The Bratwurstindianer on tour in Grand Teton and Yellowstone - 3

We fell in love with Yellowstone on our first hike, and walking away from the crowds is actually, what we are always looking for. Unfortunately for us, some amazing things in Yellowstone are made to be easily accessible for everyone and to see some geysers and hot springs the Bratwurstindianer set out and mingled with the bus tourists.

Due to a traffic accident along the route, which closed the way to Old Faithful we had to change our plans for that day. This way we ended up in Fishing Bridge, where we walked in the Yellowstone Lake and the kids took their time to finish the Junior Ranger Program. We drove on to the Mud Volcano area, were we spotted a bunch of bison. Amazing these animals! Sad how some people do not respect the wildlife.

At Fishing Bridge visitor center 1.

At Fishing Bridge visitor center 2.

At Fishing Bridge visitor center 3.

At the Yellowstone Lake.

Bison up close - at the mud volcano. 

More Bison at the mud volcano.

Lovers at the mud volcano.

The second day among the bus tourists, we did the geyser tour. Of course we had to stop at the Old Faithful. If you want to avoid the crowds talk to a ranger and asked them for recommendations where to see geysers along a hike. I think on this day I finally realized that we hadn't planned enough time for this lovely place. 

The colors and mineral structures around the geysers and hot springs are wonderful.

Around a hot spring 1. 

Around a hot spring 2. 

Around a hot spring 3. 

No tree grows here.

After a hot day it is time to spent some relaxing hours in camp. And I had to test out our new salad servers. And there was of course BRATWURST!

New salad server.

Bratwurst and potatos.

K trying to produce more firewood.

 And even before your realize it, its the last day of vacation. K and I set out early in the morning in the hope to see some wildlife. We saw some mule deer and an otter. The views were stunning and the air fresh and cold, slightly above freezing.

Tetons in the morning.

Mule deers in the far.

K and I headed back to the camp and after a nice breakfast the Bratwurstindianer decided to spent their last day in the area with a hike and of course some swimming. We walked the Death Canyon Trail up to Phelps Lake, where we spent some time at the lake and enjoyed the wonderful surrounding.

View onto lake.

Trail.

Waterfall.

Elk.

This I had to steal from my dad, he was lucky enough to walk twice into a black bear!

P at camp.

And then it was time to get on the road again and head back to the Bay area. But before we left Yellowstone we had to participate in a special event. My dad is probably the only officially sworn in Junior Ranger of his age group. After participating in an educational ranger program, he was ready to take the test. And sure enough he made it!

Bison skull at the Ranger program.

Official swear.

All 3 Yellowstone Junior Rangers.

On the way back, we drove through Idaho, famous for its potatos. Haha! I think there is much more to it and we were surprised by an amazing view into this canyon at Twin Falls. By the way Evel Knievel tried to jump over this canyon back in the days. There seems to be some nice hiking opportunities in the area and we plan to come back some day.

Canyon at Twin Lakes.

 We celebrated K's 8th birthday with some bowling and ice cream at Winnemucca.

Happy 8th birthday!

 And it seems to become a habit to spent the last day on the way home in South Lake Tahoe - cocktails, great food and the last beard pic.

Big smiles in Tahoe.

Writing this up and selecting the pics for the blog, I realize that I am specializing in taking pics in crowded areas and let it seem as if we had it all to ourselves. Yeah well, we kind of did :)