We left Wyoming very early in the
the morning to get
an early start on our 12 hour
drive down to our destination in
Utah. It was a 3am wake up call ! We
started packing the car and grabbing
a quick breakfast.
Leaving the quiet cabins was kinda sad
as we had such great memories, but we were ready to explore our next adventure.
We headed back to Yellowstone to exit through the South entrance
and head on towards
Jackson Hole.
Not long after we entered the park,
we drove past one of those elusive bears RIGHT next to the road!
Taylor did not want to stop for a picture because we were so close!
After some persuasion to turn the car around
for a second look, and with cameras ready,
we headed back.
Too bad, the bear decided to mosey on and was out of sight. Dejected on the missed
photo of, we kept on, only to shortly drive by this!!
Taylor stopped and we jostled for position!
On we went spotting more elk, bison
even a fox, and coyote!
Now, if only we got going this
early every day we went into the park!
We drove through Grand Teton National Park and the scenery did not
disappoint!
Gorgeous!
We hit Jackson Hole and it is a beautiful
Western ski town that must be packed with skiers in the winter.
By now, we were ready for a lunch break.
We just happened to find the perfect spot.
We had a great view of the slopes on
one side and a shopping center on the other.
Terry decided to pick up a few things for
dinner, while we picked up a coffee to keep
up the drive.
While enjoying our coffee, we kept seeing a bird darting in and out of a pot under the store window. We looked inside and we found more wildlife!
Such distinct markings.
The momma kept darting back between cars moving around the parking lot, people walking by, we we're amazed at this going on and no one ever noticed!
Back on the road, the weather was changing!
All that in the span of a few hours!
The drive south was beautiful, the sky ever changing.
We headed down into red canyons and terrific rock formations.
We arrived at our place located down between the Grand Staircase and Bryce Canyon, destinations we were not going to miss! By now it was dark, almost missed out on dinner, as the town was shutting down at 9pm! We found a gorgeous hideaway tucked back behind the town at a resort and had a wonderful dinner!
Terry and Maureen took an easy morning off and Taylor and I headed out for an early hike on the Grand Staircase to see Shakespeare arch and more!
So much for the fallen arch!
But the hike was breathtaking!
Funny anecdote: sign read " keep 10 ft from edge of trail" and you can see in that last picture, many trails were barely 10 ft. wide!
We headed back to pick up Terry and Maureen for another hike.
When we arrived, the weather quickly changed just as we were getting started and it started to rain.
We headed back to the car just before the skies opened up and a deluge thunderstorm hit! It was coming down so hard we just sat in the car as people flooded off the trail, visibility was so poor.
We gave up on seeing that trail and decided to head over to Bryce Canyon, about 10 miles down the road.
Do glad we did! The storm clouds brought such gorgeous skies, we couldn't take a bad picture and the hot weather had cooled down! Perfection!
Next, Zion! Stay tuned. . .
