While David and Amie had their date Sunday morning, the three boys caught up on Loki and Bad Batch episodes, and I read a book. It was a very relaxing morning.     I headed out at lunch time, after the others returned with the van, in search of Earl Gray tea and a shady spot to sit. I drove into Jackson, and could not believe the swarms of people everywhere I turned. This town is seriously the most crowded I’ve experienced. Of course big cities are crowded — especially New York — but it’s huge. You expect it to be crowded there. This is a small town with a…

Hello, this is Amie. Sunday morning, my Dad and I went to Phelps Lake in Grand Teton National Park on a daddy/daughter date. The trailhead is about a forty-five minute drive from our Airbnb. We jumped in the car. I was living the life with a bagel in my lap and a mug of hot chocolate cradled in my hands. Off we drove on a road that people say you can see moose. No moose, but it was still nice to have Dad’s undivided attention! We reached the park gate, and Dad showed the fourth grader pass, which, if you have a fourth-grader (in our case, Gabe) you can get…

In reflecting on our four days in Yellowstone, I’d like to say that I feel very loyal to the park. We’ve heard several people knock it, and I think I’d feel similarly if all we’d done is the really tourist-y sites. Actually, that’s what our family says about the Grand Canyon, because we just remember it as hot and crowded with gimmicky tourist shops every few yards it seemed. But we only saw a portion of the South Rim, so it’s not really fair. People I know who’ve hiked to the bottom of the canyon or visited the North Rim feel differently. Though we wouldn’t have traded the more famous…

On Friday we packed up our room at Canyon Lodge, and set out for a morning 3-mile hike along Yellowstone Lake to Storm Point. We were the first vehicle to the parking lot and the only people on the trail, and this made us more than a little jittery as we hiked. What David failed to mention is that it’s a noted spot for bear activity. By that point of the trip, we’d been well-rehearsed in bear safety protocol, so walked along talking loudly, clapping our hands, and Amie and I often resorted to singing. While we tried to keep the bears away, Noah called out, “Oh bears, come out…

Day 9 was nice because it involved just a 10 minute drive from our lodge to the trailhead. We overheard a park ranger tell someone that Yellowstone is having a record-breaking summer, with a projected 5 million visitors. So here’s a word on how we navigate the hoards of people: We wake up at 5 or 6 am, depending on how far we need to drive, and are on the trail by 6 or 7. It is cold (like 45 degrees), but no crowds and it’s easy to find a parking spot (our main concern!). Also, there are generally other people on the hikes, but not many. Apparently 80 percent…

Hello again, dear friends! I’m writing from Wilson, Wyoming, just 15 minutes from the entrance to Grand Teton National Park. And we have internet! So I’ll jump right back in . . .   Beartooth Highway This wasn’t really part of our trip itinerary, but is one of those happy surprises that come with road-tripping. The route we took to get from Badlands area in South Dakota to Yellowstone National Park was through part of Montana. I mentioned how much we loved staying the night at the Alpine Inn in Red Lodge. We woke up early again Wednesday morning and packed up. When David turned in our room key, the…

We had lights out at 9:00 on Sunday night so that we could wake up at 5:15 Monday morning. We had a 45 minute drive from our hotel to Custer State Park, and David wanted to start with a drive on the 18-mile Wildlife Loop. He heard that early mornings or evenings are the best time to spot wildlife.     We had seen a heard of bison at a distance the day before in Badlands (did I mention that?), but about 15 minutes onto the Loop we saw one up close and personal. He was huge! And enjoying a leisurely morning scratch on a rock. Next we saw burros.…

I’ll start this post with a familiar sight: David patiently pouring hot water for our drip coffee in the mornings before we leave the hotel.     We brought coffee, an electric kettle, and an Aeropress from home, but Cathy changed everything by giving us two bags of Kuju single serving coffee. It’s much easier and also delicious. We’d never heard of it before but as David said, “We won’t travel without it again!”   Badlands National Park We got an early start because we knew the sun would get hot in the park. It’s dry heat here, so it feels wonderful in the shade, but gets very hot in…

We hit the road at 8:30 am on Wednesday, July 7th, and drove most of the way to Chicago that first day. My head was spinning for the first couple of hours, convinced I’d forgotten something important, but once we passed Asheville, I started to relax. We truly made it out of town! And the van ride felt so peaceful after all the hustle and bustle of getting ready to go. We packed our lunch for a rest area and grabbed dinner at Chick-Fil-A in Indiana. It was, incidentally, the first Chick-Fil-A we’ve stepped inside in 16 months due to COVID. The playground was still closed, much to Noah’s disappointment,…