Homeward Bound

Map Route

We woke early in Billings, Montana and drove west through the grasslands. The further west we drove the denser the trees got. We stopped in Livington for lunch then drove south to Yellowstone National Park. Along the way we stopped at the river to try to swim but the water was freezing. In the park we saw tons of elk and drove east through a part of the park. We went on a hike to Wraith Falls, a short hike through wildflowers to the waterfall. After playing with the flowers we drove on and stopped to see Tower Falls. The waterfall was a lot larger and we hiked to the base of it which flowed into Yellowstone River. The river smelled of sulphur and the stone walls across the bank were colored yellow. After our hike we spent some time in the gift shop then drove along the main road through the park. We saw our first bison and were thrilled. We exited the park into West Yellowstone where we found a lot to stay in for the night.

Entrance into Yellowstone

Wraith Falls

Nick enjoying the wild flowers

Alicia at Yellowstone River

In the morning we drove back into Yellowstone where we saw our first geysers. We saw tons of crystal blue pools that contrasted beautifully with the yellow and white soil. We hoped that Steamboat would go off, it is geyser that erupts every couple of years and lasts only minutes. The great thing about Steamboat is that it is three times larger than Old Faithful. It didn't go off while we there :(. We found a spot along the river for lunch, Nick and I waded in the cool river and Natalie showed our pet turtles off to a couple little kids. We drove to Old Faithful and got seats right up front to see the geyser go off. Within 5 minutes of waiting the geyser went off. It was really cool to see it in person and to feel the mist hitting us. After the eruption stopped we drove back towards West Yellowstone. We stopped just inside the park to eat dinner and watch the sunset. After dinner we parked for the night.





Hot springs at Yellowstone NP



Yellowstone Nat'l Park



Old Faithful



Alicia at the geysers in Yellowstone NP

We headed back to Yellowstone to finish checking out the park. We drove to Yellowstone Lake, along the way we saw a large bison making his way down the middle of the street. At the lake we had lunch and spent the afternoon laying in the sun, skipping rocks, and swimming. We left Yellowstone National Park and drove south to the Grand Teton Nat'l Park. We got to see the amazing mountain range reflecting off the lakes. We continued on into Jackson, Wyoming. We drove through the town and then headed west to Victor, Idaho for the night. We stayed at a campground and I finally got caught up on Orange is the New Black show off netflix.

Up close and personal with a buffalo in Yellowstone NP

Alicia, Natalie, and Nick in Grand Teton NP

Grand Teton NP

Nick enjoying the view at Grand Teton NP

We woke up early and thoroughly cleaned the motor home, then we drove south through Idaho to Utah. We stopped in Wellsville, UT to see Natalie's grandma. We told her grandma all about our trip and then we cooked up dinner. There was so much food we ate till we were sick. We left and drove through a crazy rainstorm to Salt Lake City, UT.

Nick riding shotgun 

We woke up and explored downtown Salt Lake City. We got to see Temple Square and look at the beautiful Mormon Temple. We left Salt Lake City and drove west past Salt Lake. We stopped at the Bonneville Salt Flats. The races were supposed to be going on while we were there but the rains earlier in the week flooded the area. We waded in the salty water and were blinded by the pure white salt reflecting the sun. We kept driving through the "loneliest road in America" through Nevada. It started raining and hailing really hard, we had to pull off for a minute until the storm passed because we couldn't see. We decided to drive through the night and we made it back home at midnight. We decided to spend our last night at our hometown Walmart because we had stayed at Walmarts all across the US.

Alicia at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah

Quote:
    " A journey of a thousand miles began with a single step" ~ Lao Tzu.