then we headed on our way to Idaho. We arrived early afternoon and went to the Bear Lake State Park to swim and play a game of ultimate frisbee. The water was beautiful, a pure blue/green color and waves were coming into shore from the wind and motor boats. The bottom of the lake was sandy making it a terrific place to swim. After checking into our campsite we drove to a local Mexican restaurant for Matt's birthday dinner. The food was amazing! We headed back to our campsite and I made Matt a birthday cake that ended up looking like one of the geysers we visited, caved in in places. Could it be the elevation, the RV stove, or could it just be me? It was nice to have a slower day today. We're back on the road in the morning to pick up Jay in Salt Lake City and maybe see Vasanthi's parents who are also traveling out west. Then we'll be driving to southern Utah and camping there for a couple days while we explore Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park.
HAPPY 14th BIRTHDAY MATT!!!!!!!!!

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Day 5: Yellowstone National Park

When we woke up Mom was sleeping like a nun. We headed off to Old Faithful. It was a long wait and then finally it exploded like Scooby Doo gummies in a microwave. Then we got in the RV and went to Middle Geysers. It was so steamy that you could not see anything, but when the steam left it had snazzy colors. It was like magical puffing steam floating to the sky and trickling water that was like a rainbow. Then the rainbow of water landed in the river below. Then we went to other geysers. Some were beautiful, some were pretty, some were nice, some were grody and some smelled like rotten eggs. The boardwalks were really nice. We saw some more bison-smelly, fat, but gorgeous. Then it was time to go back to the campsite. I got the laundry mixed up with the garbage and threw the laundry into the bear proof dumpster, but it all worked out in the end.
Posted by: Matt

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Day 4: Yellowstone National Park

Today we got up early and went to the Brink of Falls which is part of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. We hiked to the top of the falls and to several other look out points. Then we went to see the geysers and hot springs at Norris Springs. They were really cool, but smelled like rotten eggs. While we were driving we had to stop because there were bison all over the road. They were really big and looked tame, but they could actually be dangerous to people. Matt saw a wolf and I saw a bear cub trying to climb a tree. We also saw moose and elk and just missed a grizzly bear with three cubs. We were all hot so we crossed over into Montana and stopped at a river to swim. It was full of rapids and we couldn't swim so we waded in it instead. After that we headed back over the border and into Wyoming and hiked to the top of Mammoth Springs.
Posted by: Elyse

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Day 3: Tetons to Yellowstone National Park

We woke up to the sound of birds chirping away. Then we hit the road and stopped in Jackson, Wyoming to check out the town and have ice-cream-which was pricey, but Mom said it was the best Belgian chocolate cone she's ever had. The man stuck his finger in Mom's ice-cream but she didn't seem to care. Then we were on the road again. We went to the Teton Information Center and learned about the Tetons and saw Humphrey the stuffed bear-who I wanted to buy until I found out he cost over $200. We said our good-byes to Humphrey and headed off to Jenny Lake for some tedious hiking of the Tetons. There was an awesome Waterfall on the hike up to Inspiration Point. At the top there was a nice view and lots of chipmunks running around that liked to lick your fingers. Then we rode a boat back to our RV and headed to Yellowstone. We saw bison along the road on our way in to Yellowstone and then checked into our campsite.
Posted by: Matt

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Day 2: Dinosaur National Monument-Vernal, Utah to Jackson, Wyoming

Today we went to Dinosaur National Monument and saw fossils. We saw lots of different dinosuar fossils in the rocks. Matt and I had to take a test and be sworn in as Junior Paleontologists. It was a really hot day. After we left Dinosaur National Monument we drove to Jackson, Wyoming to stay at the Snake River Campground. We stopped at the Flaming Gorge Dam. It was a long drive and we saw lots of different kinds of scenery. Tomorrow we are going to the Grand Tetons and then heading to Yellowstone National Park for a few days. We probably won't be able to post again until we leave Yellowstone.
Posted by: Elyse

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