Day 16: Yellowstone
Hey Ya from the Sneezy! Weee'rreee baaaack and ready for our ACTUAL last blog. This morning we were awoken by Dallas with another peppy WAKEY WAKEY wake up call in the crisp dark morning in Bear Lake Utah at a whopping 5:30 A.M.
Morning drive view
Aiden going caving for something he dropped
Abby got a good morning nap in
Scotty slumbering with his tray blankets
Some boys getting their internet fix in
Side eye from Scotty
Birthday girl adding Idaho in!
Ben working on lining up Wyoming
He did pretty good
Most of us fell back asleep as soon as we got back on the bus, we didn’t even realize that we missed driving through Idaho, no potatoes for us :( On our treck to Jackson Hole we munched on some delicious muffins and bananas, a new staple for us, and caught up on some state trivia (if you get the question right, you get to place the state's sticker on the map on the bus!)
Second time singing Happy Birthday to Morgan!
Jackson (and Eli) in Jackson Hole
How many antlers did it take to make the arch??
Rylei giving us facts about Jackson Hole!
Catching up on research with Camille and her facts about Salt Lake City
Its hard to figure out where to go without our phones
Addie made a new friend :)
Some of us at Pinky G's waiting for our 'za
We finally arrived at the beautiful town of Jackson Hole and passed the famous cowboy bar and got a group photo at the iconic antler arches. We were amazed by the small town vibe and walked together as a group to a few souvenir shops. As we once again maxed out our cards and spent our cash reserves, we wandered and enjoyed our short time in the town (you don't want to know what the highest total was). Rather than shopping, some spent their time trying new food and coffee spots, like Silver Dollar & Cowboy Coffee Co. Grumpy's counselor, Ian, spent his precious time in Jackson Hole creating historical portraits of himself with a friendly photographer, maybe he'll hang one up in a Cracker Barrel.
Such a sweet place
Can't get this in Carolina
We've gotten better with our timing, its the thought that counts
Good times with good friends
Smile!
Taking it all in
We love a good pizza box pic at the Tetons
(Lauren thought there was a trashcan... there was not one)
Kate, Erin, Lacie and Saide Paige!
Dallas and Grant with Devin!
and Morgan
and Delaney
and Asher
and Bayla
and Reece
and Hollister
and Scotland
and Maddison
and Emma
and Lacie
and Olivia
and Sadie Paige
and Corinna
and Caroline (There's more)
and Morgan
and Rylei
KS wanted one too!
Ok now just our Directors
Caleb had to get in one as well
After our time in Jackson Hole, we headed to the stunning Chapel of Transfiguration in the Grand Tetons. This chapel looked straight out of a story book, with a beautiful window framing the Teton mountains right as you enter. In the chapel we sang 'This Land' and 'Today' and had a time of reflection with our new family that we’ve created over the past 2 weeks. We heard pieces of advice from our counselors, of which we found very comforting, sweet and inspirational, some of us were even brought to tears. After we left the chapel we spent time to take in the breathtaking views of Grand Teton National Park. For some of us it's one of our favorite National Parks we've been to! Then we headed on back on the bus to go to the next National park… YELLOWSTONE!!!
Bathroom pit stop with a view
Inside the Old Faithful Inn
Kennedy having a needed snack
We laughed a lot during Devin's presentation (iykyk)
Addie telling us about the Old Faithful Inn
Morgan catching us up on our Grand Teton knowledge
"Finn Finn" talking about the geysers
Sadie Paige telling us about Wyoming, like that it is the least populated state in the US
Phin sharing facts about Old Faithful minutes before it went off
Woooowww
Scotty's sweet treat and bear
Our tour guide for the evening, Ranger Brooklynn!
Pump bros matching today
Emma Kate and Reece trying to figure out where Sleepy's counselor Brooklynn went...
Asher being a good Samaritan and picking up someone's glasses
Hopefully Ranger Brooklynn made it to her 7:30 dinner date with Ranger Rick!
Keeping on the boardwalk so we don't smell like rotten eggs
Yay Yellowstone!!
We drove into Yellowstone passing by the beautiful Lewis River and many wild buffalos. At the Old Faithful Inn we did do a little more shopping as we wait for the eruption that happens roughly every 90 minutes go off. We barely squeezed in our research presentations right before old faithful erupted 100 ft in the air!!! We then rode down to the Painted Pots where we met with a park ranger, also a past participant, who was oddly wearing a robe and holding a swiffer mop (We're not geniuses but we think it was Sleepy's counselor Brooklynn, if it wasn't her she definitely has a doppelganger.) Throughout the board walk we saw beautiful blue water and got sprayed by a few geysers. Yellowstone is very gorgeous, we think their tourists have gas issues though, it smelled like rotten eggs most of the time.
Addison giving us the rundown of our dinner that the Dopeys provided us
Scotty and his bear working hard on dinner
Stunning
Had to steal Dallas' phone for this pic
BIII-SON!
Our second bear sighting!
More bison!
As we were driving throughout Yellowstone, we drove past many grass plains filled with wildflowers and rivers. We saw so many wild animals such as elk, deer, and bison! In Carolina Girl every time we saw a bison we all shouted “BIII-SON!” We were very lucky to have seen some bears too! It was so cool to see one because bears aren't as common in the area as some of the other animals. For dinner the Dopeys made us a classic chilled pepperoni pizza roll up. (They are almost as good as Dominos lol.)
Getting ready for that 3 mile hike
They just love giving each other lifts
A little tired but loved the view!!
Such a nice sunset
Dallas and Kennedy!
Fisher in his classic pose
Gorgeous
Um yes Bryce?
Matthew repping his souviners in Wyoming
Some of the girls with Dallas
Emma and Reece <3
We love .5s
Heyyyy Emily!
While there was no 3 mile hike as expected and dreaded (as the counselors convinced
us of, thankkkss counselors), it only took a few steps to overlook the most beautiful
waterfall sunset in the "Little Grand Canyon". Everyone was very happy to take pictures,
to see the canyon, and look at the waterfall while standing still. Once we loaded back
into the vehicles, the sunset glow over the valley was something we were in awe of.
If you looked inside Carolina Girl, I bet you all 14 cameras were out! Once the sun set
and we started on the tail end of our night drive, the bus played Princess Bride and all
basically of TWB took a nap before arriving at the campsite. It was a quick goodnight as
people rushed to put out their belongings and hit the hay. For REAL this time, bye bye
from your favorite SNEEZYSSS! We'll miss and love you all!!
