Anna dissecting a cow’s heart at her NYLF camp

Last week was our big road trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. But before that Anna finished up her STEM camp as part of the National Youth Leadership Forum. She loved it and wants to do it again next year. They did all kinds of interesting science projects including dissecting a cow’s heart and learning about snake bites.

Settling in at Brooks Lake Campground

Then it was off on our road trip. Last Sunday we rented an RV and drove to Wyoming, just outside Grand Teton National Park to Brooks Lake Campground inside Shoshone National Forest. It was a beautiful and secluded location. Our campground had just 13 spots, and was right on a lake surrounded by spectacular cliffs.

Family hike from our campground to Jade Lake and Rainbow Lake

Our first day we went on a family hike. There were several beautiful lakes in the area and we found a hike that visited some of them. We hardly saw another person all day, nor did we see any bears (but we had the bear spray ready just in case). It was a hot, dry hike that included parts of the Continental Divide Trail and we were all happy to be done after a bit over five hours on the trail.

Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park

Our second day we jumped in the car (sans RV) and drove into Grand Teton National Park. We had planned to go canoeing and hiking but soon learned that dogs were not able to hike inside the national park, only on the paved trails. And Jenny Lake was super crowded. So, we drove to Jackson for lunch and then came back in the afternoon when it was less crowded. Jude, Anna and I rented a canoe and paddled across the lake where we went for a quick swim, while Marcy walked with Olive where they were allowed.

Playing chess at the campsite

The next day we broke camp at Brooks Lake and drove through Yellowstone to an RV camp outside the western end of the national park in Idaho called Henry’s Lake State Park. We stopped a couple of times but many of the places were closed to RVs so we left them until the next day. Ojo Caliente was our first exposure to a Yellowstone hot spring and it was quite something.

The Ojo Caliente hot spring in Lower Geyser Basin

After receiving some advice from the RV park managers we decided to take it easy the next day and leave for Yellowstone in the afternoon. This meant we could go out in the kayaks on Henry’s Lake before heading to Yellowstone around 2:30pm.

Jude wins the “kayak duel” with Marcy on Henry’s Lake

Waiting until the afternoon proved to be a good move. There was no line to get into the park and it was not crowded at all. We saw the Upper Yellowstone Falls in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, the painted pots which were really cool and then we had dinner in Canyon Lodge.

Upper Yellowstone Falls, the largest waterfall in the national park

We were keeping an eye on the expected times for Old Faithful and we decided to head there right after dinner for the 7:38pm eruption. Sure enough, at right around that time Old Faithful erupted probably 100 feet in the air right in front of us. There was not much of a crowd so we had a great view.

Riding a see saw with Old Faithful still erupting in the background

Even though it was late we still wanted to catch one of the other real draws of Yellowstone. The Grand Prismatic Spring at Yellowstone’s Midway Geyser Basin is spectacular. We caught it right at sunset and the colors were amazing, rich orange, blue water and steam rising everywhere. It felt like we were on a different planet.

The Grand Prismatic Hot Spring was spectacular

We started the long journey home yesterday. Driving south through Idaho we saw the western side of the Grand Tetons. We drove almost 400 miles  all the way to Saratoga Hot Springs in southern Wyoming where we set up the RV in the dark. Then today, after a quick dip in the hot springs we drove home the scenic route which ended up being longer than anticipated because of a mudslide near Granby. We got home around 7pm and in less than 24 hours we will headed to Keystone for our annual week with the Dahlens.

First day of camp

We drove back from Iowa on Tuesday, it was a long but uneventful drive. It was sad to leave, we all enjoyed our time together, but we see the Dahlens out here in Colorado in just a couple of weeks.

Yesterday Anna went off to STEM camp. Officially called National Youth Leadership Forum (NYLF): Pathways to STEM (run by Envision), it is a prestigious camp where one kid is chosen from each school and Anna was nominated by her fourth grade teacher to attend. It was supposed to happen last year but covid canceled it and Anna was really disappointed. She was super excited to attend there this year.

Doing a CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) experiment – Anna is on the right

She is staying in a hotel and has a roommate who she likes. She has a bit of downtime in the evenings and we have spoken to her both nights. She is loving it. Today, she built a robot and did a whole bunch of experiments in a CSI-style investigation.

Juggling the soccer ball in the backyard.

Jude spent a lot of the weekend focused on soccer. He really wanted to master two things ad he achieved both. One, was to juggle the ball 500 times with his feet without the ball hitting the ground. He spent almost two hours at the park focused on this today and he did it! He made 513 and we rewarded him with a new soccer ball (his old ones are worn out).

Doing an “around the world” and successfully keeping the ball in the air

The other thing he wanted to do was an “around the world” while juggling. This is where you kick the ball in the air and bring your leg over the top of the ball as you can see in this photo. It was really cool to watch, he recorded a video of it too.

At Adventureland – kids only

Our second week in Iowa began with the kids doing something they had not done before. Baba drove them to Adventureland, the amusement park, and left them. They had the place to themselves with no adult supervision. They had a great time and it sounds like it wasn’t that different to what they did when they had parents there.

How many Oreos can you balance on your forehead? Jude’s pile is about to fall

As always as Baba’s house there were lots of games. One afternoon they did an Oreo balancing competition. You had to see how many Oreos you could balance on your forehead. Anna and Jude topped out at six cookies while Lily managed seven. There were lots of Oreo pieces to enjoy afterwards. The other game was trying to move one Oreo from your forehead to your mouth without using your hands. That left them with chocolate crumbs all over their faces.

After a great day of family bowling

Today we all went bowling. Kids bowl free all summer at the local bowling alley so all five kids were joined by a few adults this time. This was the third time the kids had been bowling in the last 10 days.

Yesterday Nathan and I spent the day golfing 36 holes, just beating the severe storm that was threatening all afternoon. Jude and I spent time watching international soccer: Brazil vs Argentina last night and England vs Italy today. They were both exciting matches. We also spent more time down at the Dahlens helping them get ready for their kitchen remodel that begins tomorrow.

Jude has also been to the park a lot to play soccer. I have been with him sometimes but he has been very happy to go by himself. He broke his juggling record this week, keeping the ball off the ground 459 times.

Olive likes to snuggle in our bed

The traditional photo by the pool

On Tuesday we made the long drive to Iowa. We left at 8:40am Denver time and arrived around 7:30pm Central time, so we took less than 10 hours which is pretty good. The weather has been warm and we haven’t had a drop of rain yet so the kids spent plenty of time in the pool.

Getting ice cream at Adventureland

The first day the kids were off to Adventureland, all except Chloe who had a dance class. They did a ton of rides, went to the water park and, of course, had ice cream. It was a great start to the trip. They also went bowling one day and had plenty of time by the pool.

Anna with the drill helping with the kitchen demolition

The Dahlens are getting their kitchen redone and before the contractors can start they need to have demolished the old kitchen. So, we all went down to help, removing the carpet and padding, taking out the door frames and anything that was attached to the walls. We managed to get quite a bit done, almost filling their dumpster with all eleven of us working for several hours. In the evening there was the annual July 4 parade with Ella and Chloe throwing candy from the first float.

Trying to guess what they are eating

As always when we come to Iowa there are plenty of games. Today, while Nathan and I were out golfing they played this game where they are blindfolded and have to guess what they are eating. They also played a game called Danger Word where you had to guess a word and if you got it wrong you got drenched with a water pistol. And of course we had the usual favorites like Codenames and cards and a round of Family Feud.

Playing with sparklers on July 4

Today, being the fourth there was sparklers out and there are plans to go and watch the fireworks later. But it doesn’t dark here until after 9pm so they don’t start until late.

Jumping into the inflatable rings