Our cabin at Canyon Village -- home away from home!

Hey - this place might not have had a coffee pot -- but it had a grill!

The only time I'm being good!

One of the many buttes in Yellowstone.

These little guys were all over the place. Not sure what their official name is but we thought they might be prairie dogs.

The first day we drove around and did some short walks from the turnouts.

This short walk ended with a view of one of the many streams in Yellowstone.

Aaron taking a break at the bottom of the trail.

Alex decided what's good for Aaron is good for me!

In addition to streams, there were a lot of waterfalls. We saw an osprey nest on the canyon wall across the way.

Most of the short trails had boardwalks to prevent erosion from the visitors.

He's getting closer!

This became a common sight on the roadways.

These guys would walk right up to the cars and even sniff around at your trunk!

Watch your step! A sure sign we were in buffalo territory!

Look at this! His hoof print is almost as big as my foot!

Trout Lake was at the end of a very short walk. This beautiful lake was fed by a stream full of spawning trout.

Aaron thought he could catch a couple of trout from his vantage point along the shore.

Alexander thought he'd have better luck if he dangled from the bridge!

This black bear was our first bear sighting.

He was just hanging out along the road entertaining the tourists.

He took a dip in a swampy area along the road while everyone jumped out of the cars to observe.

This momma bear and her cub were playing along the side of the road stopping traffic in both directions.

They had crossed the road from up on a hillside.

These two little grizzly cubs and their mom were heading home at the end of the day. They were playing along the road then crossed in front of us.

We took a quick hike up to the top of this hill just to see what we could see.

Look how high up we are. It didn't seem that high from the road.

What're you lookin' at! Being silly with binoculars and doing the hamster dance!

Oh! Oh! Storm coming -- better get down fast!

Had to stop and check out the petrified tree -- only a coupla thousand years old!

Our first major hike was to the top of Mount Washburn.

Between the elevation and lots of shade we saw quite a bit of snow on our hikes.

The boys couldn't resist trying to make snow angels. Not very successful as they snow was very icy.

We made it to the top -- elevation 10,243'.

See -- I made it too! The trail is 5.5 miles round trip with a change in elevation of over 1300 feet.

This was taken from the observation deck of the fire tower where a ranger lives alone from late June through early September.

You could see for 75 miles in all directions from Mt. Washburn.

You could see Yellowstone Lake from Mt. Washburn.

The trail to the fire station was an old road used by stage coaches and other vehicles to get to the top.

The Grand Tetons were visible from the summit.

Not sure what this is -- but ain't it purty!

To give you some perspective of the trek -- the fire tower is that teeny speck in the "V" of this photo!

We're on the shuttle boat that takes you across Jenny Lake to the trailhead for our next adventure-Hidden Falls/Inspiration Point/Lake Solitude.

Hidden Falls were just that -- hidden! This part of the trail was only about a mile-long hike.

The falls were especially full due to the large amount of snowfall in May.

Couldn't resist this shot -- just short of Inspiration Point. Look at the color of the sky and the lake.

This little guy was mooching off of everyone. Alex is feeding him peanut butter and jelly crackers.

Inspiration Point -- elevation 7200 feet. The elevation change was only about 420 feet. Photo by Alex.

Aaron at Inspiration Point

Alex at Inspiration Point

Boy -- it's windy up here!

Alex took a shot of me at Inspiration Point just so you'd know I was along!

You could see the Tetons from Inspiration Point -- Alex wanted to take this one of the boat crossing the lake.

Alex was always looking for rocks to climb.

And of course --Aaron had to join him.

Ah! Relaxation!

This trail had a stream that ran from the falls to Jenny Lake.

The water was beautifully clear and the streams were rushing from the 500 inches of snow that had fallen in May.

The trail continued on from Inspiration Point to Lake Solitude - 10 mile round trip. While flat, the trail became snow covered so we turned back.

Yes - those are moose - a momma and her calf. They weren't afraid of us but didn't waste time moving off once we were discovered.

The moose were the only wildlife we saw on the hike, but we saw signs of bear and other critters.

The starting point for our hike to Bunsen Peak/Osprey Falls. The summit was 2.1 miles away -- straight up!

Look closely at the warning on the sign -- Danger entering bear territory. The sign gave you tips on what to do if a bear attacked!

We made it to the top of Bunsen Peak. Alex is resting by the geological survey marker.

Bunsen Peak -- 1955 Geological Survey Marker -- 8564 feet elevation.

As people hiked to the top of the peak they placed rocks to mark their passing. We are the four rocks on the right.

Here are the Tetons from Bunsen Peak.

Here are the Kostiuks at the Summit of Bunsen Peak. Photo taken by a couple of young ladies who wisely chose not to go on to Osprey Falls!

After a steep climb to the top of Bunsen Peak, we had to go straight down the other side. Here is Aaron at Osprey Falls.

The hike down was very treacherous. The path was steep and narrow and the footing was unsure. Here's Alex by Osprey Falls.

The water was very cold, but felt good on tired dogs that had just had a toe crunching trip down to the Falls.

Greg was the only one who was actually having fun on this hike. Our feet and legs were shot after three miles of downhill hiking.

Alexander quickly recovered from the ordeal and after lunch was acting the fool!

Yes -- I was along for this also -- here's proof!

Aaron stands at the trailhead clearly recovered from the 8 mile round trip hike. We were all very happy to see the car and get those boots off!

Mammoth Hot Springs was a huge pile of earth that was covered with oozing sulfur. Very smelly and foggy.

It almost looks like we're on another planet.

The boys bent down to feel the heat coming off the ground.

Mammoth Hot Springs seemed to always have a cloud hanging over it -- not sure if it was because of all the steam rising. Vegetation doesn't survive.

We started up Beaver Dam Trail at Mammoth and the boys spooked a female elk.

She had been getting ready to bed down for the night along the side of the trail.

This will give you a bit of info on the Grand Canyon of The Yellowstone.

This was the most spectacular sight in Yellowstone.

There were a couple of falls in the canyon.

The boys took a break on a ledge in the canyon wall.

The sulfur and other mineral content in the earth gave the canyon walls a rainbow coloration.

The bright sunshine washed out the colors but on this cloudy day we were able to see the pinks, yellows and greens very vividly.

There were little trails all along the canyon rim where you could walk down for a better view of the canyon and the falls

Greg took a picture of me and the boys by the Upper Falls.

You could stand on an overlook and see rainbows in the falls.

Although it's hard to see we caught a double rainbow in this photo.

Here's the boys in front of the Upper Falls.

Here we are at one of the most visited places in America!

Inside the Lodge at Old Faithful was a giant carving of a grizzly with a trout.

Here we are watching Old Faithful. It went off about every 90 minutes for about 5 minutes.

Next eruption 8:10 PM! Inside the Lodge was a huge clock that gave the time for the next eruption. We stayed for two shows!

The boys bought two furry friends to keep them company on vacation!

Almost home -- taken by Aaron somewhere over the Midwest!