I Prefer Aluminum

Rising with the sun, we were the first at Artist’s Paint Pots trail. Cars slowly started to file in and we met a couple whose dog knew how to “wai” (Thai greeting)!  The wife was Thai and we chatted for a while before we hit the trail. The bubbling mud pits were really cool and smelled of sulfur. Next we headed towards Canyon Village. Our sleepy kids perked up after we entered the gift shop. Pradit found a Yellowstone multi tool - he was very excited. Next up was the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.   We opted for the 3/8 mile hike down to the falls overlook. It was WELL worth it - the view was amazing but the hike back up to the parking lot was a little strenuous!  Next up was Inspiration Point - we were able to see the front of the falls (our hike took us above them). Pradit and I made it to Artist’s Point as well - where famous renderings of the waterfall have been painted. Everyone was sleepy so they took car naps while I drove us North on the upper loop. The goal was the...

After yesterday’s early wake up call, we took it easy this morning and everyone slept in. Stu cooked eggs and bacon and we made crepes on the blackstone griddle. We took our time getting things organized and repacked and we headed to our next campsite via Grand Teton park. We could have taken a different route over the Teton Pass. It it has 10% grades, so we opted for the slightly slower relaxed route. Yellowstone looks amazing (we only saw it from the car so far), but it is quite crowded!  Every turn out was packed and we are hoping to get up early tomorrow to start our exploring. We are staying at Grizzly RV park in West Yellowstone. It is new, very clean, and has a great playground.  Our site backs right into a beautiful forest and it has been fun to watch the birds. The mosquitos are VERY thick though!  Stu cooked brats as a little snack and the kids (who had been riding bikes) came over to enjoy the brats and brought some new friends. The boy’s parents ended up comi...

Yesterday we got settled into our campground and saw three other Airstreams!  We chatted with one couple from Washington - they were super sweet!  We went to bed early in preparation for the big day today!  I’m not a morning person but I did my homework and knew we had to get serious about our one day in the park. Apparently the parking lot at the Jenny Lake visitor’s center fills up by about 9 am, so I got everyone moving so we could be there early. It was a 45 minute drive so we left around 6:45 am. We took the boat shuttle around 8 am. It was easy and empty - so our timing was perfect!  We were able to get a round trip family pass for $50. Well worth it!  The air was chilly and we rode on the boat with about 15 other people. We arrived to the other dock and immediately followed the trailhead to Hidden Falls. We heard the falls WAY before we saw them!  The river was rushing and COLD!  The falls were well worth the hike. We continued up and up and up ...

Early morning wake up call!  Up at 5, we hitched up and performed our pre-flight checklist. Today we have an 8 hr 15 minute drive to Fireside RV Resort in Wilson, WY.

Yesterday we had a great day at the resort - my aunt and uncle came to spend time with the kids. It was a really relaxing day enjoying the pool. That evening we drove to Highlands Ranch to have dinner with my cousin.  Today we packed up the truck and re-provisioned. We met Stu’s cousin for lunch in Denver and then headed back up to Breckenridge!  We relaxed for a little while and then went into town to take the free Gondola ride up the mountain. We arrived right after they stopped charging for parking :). Thankfully the kids didn’t see the alpine slides at the top. We came back and cooked naan pizzas on the blackstone griddle. After dinner we cleaned up and started packing the truck. We started to get hitched up and realized that we couldn’t find the wrench that secures the sway bars. We were frustrated and exhausted bit Stu drove down the mountain to a Lowe’s to get a 1” socket while I made lunches for the next day and delay-brewed coffee. He got back and we conked out!! ...

I forgot to write about our first day in Denver!  We drove down from Breckenridge in a snowstorm and went to the beautiful new Gaylord Hotel in Denver. Check in wasn’t until 4, but they did let us use the pool beforehand!  It was beautiful. The outdoor lazy river had to be at least 90 degrees and they had an outdoor side and infinity pool and indoor slide and pool/hot tub. It is certainly the best hotel pool I have ever experienced. They had countless kid activities planned - hula hoop contests, arts and crafts, free root beer floats, etc!  We also checked out the Allison in wonderland mini golf course. I was able to join Stu for the conference cocktail party - complete with vintage trailer photo booth. It was great!  We all slept well that night!

We had a busy day today!  We drove into Golden and toured Rockware, my uncle’s geology software company.  The kids were given the royal treatment - Pradit (nicknamed “inspector gadget”) was able to test out all sorts of amazing equipment such as ground penetrating radar. Next we went to a playground so I could meet up with friends from St Louis - we hadn’t seen each other in 15 years and it was really great to reconnect. My uncle gave us a fabulous tour of Golden - including a visit to the Colorado School of Mines museum. The kids were taking given amazing geode slices as prizes for the scavenger hunt!  We tried to check out Red Rocks but Stevie Wonder was performing that night and they were doing the sound check. We did see a model of the amphitheater, so that was neat!  Last, we went to Dinosaur Ridge.  The kids were tired and hurry but we made it to the Dino footprints and they rallied once there (all but one!)  It was fascinating to see from a geologist...