So we set out on our first Yellowstone hike, armed with our $45 bear spray, ready to face the bears after the numerous warnings from the rangers. We saw some kind of animal scat right away and decided that there needs to be an app that allows you to scan and identify it . We had a humorous discussion for the rest of the hike about what this app should be named. Joe is going to develop the app “as soon as we buy him a Mac.” Here are our ideas, feel free to add your own!

Poop Positive
Crap Clarifier
Whose #2??
DooDoo Decoder
Feces Finder

Another long but very satisfying day of beautiful sights, jaw-dropping landscape and lots more wildlife than yesterday! We drove the upper loop of the park, stopping at Canyon Village to take a hike on the canyon rim where we had amazing views of the upper and lower falls. We also hiked Uncle Toms trail which took us 500 feet into the canyon by way of a 328 step see-through staircase. The kids loved it, I white-knuckled the whole walk, but glad I did it. We have found that the drive out, from 6 to 9ish, is the best time to see the wildlife. We finally got to see a bear, about 100 yards away! We also saw a mama bear and 2 cubs, many bison, mule deer, and a huge grizzly (from a far distance). No moose :(. We are white water rafting today, a first for all of us, very excited!! We will post pics later, need a stronger wifi connection.

Yeah, I know, sounds awful, doesn’t it ?!? We were just going to drive through Vegas, but when you can get a room at the MGM through Expedia for $100 and the kids are dying for a swim, you might as well go for it. After a quick stop at the Hoover Dam, we headed to Vegas, got some pool time, ate at the Hard Rock Cafe and took a stroll down the strip. Highlights: Joe and Tim rode the New York, New York roller coaster, we saw the Bellagio fountain show, went to the Coca Cola store and the M&M store. Back on the road to Zion…

After 2 days of driving the flat, pretty boring states of Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas, New Mexico was a beautiful sight to see. The buttes, mesas and plateaus are breath taking! What you say is the difference between the three? Glad you asked! Basically, buttes are little mesas and mesas are little plateaus. Yeah, Tim and the kids weren’t so interested in my geography lesson either. Having dinner at the Cowgirl BBQ in Santa Fe. Stopped this morning to spray graffiti at the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, TX, and check out the Two Legs statue.