On the Road Again

Sunday, July 1

We left Mountain Home at a pretty reasonable time after I did my best to leave Mr. M's house as spic and span as possible!  He's a bachelor, so I'm pretty sure I left it a lot cleaner than we found it, heh!

On our way to Yellowstone, we took some time to tour Craters of the Moon.  It had been years since Ted and I were there, and since we had visited with our dog, who was only allowed on certain trails, we had never even realized there were caves to explore.  So, after we hiked up and saw a couple of cinder cones, we took a trail to Indian Tunnel, one that we did NOT need a flashlight to explore, and let the kids climb around.  We probably spent at least a couple of hours there before getting back on the road.  (For more pics, see the album here.)

The next leg of our journey took us through Jackson, Wyoming, and through the Grand Tetons.  We were getting there in the evening, and it was just so beautiful!  We made our way to Flagg Ranch, which is where our rented RV trailer was parked.  Mountain Home AFB owns 11 of these trailers that are parked there from May through November.  We had reserved one for our stay two months prior to the trip.  The reservations clerk told me that only 6 people were allowed in the trailers, but when I asked, "Even if two of them are babies?" she put me on hold and spoke to her manager.  We ended up getting special permission to have all 8 of us there, with the caveat that we REALLY needed to make sure we left the trailer clean so as to avoid the $100 cleaning charge!  Well, that was a no-brainer...of COURSE we always try to be good stewards of the places we stay!  So, anyway, our trailer was waiting for us, and we had plenty of light for making beds and settling in.

It was a tight squeeze indeed, but we managed:  Charis and Arden were each on a bunk; Kenna and Lucan shared the dining table that folded down to make a little bed; Zaden's pack-n-play was placed between the table area and the couch, where Tobin slept; and Ted and I shared the "queen-sized" bed at the end.  Our trailer was right next to the shower house, which was nice, as the teeny shower in the trailer really wasn't conducive to my or Ted's preferences.

It took awhile, but finally we got kids settled down and got a reasonable amount of sleep, which was good, since we were eager to explore Yellowstone Park the next day!

Zaden and I hang out in the cave.

Cinder cones in the background

Tobin and Lucan

Kenna

In Jackson, WY, Zaden decides to take over the wheel!

A view from Ted's and my bed"room" to the other end of the trailer.  This is with the pack-n-play down, but at night, it was in front of where I was sitting, where the stroller is.  Lucan and Kenna slept on the little dinnette fold-down table across from the tiny kitchen area, and the bunks are at the back left behind the wall and next to the bathroom door.