A Glimpse Outside Western KS...

One thing I have always enjoyed is going on vacation, luckily Jenny enjoys it too.  We have had some great trips to Mexico, the Great Sand Dunes, and many others, but to me none have been as awesome as our recent trip to Yellowstone.

Jenny and I at the Northwest entrance of Yellowstone.

Now getting to Yellowstone is no small feet, in fact from SWK (Southwest Kansas) it is nearly 15 hours of driving, some of which is across the barren deserts of Eastern Colorado and Wyoming, and some through the most scenic mountain range I have ever crossed, the Grand Tetons.

Grand Tetons, Jackson Wyoming.

Growing up the words Yellowstone and Old Faithful were interchangeable to me. Old Faithful was the one thing I always thought of when I thought of Yellowstone.  Needless to say there is much more to see, in fact over 2,000,000 (2 Million) acres more. Waterfalls, bubbling mud puddles, scorching hot water pools, elk, moose, bald eagles, buffalo and even more.  It was absolutely amazing.  In fact the only thing that disappointed me was Old Faithful.  Although she is Old and she was Faithful, shooting off exactly at her estimated eruption time of 7:05pm, the show was well just like you see it depicted in the movies, and the picture below.

Old Faithful, 7:05pm.

Although our trip was mainly to see Yellowstone, we did hit a few other places on our way to and from including, Jackson Hole Wyoming, Grand Teton National Park, Beartooth Pass, Red Lodge Montana, Hell's Half Acre, and Cheyenne Frontier Days Parade!

I can't wait to see where our next vacation takes us, maybe Africa??

Take a look at these, just a few of the nearly 1200 pictures we took while on vacation!

Artists Paintpots

Mammoth Hot Springs

Grand Prismatic Spring

Bull Elk

Yellowstone Lake, near Fishing Pot Geyser

Lower Falls, Artist Point, Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Bull Buffalo

Yellowstone traffic jam.

Wolf near Buffalo Herd

Buffalo Bath

Baby Buffalo

Beginning of Beartooth Scenic Byway

Clay Butte

Near the top of Beartooth Pass

Jenny trying to reach 11,000 ft elevation.

Cheyenne Frontier Days Parade

Yard Work

One project always leads to another....this time it was yard work. Tearing out a few bushes with plans for new ones lead to landscaping our entire front yard. After many months of bare ground we can finally see the finished product. 

Before

During

Our yard might not be your typical front lawn, but it has character. Our main vision for doing this was to conserve water and minimize maintenance. With the help of our landscaper...aka Matt Long, it turned out great!

After

After

Friendships

Arkansas City - June 2012

Skiing - Monarch, Colorado - January 2008

In June, I made the 5 1/2 hour drive to Arkansas City, KS to visit one of my close friends, Peggy Lawrence. We have known each other since we met in General Calculus class Spring of 2007 at K-State. We both majored in Agribusiness, so not only were we study buddies but we got to know each other very well. Since then, we have lived, traveled, and shared memories together. Some memories, like our trip to Ireland, will be hard to forget. Now since we both have graduated we haven't let our fun stop there. We usually meet for a K-State football game in the fall and spend a weekend shopping in the summer. Check out the fun times we've had along the way. (Thanks Peggy for another great weekend!)

Peggy's 21st Birthday - March 2008

Ireland  - May 2008

Ag Olympics - April 2009

November 21, 2009

Leoti - July 2011

Photography 101

For our 2nd anniversary Matt gave me a Nikon D7000 digital camera. Since then both Matt and I have been learning how to use it. Believe me, there are a lot of buttons I'm still learning about, some which I am getting better at using. Today's lesson covered shutter speed and aperture. Adjusting these two elements allowed me to photograph this sprinkler showing the definition of each water droplet. Maybe some day I will be able to catch a snow flake. =)

Check out our recent photos below. Through out the year I am posting my FAVORITE photos on our "Pics from the Sticks" page. Don't forget to check them out too.