Custer state park and Yellowstone national park
a whole week with my parents on summer vacation. just like when i was a kid, except Britteny came with this time. we took a million pictures this time so this is going to be a long one. enjoy.
there she is, what a beauty. its like a house on wheels, everything you need is right there with you wherever you go. it actually turned out to be big enough for the four of us for the whole trip.
first stop the Mitchell corn palace. i had never been to the corn palace before and it turned out to be a little of a disappointment. i'm not one to judge our nation's tourist traps great wonders, but it did leave something to be desired.
the first real stop on our journey is badlands national park. as you can tell from the picture its quite the unique area. the strange cliffs really gave the early settlers a headache when they first discovered them.
oh man, first hike and there's stairs already? not to mention the fact that its 112 degrees in the shade and no wind.
sure he looks like he's having fun now, but we've only been out of the air conditioning for a few minutes.
some short ranger guy told us to take a hike, literally, except the one he recommended as 'easy' wasn't so much. the main reason is because of this wonder of engineering. notice that there really isn't anywhere to put your hands, and keep in mind that its 112 degrees.
it looks even more torturous from the top.
about halfway through the hike Brit managed to find some shade. notice how bleached out all of the rocks are from the sun.
as if the sun and the ladder were'nt enough, apparently there's snakes out here too.
oh man, more out west hazards.
on the way to Yellowstone we stopped at a Bighorn Falls on the way through the mountains.
britteny was uber sleepy.
this falls was all the way across the valley on another mountain.
me and brit in front of some famous heads
a tunnel on the famous Needles Highway in Custer State Park
this time the hike was shorter, and the temperatures were back to normal
an amazing view of the Cathedral Spires
an up close view of one of the Cathedral Spires
finally we make it to Yellowstone National Park. just in time for the most famous geyser of all, Old Faithful.
as you can see me and brit love geysers!
apparently something was going to happen really soon.
oooohhh.... aaaahhh.
there were pools as well as geysers. "honnie, go stand by that pool thingy"
"honnie, now go stand by that fountainy thingy"
...and this thing used to be Grotto geyser. it still erupts ocasionally, but not as often.
a flower on the edge of one of the pools
but please... remember to be safe.
no standing on the geysers!
a quick stop at the Fire River Basin...
where a very mysterious looking myst rolls over a burned tree covered hill
and off to our most adventureous hike of Yellowstone...
to Mystic Falls.
which offered us some great views of the scars left by the fires
but watch out for bears! grr!
the last hike of the trip involved stairs again. longer, but not as hot.
the grand canyon of yellowstone
the Yellowstone river's Upper Falls