It was quite the adventure driving the whole family to South Dakota, then to Yellowstone National Park and finally to Grand Teton National Park. We put on over 3000 miles of driving and who knows how many miles hiking the absolutely breathtaking landscapes in each location. Not to mention we encountered all sorts of native wildlife (elk, bighorn sheep, bison, deer, pronghorn, prairie dog, marmot, coyote, grizzly bear, black bear and cub, and moose).
Each location had something unique to appreciate. It's safe to say we were speechless every step of the way.
South Dakota
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| Bear Country USA |
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| Close encounter with an elk at Bear Country USA |
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| Badlands National Park |
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| Badlands National Park |
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| Hiking the Notch Trail in Badlands |
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| King of the mountain! |
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| Deep inside Wind Cave |
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| Driving through a herd of buffalo in Custer State Park |
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| NOT a wildlife animal park! |
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| Needles Highway |
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| Sylvan Lake, Custer State Park |
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| Mt. Rushmore |
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| After all those signs, we had to stop and check it out. |
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| Mammoth Site |
Yellowstone National Park
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| Our first night in the rough rider cabin at Yellowstone lived up to its name. It was pretty cold, despite the wood burning stove. |
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| One of many beautiful waterfalls |
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| Vixen geyser |
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| Cowboy cookout |
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| The boys saddling up for the horseback ride |
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| First time on a horse for all of us (besides pony rides) |
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| Grand Canyon of Yellowstone |
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| Lower Falls of the Grand Canyon |
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| Rough Rider cabins |
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| Norris Geyser Basin |
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| Brink of Lower Falls |
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| Lower Falls |
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| Old Faithful |
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| Inside Old Faithful Inn, where we stayed one night |
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| Grand Prismatic Spring |
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| Bison outside Old Faithful Inn |
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| We were lucky enough to see Grand Geyser erupt (bigger than Old Faithful, but less predictable) |
Grand Teton National Park
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| Our cabin |
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| Sun setting on the Tetons |
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| Jackson Lake |
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| Tetons and Snake River |
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| Which way back to our cabin? |
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| Highlight of our hike through Cascade Canyon was seeing a moose |
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| Our moose friend was so close! We could have watched her all day. |
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| Another gorgeous shot of the mountains |
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| View of our hiking trail from a distance |
