The Long Way Home

After 3 fantastic days in Yellowstone Park, we had to go home. As we had the whole day to get home, we decided to meander our way through the park and to Jackson, then home. We left at 9:30 a.m. We stopped here:

And here: (My mom, me and Layne-- the kids were not interested in seeing another mountain.)

We ate lunch in the middle of Coulter Bay on the deserted dock. Doug wanted to know if sharks live in lakes. I told him yes, just so he wouldn't be tempted to jump in.
What a beautiful place for a family picture!
We saw some moose. (And some moose droppings. No, Doug, those are NOT Whoppers on the ground there.)
This is one of my favorite pictures. Wyoming does have some pretty spots. (There's just a lot of empty space in between them.)

My boys, my dad, and I took a little hike to see some moose. Aren't they handsome?
Fun stuff with Dad's new camera at Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park.
This view was so incredible. I've got a new happy place...
This is my new favorite picture of my kids.
I could post a million more (you'll thank me for not, I'm sure), but it's getting late, and I digress.

We didn't get to Jackson until about 2:30 pm. I had the misconception that Jackson was just a couple of hours from home. WRONG! We drove. And drove. And drove.

At one point, we hit a sign that said "Ogden 61" and I thought we were getting closer. I think that the sign meant to say "Ogden 161", because we drove for an hour and a half before we hit another sign that said "Ogden 32". What the hell?

My mother didn't appreciate when I said that over the radio. Lucky she wasn't actually in the car to hear the rest. Lest you think I'm setting a bad example for my children, they were in a trance, wearing infa-red headphones and watching a movie. (One of five they saw on the way home.)

8 hours, 5 movies, 1241 round trip miles later, we finally got home. It was a gorgeous ride, but I think it's the last time we take the long way home...