Wild Adventures with Kids, Part 2. Grand Teton National Park.

After three quick nights in Yellowstone, we headed to GTNP to meet up with Andrew's parents for 4 nights. We stayed at Headwaters Campground and RV sites at Flagg Ranch. We made the reservations through Grand Teton, but this place was actually located on the John D. Rockefeller Memorial Parkway that connects the two parks. It was a beautiful area, but I don't think we will stay in this location again. We spent most of our time driving south toward Colter Bay and Jenny Lake. One benefit of Headwaters, though, was the ability to make reservations ahead of time instead of being first come, first served. That was helpful this time, since we had two groups to coordinate.

Hiking buddies at the String Lake picnic area.

Ruth and Byron got to go with Daddy to Colter Bay for a couple evening ranger programs to get signatures for their Junior Ranger badge.

Our first hike was labeled as easy, though Oma and the kids begged to differ. It would have been a pretty easy hike if we weren't busting it to get out of the frigid wind and rain that started up the last mile. This hike was the String Lake loop. I especially wish we could have gone rock-hopping where the bridge crossed between String and Leigh lakes, but the storm was brewing at that point. 

Do you see the rain drops on my lens? It is funny that you can't tell it's raining, but it definitely was!

Our second day, we hiked Polecat Creek in the morning up near Headwaters. It was a beautiful hike, and a bit warmer. 

Polecat Creek hike crosses over a stream that runs off from a hot spring. If you look closely, you can see the stream is actually steaming! It was pretty incredible to lean down to touch the water and find that it felt like a hot tub.

We got them all looking at the camera- yay! Too bad that for 75% of photos Eli refused to smile. Goober.  

Ruth tickled Eli for this photo. Smart girl.  

My favorite place was Colter Bay.  

Another Colter Bay. I think next time, I would choose to stay at Colter Bay as it's in the north part of the park, but much closer to everything than Headwaters. 

We ate dinner at the Colter Bay picnic area. I totally recommend it. 

The Colter Bay picnic area has a trail right down to the beach of Jackson Lake. This was my favorite time in Grand Teton. Marcus has asked to go back several times. 

The kids throw rocks in the water like it's their job. 

We call them "the twins."

This beauty was such a helper. Having she and Byron to help with taking little kids to the bathroom was seriously a massive game-changer on this trip. We really appreciate them. They were rewarded for their efforts by getting to do "big kid" things like the horse ride and secret evening swims at the hotels we stayed at when the little guys went to sleep. 

Andrew and I  got away for an evening while Oma and Opa took care of the kids. (Thanks Oma and Opa!) We took a dinner cruise from Colter Bay to Elk Island in the middle of Jackson Lake. This was the view from right next to our picnic table. 

I highly recommend the dinner cruise. It was so much fun, very informative and the food was incredible, and all cooked outside on Elk Island. This was a highlight for sure. 

On our last day in the park, we drove down the eastern road in the park from the Moran entrance to the Moose entrance. Don't miss this road. It has the BEST view of the Teton Range.

 Then we went to the LSR Preserve. When you read that the parking lot is full by 10 am, heed that warning and arrive EARLY. Unlike other places in the park, there is no extra place you can park there and the road isn't wide enough to pull off and park there. Thankfully, we had some extra drivers (thanks, Opa!) who could sit with the car in line and get a spot when someone left. The benefit of the parking situation is that it eliminates the hoards of people and makes hiking here contemplative and peaceful. Above you see tranquil Phelps Lake, which is 1.3 miles from the visitor center. 

Our brave hikers, who managed to be relatively quiet, in the spirit of the Preserve. Ruth and Byron stayed back for the Interpretive Center with Oma and Opa. 

Fantastic trails at LSR Preserve and you could hear a bubbling brook for some of it, which was delightful.

 The morning we left, Ruth and Byron were sworn in as Junior Rangers in GTNP. We took our time getting to Gillette, WY that day so we could have some time to get clean, swim and relax before the long trek home. We stayed at Holiday Inn Express there and it was the best one I have been in. They catered to kids and were super sweet overall. 

From Gillette, we visited Devil's Tower National Monument, along with about 1000 bikers who were headed to Sturgis for the motorcycle rally. That night, we spent a quick night at Badlands NP in Cedar Pass campground. We will need to go back there to see it more fully,  as it was beautiful. 

This is the last day of the trip. Can you tell? This photo began a very long day driving through South Dakota and Minnesota.