In August 2011 we made our third annual trip to Montana and Wyoming. We again spent a week with my parents in Cooke City, MT; a one road town nestled in the Beartooth Mountains five miles from the northeast entrance of Yellowstone. It's a perfect base for fishing, hiking, wildlife watching, wildflowers, beautiful scenery, day trips into Yellowstone, and exploring the Beartooth Mountains. Highlights included Norah's first fishing trip, the pretty display of wildflowers on Lulu Pass Road, and hiking Bald Peak.

We were in and out of Yellowstone during our trip and loved all the park had to offer: the scenery, the wildlife, the thermal features. We finally got to see wolves and had a great wildlife sighting on Mt. Washburn when we watched an encounter between a coyote and a herd of bighorn sheep. We spent more time this year visiting the various geyser basins. After getting over an initial fear of the steam, Norah loved roaming the boardwalks, searching for "rainbow colors", and making up geyser songs. While we made the requisite viewing of Old Faithful, the highlight for us was watching Castle Geyser erupt at night with a full moon. Wow!

The final week of our trip entailed a five day backpacking trip in the Wind River Range in western Wyoming. It was our first time visiting there and it definitely won't be our last - spectacular! The stunning scenery of Titcomb Basin and Island Lake was enough to make us forget the plethora of mosquitoes (okay, almost. the mosquitoes there are legendary!).

Thanks for looking and we hope you enjoy the pictures!