Friday, July 29, 2011

Yellowstone National Park

This past week, Brian took Nathan and Maren to Yellowstone National Park for the Giles Family reunion (Christine, Caroline and Charlotte hunkered down at home with Grandma Butler).  Family members came from New York, Washington, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and Texas (of course).  The trip was a great way to re-introduce our two oldest children to their Giles cousins and the beauty of the Mountain West.


DAY 1:  Today's highlights were grandparents, cousins, and talking like pirates (ARRR, matey!) while rowboating on Yellowstone Lake.





DAY 2:  Brian and kids enjoyed seeing buffalo (keeping our distance because tourists had recently been gored), hiking to Yellowstone's Lower Falls and horseback riding!






DAY 3:  Saw Old Faithful and some colorful "golden-mantled" ground squirrels.  Ate lunch on the outdoor deck at the rustic Old Faithful Inn.






DAY 4:  A morning hike to beautiful Harlequin Lake and visit to Midway Geyser Basin and Grand Prismatic Spring.










DAY 5:  Final day of sightseeing was capped off with the Grand Tetons and a cool dip (plus a captured toad) in Colter Bay.






This summer vacation will provide lots of great memories for years to come.  Thank you Giles Family!  

6 comments:

Renee said...

What a beautiful place to connect with your family. From all appearances you had a wonderful time. I'm sure Nathan and Maren will remember this special time with their Dad for years to come.

Derek and Becca Theurer said...

What a fun trip for Brian and the older kids. That is such a beautiful part of the country. I bet you and the little girls had a lot of fun together time, too.

Carrie said...

Wonderful photos! We had such a fun time. Watching Nathan with David & Ben and Maren with all the girl cousins (who completely idolize her) was so great. We sure missed having you there, Christine! But I can attest, you would have had a miserable baby and toddler. We just returned home late last night and our girls are glad to be home in their beds instead of traveling all day every day in the car! :)

Jones said...

I love seeing how big Nathan and Maren are becoming. This looks like it was such fun! I think we took photos in some of the very same spots! It is such a beautiful place to visit. Somehow it always reminds me of the Temple. Hope your 'girls' gathering at home was fun too.

Cris said...

What beautiful pictures! I'm glad they had a great time.

~kenna

Kristen said...

Looks like so much fun! The pictures are great. I especially like the one of the boys in the boat.