End of Summer

It's almost the end of summer, but just had to get in the annual trip to Yellowstone.  Unfortunately, a cold front went through the days when we were there, so it was a bit cold and not like summer at all.

We did a few ranger walks.

 
 Saw the geysers.

Met some slithering wildlife.

 And also did some longer hikes on our own out in the back country in areas most people don't see.

 
 Cascade Lake
 
 

 
 Lone Star Geyser.

Came upon this guy rambling about out in the back country.  It was a little intimidating to see him so close, with no one else around and no way to outrun him if he objected to our presence there. Fortunately he was more interested in eating grass than bothering with us.  So, we just waited, trying to look inconspicuous, until he strolled on away from the trail.
 
 

He and his friends probably made these tracks on the trail.

 The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone area is impressive, but don't go there if you're afraid of heights.

 

 Saw this Osprey nest on the rocks high above the canyon, complete with baby osprey.  We saw the parents fly in, probably with some food for this noisy baby bird.

This is the closest we got to seeing a bear.  The fur was soft, but the claws - not so much!  The ranger also had a Grizzly skin to show us with claws that were even bigger!

 

 This bison was nice enough to pose by the roadside.
 

It's nice to know there are still some places you can go that look like this. 
 

Sea turtles

More Florida fun.

Suzy and 3 yr old, just floating along in the pool.

A few short weeks ago he never would have done this by himself.  

Now he is having a great time swimming in the pool showing off his new skills.

 

 Here's the 5yr old doing a back flip in the pool with help from her dad.  She can dive by herself to the bottom of the deep end. No more life jackets for her!

At the beach (just steps away from the pool) the kids enjoy digging in the sand and making castles, really big holes, and other fun creations.

 At a local aquarium, we tried out the shark teeth.  Too big!

 Saw some manatees.  These are real!

 Saw some alligators.  These are not real.

 Touched some live sea creatures, including star fish and hermit crabs.

 3 yr old with Yaya.

 Baby blue eyes with Pampa.

Other highlights:

 
#1  Saw baby sea turtles hatch out of their sandy nest and run for the safety of the waves.  We saw about 20 of them safely make it to the water, but the pelicans also saw them and we can only hope the little turtles made it to the gulf stream.  They hardly ever hatch out in daylight, so we were extremely lucky to see them on an after dinner walk on the beach.  Definitely a once in a lifetime event!!

#2 After we left our beachside condo, we spend a few days in Orlando where we visited DisneyWorld!!

Up in the Air

Up in the air. 
Yes, it's parasailing along the beach in front of the condo! 
Cross that off my bucket list!
It's lots of fun, not scary at all.  Very quiet and peaceful up there.
We saw a sea turtle and manatee while flying above the beach.

 
 

 We went on a boat tour of the bay which included hands on touching of sea creatures

More beach fun.

 
She's now my surfing buddy in those ocean waves! 
She has really turned into a great swimmer by swimming in the ocean and going to the pool every day!


On the bayside looking for boats and dolphins.

Saw this bird in the bushes.  What is it?