south dakota

we're having such fun filled days that we haven't been getting to our hotels really late at night, but it's totally worth it.

as you can see we were lulled into sleep by the full moon of south dakota.

big horn national forest

today we drove through the big horn national forest on our way to south dakota & WOW, it was so pretty. big horn consists of over 1.1 million acres. it was created as a us forest reserve in 1897 & it is one of the oldest government-protected forest lands in the us. "  No region in Wyoming is provided with a more diverse landscape - from lush grasslands to alpine meadows, from crystal-clear lakes to glacially-carved valleys, from rolling hills to sheer mountain walls."  it was amazing we saw everything mother nature could manage in one beautiful forest. we pulled over to see a magnificent waterfall & met the nicest park ranger who was more than happy to talk to us & answer any questions. after we worked our way to the top of the mountain & started heading down we saw 4 moose in open field. we couldn't believe it, a bison yesterday & moose today! they were so beautiful just roaming around while having a snack. we never thought we'd see a moose in real life & let us say their antlers were so much bigger than we thought. 

yellowstone

today we went & explored yellowstone national park."yellowstone national park is a nearly 3,500-sq.-mile wilderness recreation area atop a volcanic hot spot. mostly in wyoming, the park spreads into parts of montana and idaho too. yellowstone features dramatic canyons, alpine rivers, lush forests, hot springs and gushing geysers, including its most famous, old faithful. it's also home to hundreds of animal species, including bears, wolves, bison, elk and antelope." as soon as we entered the park we were greeted by this big handsome bison, we couldn't believe it. it was so AWESOME, we really wanted to cross the street to pet him, but mommy & daddy nixed that one. there were signs everywhere saying DO NOT approach the wildlife... we didn't like them much. we did spend about 30 mins looking at him & listening to him nibble on a tree branch very loudly. 

then we it worked on way to the lower geyser basin of old faithful to see the fountain paint pot, bacterial mats, the different pools, fumbles, geysers, the mud pots & the red sprouter.

from there we kept driving to the middle geyser basin where we saw firehole lake, grand prismatic spring, craters, more beautiful pools & a geyser.

then it was time to drive up the main attraction... old faithful. we got there at the perfect time, we only had to wait about 20 minutes before the water started gushing out... it was amazing to see! the water just exploded out of the top & looked like it was going to touch the clouds. 

on our way out we stopped at one more called the west thumb geyser basin that we were told we couldn't miss & we were so happy we stopped because it was spectacular too.

then it was time to head out to make the drive to our hotel, we were a little behind on time. but, we're so happy we were running behind because we got to see the sun set & the moon rise in yellowstowene. we were driving along lewis lake in the west thumb area of the park & that was by far the most beautiful thing we've ever seen in all of our lives! seeing the reflection of the moon on the water &with mountains lit up in purples & pinks... it was breath taking. daddy even caught the moonbeam & it was so awesome. we're so thankful to see all this beauty.

wyoming

whoo hoo, we made it to wyoming!

one of the most beautiful states

we have to say montana is one of the most beautiful states we've been to so far, we could've stayed a week here. we'll definitely have to make time to come back here to spend time.