Celebrating 20 Years

On the 22nd, Jeff and I hit a major milestone in our marriage: our 20th anniversary. This momentous occasion called for a grand celebration, so we took ourselves to an all-inclusive resort in Costa Rica for a week while my amazing mom stayed with the kids and got them to all their various activities. Costa Rica was a new country for us (country 43 to be exact), and we loved it! We spent most of our time relaxing at the resort and indulging in the wonderful food and beverages, walking on the beach, watching the local wildlife, participating in included activities, and visiting the spa. On our actual anniversary, we spent the day away from the resort, hiking in the rainforest at the Rincón de la Vieja National Park, which was amazing. I am including picture collages of the highlights of each day.

Jeff and I are proud of our marriage and the life we've built together. I'm so incredibly thankful that he chose me all those years ago and that we still have forever to look forward to! 

Day One:
A pic from the plane as we approached the coast;
A welcome drink;
All the desserts;
A walk on the beach;
The first of many iguana sightings;
Sunset on Playa Conchal

Day Two:
Iguana entertainment at breakfast;
A special towel animal;
An anniversary cake delivered to our room;
The most amazing sunset of the week;
Thatch-roofed restaurant;
Celebrating a few days early

Day Three:
A sunrise walk on the beach (after ordering off the After-Midnight room service menu at 4:30);
We found a little love on the rocky end of the beach;
Restaurant floral arrangement;
Two-toned squirrel busy in the tree outside our room;
Another awesome sunset;
Our first coati spotting

Day Four:
Our first time to see a calabash tree;
Pedicures at the spa (Jeff's first, and my first at a resort);
A howler monkey making his way across the resort grounds;
Spectacular views of the golf course;
Cocktail making class;
A poisonous yellow-bellied sea snake

Day Five:
One of the huge strangler fig trees in Rincón de la Vieja National Park;
20 years of adventure;
One of many Blue Morpho butterflies;
La Cangreja waterfall was our reward for hiking through the rainforest;
Turtle towel friend;
Sushi dinner at Bamboo

Day Six:
Sushi making class;
The chocolate bomb dessert at Catalinas;
Incredible night sky;
My happy place

Day Seven:
Our last walk on the beach;
A beautiful send-off;
The rainbow was an added bonus;
Wrapping up the trip with a spa package that included a massage, reflexology treatment, and manicure;
Palm tree in paradise;
The big daddy of all iguanas. Man, he was huge!);
Costa Rican coffee class;
Crème brûlée and a "French Kiss" last hoorah

Grand Teton

This is the last of my catch-up posts. If you missed the others, just scroll through the last few posts to see what we've been up to the last few days.

Yesterday afternoon, we left Yellowstone and made the short drive down to our campground on the north side of Grand Teton National Park. After a short rest, we headed out on a hike on the Flagg Canyon Trail, along the Snake River. As Clay said, "It was a good hike, except for one thing: the bugs!" The mosquitoes were really bad. Consequently, what should have been a two hour hike was accomplished in an hour and a half.

Little waterfall in Flagg Canyon

Snake River

This morning, we got up early and drove through the rest of the beautiful Grand Teton park. Our goal was to get to Jackson Hole, WY by 9:00, take the aerial tram up to the top of Rendezvous Peak, and have waffles at Corbet's Cabin, and that's just what we did. Jackson Hole is a lovely ski resort town, and we wished we could have stayed longer. But, we still had several driving hours ahead of us to get to Park City, UT, so we left after breakfast and vowed to try to come back someday. We stopped for a mid-afternoon meal in Park City and then headed to our campground, where a playground and rec room were our reward for a long day in the car.

The Tetons at Jackson Lake

Buffalo herd in front of the Tetons

A curious onlooker

Jackson Hole

Corbet's Cabin

View of the valley from Rendezvous Peak

View of the Grand Tetons

Here comes our ride

Welcome to Utah

99 bottles of beer on the wall and a nod
 to Texas at Davanza's Pizza in Park City

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

On Friday, we toured the Mud Volcano area of Yellowstone and then took our longest family hike to date, which was 7 miles round trip. It was a beautiful hike that led us along the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and rewarded us when we arrived at Artist Point (our turn around point) with a spectacular view of the Lower Falls. Afterward, we drove over to the brink of Upper Falls and then grabbed some lunch in Canyon Village before heading back to our campground.

Mud Volcano used to shoot many feet in the air
but now just simmers rather quietly.

Our favorite feature in the Mud Volcano area was
 Dragon's Mouth, which roared and belched steam,
just as if a dragon really lurked behind the rocks.

Where the kids and the buffalo roam

Clear Lake

Lily Pond Lake

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Lower Falls

So proud of us for our long hike!

The Brink of Upper Falls

The traffic can get a little hairy in Yellowstone

Silly park rangers

Yellowstone--South Loop

Yesterday, we continued our Yellowstone adventures by taking the South Loop. We took some nice hikes, saw some fantastic scenery, and visited Lake Yellowstone, The Continental Divide, Old Faithful, The Midway Geyser Basin, and Biscuit Basin. We ended the day with hot dogs and s'mores at our campground.

Elk mamas and babies at Lake Yellowstone

 

Fishing Cone

Abyss Pool

Continental Divide

Old Faithful

Beautiful Mystic Falls

A boiling waterfall hits
the Firehole River in the
Midway Geyser Basin

Grand Prismatic Spring

Clepsydra Geyser in Biscuit Basin

 

You can't really see them in the picture,
but there were many bison hanging out
in this beautiful valley yesterday evening.

Cookout

Taking our hot dog/s'more
party to the extremes!

Yellowstone--North Loop

Day before yesterday, we entered Yellowstone and immediately set off on our first adventure around the North Loop. We did a couple of short hikes and saw all manor of wildlife, geothermal areas, waterfalls, and amazing scenery. Jeff and I visited once pre-kids and are stunned both by how much we remember about the park and how much we don't. It's such a lovely place, and we are really enjoying sharing it with our kids.

Happy campers at Yellowstone

Gibbon Falls

Artists Paintpots
(Boiling mud puddle)

Mammoth Hot Springs selfie

Grazing elk

The animals are well-trained
and know where to cross the street

Mammoth Hot Springs

Undine Falls

This guy was just resting in the shade
right beside the hiking trail.

Wraith Falls

Petrified Tree

The gorgeous Yellowstone River

Tower Fall

We watched this guy take a little dirt bath
but only got the photo after the fact.