Our Trip to Happiness (a vacation, not drugs)

We went on a trip this last weekend to two of the best places on earth, Yellowstone and the Tetons, thanks to Chris and Kathy! They are so good to us. I guess that the Merkley's used to go here all the time, but Erik hasn't been for years, and neither have I. We decided that the abundance of visible wildlife was actually a celebration commemorating my return after 10-plus years.

This elk was grazing right on the side of the road, just for us. Within the first couple of hours in Yellowstone, we had already seen bison, elk, a bald eagle, a Grizzly, and two black bears. It was amazing. The weird thing is that we saw three bears, but no moose (meese? mooses?). Here's our first black bear. I know the shot's not great, but that's about as close as I was going to get after Chris and Kathy regaled me with stories of bear attacks leaving nothing but lips.

I wasn't as worried about this variety.

We headed to Mammoth Hot Springs to look at the sights, but this was about as exciting as it got. For whatever reason, the hot springs are almost entirely gone. There were only about two or three little pools left in the whole region. There were all these boardwalks leading nowhere - it was kind of sad.



In celebration of the Fourth, Chris brought along his enormous flag. Actually, the flag just goes wherever Chris does. This is now my second trip with the flag. Thankfully, this trip didn't involve posing in front of the flag in a swimsuit (aren't you glad). This is the cabin we stayed at in Island Park. It was a great place, and since there was a full kitchen, we had a lot of great meals from the Merkley women (and men).

Like this one! Even casual picnics seemed like gourmet meals. Here's everyone that came, except Camille and Chris. We all wished that the missing parts of our families could have been there.

Here's a highlight of our trip: little Eliza. This is the first time we've met Taylor and Kaitlin's new baby, and she's darling. As you can tell by his face, Erik wants one for Christmas. I, on the other hand, was reminded of just how much work babies are.

See? That could be you, Erik...

We went to Harriman State Park the next day, had a fabulous camp stove breakfast by Rob and Jen, and went hiking. We have fond memories of the horse manure and the flies.




A Chris and Kathy original. It happened spontaneously, but by the time I got the camera out, it was over. I had to ask them to reenact this for posterity.

Here's our last day in Yellowstone, hiking to the falls:





Sunday night we stayed at the Jackson Lake Lodge in the Tetons. When we first caught sight of the Tetons, Erik nearly wept. I'm not sure that he's ever been that excited to see me, but then I've never been absent for eight years. He hasn't even known me that long.





Kathy kept remarking on how happy she was on this trip; I think they both felt that way. I'm pretty sure that part of Erik's happiness stemmed from the enormous breakfast buffet Monday morning. This should give you an idea.


After such a breakfast, it's no suprise that Kathy took us on a hike around String and Leigh Lakes.


Erik in front of Zoe's mountain. Hello, Zoe.


There's probably not a more beautiful spot on earth. How blessed we are to live in such a world, and to have such good relatives to vacation with. And if the Tetons are my only competition, I think I can handle that.