When I was growing-up, my family took a vacation to Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks. It was definitely my favorite family vacation … I was amazed by all of the wildlife we saw. So I was thrilled to go back, and once again the wildlife did not disappoint!!
During our week in the parks we saw (in no particular order): black bears, a grizzly bear, moose, buffalo, elk, deer, otters, beavers, bald eagles, pelicans, geese, loons, chipmunks, squirrels, a marmot, and more. Oh, and how could I forget all of the mosquitoes!! Some of these animals were quite close to us; it was great to observe them, and of course, take pictures of them!!
We spent two long days in Yellowstone. One day we explored lots of hot springs, geysers, and paint pots. I remembered the paint pots, which are basically bubbling pools of mud, from my first visit to Yellowstone, so I had to see them again. Of course, we saw Old Faithful, but we actually enjoyed the other geysers and hot springs around Old Faithful more. Our other day in Yellowstone was spent at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River. How impressive!! We went first to the Artist Point on the South Rim, which was beautiful but also very crowded with tour groups. Unfortunately, much of the North Rim was closed for construction, but thankfully we were still able to hike down to the brink of the Lower Falls. The trail wasn’t very crowded, and the view was amazing.
Of course, everyone knows Yellowstone, but I personally like Grand Teton a little better. The geological features in Yellowstone are great, but the mountain views in Grand Teton are breathtaking. While in Grand Teton, we took a motorboat out on Jackson Lake for a closer view of the mountains, hiked to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point, hiked around part of Jenny Lake, and drove the Signal Mountain Summit Road. We spent lots of time hunting for wildlife too, especially around dusk. My absolute favorite place for looking for wildlife was Oxbow Bend. This is where we saw otters, and we even saw a black bear swim across the river there. If it weren’t for the mosquitoes, I could have spent hours there looking for wildlife and gazing at the mountains.
I could write so much about this vacation, but lastly I just thought I’d mention that we loved our lodging. We stayed in Grand Teton at the Jackson Lake Lodge. Our room was nicer than expected, and while it didn’t have a mountain view, it did have a nice meadow view. The lodge also had nice restaurant options. We ate most meals at the Pioneer Grill, where we got to know several of the friendly staff members by name, but we did eat one dinner in the Mural Room, where the menu includes buffalo, Idaho trout, elk, quail, and more. The meal was delicious.
Another fabulous vacation!!
