Artist Point – Grand Canyon of Yellowstone South Rim
Pictures just don’t do it justice.
It’s obvious we are taking advantage of being closer to some of the best National Parks out there. Very fortunate and as the saying goes, “Get it while you can.” We made the most of what little time we had and can easily see how an entire week exploring the parks and area would be better. We crammed Yellowstone in, in about 2 days really. Luckily, I am a master of time management that the family just doesn’t see the value in quite yet, ha ha. Planning each stop is fun and it usually works out better that way.
We arrived in Jackson, WY just in time for an afternoon swim at the hotel and dinner at a local restaurant. After sixteen months living in Colorado, I have realized how good the food scene is in the South. I always knew that, just didn’t realize how big the gap was between the other regions, but I digress. Wyoming is interesting to me and out of the 4 or so times I’ve driven the state, this was the only time I didn’t cheat death from some type of weather event. It feels so open, vast, and wild. Quickly, I added expensive to that list. Jackson aint cheap!
While trying to double dip one day, the Grand Teton’s did not disappoint. We did very little there, but it was grand. Took the boat shuttle across Jenny Lake to save time, and who doesn’t like a boat ride. Nice little hike to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point was all we needed. It was the perfect way to begin our outdoor adventure.
On to Yellowstone National Park for Round 2 of our first day. Knowing time was going to be getting away from us, our plan was Old Faithful/Upper Geyser Basin and Midway Geyser Basin/Grand Prismatic. Over half the worlds geyser activity is in Yellowstone so everywhere you turn, you see geysers, pools, steam, and other out of this world scenery. Rule number 1 is stay on the walkways. I will say, this park can be really dangerous if you fail to follow that number one rule, but the kids did great. Read a little of Death in Yellowstone and you’ll see why. We finished the day driving to dinner at Lake Yellowstone Dining Hall before driving to Canyon Lodge to unpack and get some much needed sleep.
Day Two brought on some outdoor adventure and for Ward, Lila, and Quinn, their first whitewater experience. We drove up to Gardiner, MT. passing by Mammoth Hot Springs, a very scenic drive as you can imagine the whole park is. After high fives and a great first experience for them provided by Jerry (Of course) our guide, we piled back in arguing about a lunch spot before driving to Lamar Valley on the hunt to see the wildlife in their natural habitat. What a sight it is to see Bison, Mule Deer, Elk, Bald Eagles, Coyotes, Osprey and more. I didn’t get the Grizzly or Moose but more than enough other species to keep me and everyone happy. (We got a Moose in Colorado)
So many more pictures of the valley and hundreds and hundreds of Bison I don’t have the time to go through. It is safe to say, we are BEAT.
Time to make our way back to Jackson to shave 2 hours off our drive back to Colorado. On our way out, we did the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and West Thumb. Without time to do some of the hikes, the outlooks, short walks, and views were a perfect way to wrap it up. The kids are ready for another hotel swim and I am ready to crank the AC down and get to sleep. These pictures or words don’t do it justice. It is hard to wrap my brain around the science of this geothermal land that doesn’t make sense to me. The earth is literally boiling and smoking with some crazy cool colorful pools. Do we have 50,000 more years until another super volcano eruption?
