Pics of the Bros

I took a ton of pics over our trip together but I think the western theme is my fav. It was taken on the first night we were all together, and it was Josh's idea and we all supported it.

After Josh and I picked up Jake, we headed to Jackson where we took the western pic and then we went to one of the better rest. in town and had some elk and bison. It was real good. We then drove back to the trailer and tried to rest up for the next day of campin in the backcountry. We got up and I fixed a hearty breakfast of french toast so that the boys would be ready for the hike in. On the 8 mile hike into the cabin we ran into a family of grouse that Josh and Jake got a kick out of. I think they also enjoyed seeing there first thermal springs too. We had some great views of the mts. and the lake on our way down. Once we arrived at the cabin we had lunch and chilled out on the porch. After lunch we headed over to the rustic geyser to watch it erupt, which we did three times. After that we took a dip in the lake, which I believe was a few degrees colder than I remember due to the snow last week. We swam anyway, but it was shorter than anticipated. During the evening we relaxed on the porch and I stomped Lloyd in a game of Rummy, although I guess I shouldnt brag too much bc it was his first time playin. I cooked them a good backcountry meal and we rested up for our BIG hike out the next day.

The hike out was awesome. It was my favorite hike of the summer so far. We started early with the hope of catching a glimpse of some wildlife, and it payed off. We saw two nice moose about 20min in, then we saw some deer and a lot of marmots. We also found several nice elk antlers and skulls. The hike was extremely long, over 17 miles, but I'm proud to say that everyone made it without any major issue. The major issues didnt come until the next morning when we tried to get out of bed and realized neither our legs or backs wanted to cooperate. After our hike I thought that we could use a good soak, so I toke them to the Huckleberry Hot Springs to try and relax. That plan backfired a little when the hot water burned their blisters and made them worse....oops! We soaked anyway and then got in the river. It was a nice way to end the day. I cooked them some Wade's food back at the trailer and we hit the sack in prep for our early morning.

THe next morning, after another hearty breakfast, we headed out for MT and our rafting trip. We saw tons of wildlife on the way north, including hundreds of buffalo, some of which were extremely close. I think they got a big kick out of seeing all of the buffalo. When we got to MT it was hot and sunny, perfect for rafting. The river felt awesome and it was rockin and rollin pretty well. We all took a swim in a calm spot, although I had to give Josh a little "encouragement" if you know what i mean. It was a blast and the views were great. After our vigorous rafting, we needed refueling, which we did at a local dive named Helen's Corral, home of the 1/2 lb buffalo burger, which we followed with ice cream. We then started the long drive back home to the trailer. I stopped at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone just so they could see it, and I think they appreciated the view but not all the people.

We capped the vacation with a swim underneath Moose Falls, which was a blast. It was so much fun that I went back to tonight. Turn up the volume because I have a message for everyone in the video.

Thanks Josh and Jake for the great vacation, I hope you guys had as much fun as I did.

Everyone: I miss you all and I will be home to see yall real soon, just 2 more weeks of work and I'm finished.....can you believe its almost over already? Its ok, cause I'm startin to miss everyone....especially my woman!

Love yall and talk to yall soon!

BYE