Rik and I boarded an airplane and flew to Salt Lake, and then drove with our friends Kent and Janet up to Grand Teton National Park so that the guys could climb the Grand Teton (which is the tall one in the middle I'm told).
So, the weather forecast wasn't great - and it's pretty dangerous to climb mountains in the rain, so, Rik and Kent went on a hike through the Tetons instead. All of Rik's new climbing gear got a lovely airplane ride and still looks practically brand new!
After that was over, we all drove up to Yellowstone National Park - I had no idea they were so close! It was amazing - we saw buffalo, hot springs, geysers - it was weird just driving by steaming pools all over the side of the road. It is really a beautiful area and I'd love to go back someday and spend more than an afternoon there. 
Of course we had to see Old Faithful. We actually saw it twice. Rik wasn't *that* impressed - but I was totally excited because this is a piece of Americana that we were experiencing - another thing checked off of life's to do list! It was COLD there. After being here in the 100ยบ+ range for months here - snow flurries in August (yes - they really were!) was a really nice change!
This was quite cool as well - the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. I think that most people think of Old Faithful when they think of Yellowstone - this needs to be what they think of instead - it was magnificent. I loved standing at the top of it and looking down - the magnitude of water flowing through there is just incredible!
Oh - one of Rik's new favorite places to eat is called Kneaders and can be found in the Provo, UT area. These are seriously the biggest pieces of french toast ever - and what makes it great is the sweet cream butter that they serve with it. They say it's all you can eat, but, I'm not sure how anyone makes it past the 1st plate!
I also took a picture of the anters in Jackson Hole, WY. There is a park where this arch is on each corner. Very unique!
On the way home - Rik took a few pictures. He had never been on an airplane before and I think was a little underwhelmed. He thinks the pilot should have done a couple of loops to make it worth our time and money!I can't even tell you how horribly hard it was to go back to work last Tuesday morning!
