SATURDAY, MAY 26, 2007

NOT a good nite....we were on ground floor of this hotel....the rooms were the biggest we have had so far and there was a wonderful place to take the dogs....HOWEVER...there were rooms above us and it sounded like they accepted elephants as well as dogs b/c whoever was in that room got up during the nite and hit the floor....could hear every step, dragging stuff across floor, etc...AND the real kicker was the bathroom....they were up 5 times between 12:30 & 5:00 a.m....every time they flushed I thought I was going to be baptized!!! AH well, life on the road.

Filled up w/ gas and went into Grand Teton Park and took the scenic road we chose not to take yesterday...should have taken that road. Had breakfast at a lodge in the park that was pet friendly w/ panoramic view of Tetons and on the bank of a lovely lake. A most enjoyable breakfast. Continued on the drive thru the park and it was spectacular, but there is not much to do in that park except gawk at the scenery and we certainly did that.

Back in Yellowstone we went to the Mud Flats Geyser Basin (I think that is what it was called)...the thermal features are so surreal and the colors in some of them are awesome! Then went to Artist Point -overlooking Lower Yellowstone Falls. Then went to Upper Falls and then to the other side of the river to look at them from that side....It is a beautiful place as you can tell by the pictures. Spent the rest of the day driving through the park. Stopped @ Gull Point on Lake Yellowstone for a break and had some sardines and crackers. There was quite a bit of traffic - I guess to be expected for holiday weekend, altho not all the lodges are open in the park.
Saw buffalo, antelope, elk and eagles, some up close and personal. Made a lot of stops on the way out....looks different w/o snow on the road and no ground showing. Made a stop at Tower Falls...that was pretty....then drove on to Mammoth Hot Springs. There is a hotel there and we tried to get a room but all full. Drove on to Gardner (5 miles out of park) to find a room, but it was already 7:00 p.m. and all the places were full. So, gave up on idea of seeing Mammoth Hot Springs and drove on to Livingston Montana. The hotel here not only accepts dogs, but horses are welcome as well! I guess that is when you really know you are in the West.

We were just glad to get out of the car. We didn't use a half tank of gas today, but it seems like we spent the whole day driving. We did do a lot of driving, but only @ 35 mph for the most part. Jerry was in a really good mood! HA! But we made it and did our own fair share of gawking and stopping. Yellowstone is just so pretty.

Tomorrow the plan is to get to Great Falls and hook up w/ our friends that will be traveling w/ us. Hopefully tonite will be a better night's sleep!

All for now....must go load pix....more tomorrow...Linda