Trip Report: Return to Wonderland!
Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, Wyoming; July 14 through 24, 2014
Part III: Grand Teton and Jackson (Days 9 through 11) and Final Thoughts
The trip journal continues on Day 9 as we enter Grand Teton National Park for our final couple of days. This final section completes the details of the trip as well as provides a summary of the critter sightings, hikes and some final thoughts….
Day 9 (continued) – Tuesday, July 22 – Returning to Grand Teton: Wow, what a great day thus
Day 9 (continued) – Tuesday, July 22 – Returning to Grand Teton: Wow, what a great day thus
far. The wolves in the Hayden Valley were the highlight of the morning, but we’ve also driven by fields overrun by wildflowers and had a nice hike to marvel at the vistas from Storm Point. Now it is 1:30 and we are cruising back to Grand Teton for one more night at Signal Mountain and an opportunity to explore the park a bit more before heading to Jackson tomorrow for our last night in Wyoming for this trip.
We arrived at Signal Mountain Lodge at 3:00, just in time to check-in. We were assigned the cabin adjoining the one we stayed in 2011 (#124 this year). We dumped our stuff and were back on the road by 3:30. First order of business was the drive up Signal Mountain to catch the views. Not the best time for lighting particularly looking toward the Teton Range, but the sky was not hazy, with only a few nice fluffy white clouds. We walked the short trail from the end of the road to the overlook. The views in all directions were amazing. The lighting was best looking east over the plains toward the mountains in the distance. Again the wildflowers were turned up to deafening levels! And we saw more examples of the species gonius birdus flitting about in the evergreen trees.
We arrived at Signal Mountain Lodge at 3:00, just in time to check-in. We were assigned the cabin adjoining the one we stayed in 2011 (#124 this year). We dumped our stuff and were back on the road by 3:30. First order of business was the drive up Signal Mountain to catch the views. Not the best time for lighting particularly looking toward the Teton Range, but the sky was not hazy, with only a few nice fluffy white clouds. We walked the short trail from the end of the road to the overlook. The views in all directions were amazing. The lighting was best looking east over the plains toward the mountains in the distance. Again the wildflowers were turned up to deafening levels! And we saw more examples of the species gonius birdus flitting about in the evergreen trees.
After enjoying the views from Signal Mountain, we next drove the park road and stopped at a couple of the vista points. Again, wrong time of day for best light but beggars can’t be choosers. Regardless of the time of day, the Teton Range is a magnificent sight. We made a quick stop at the Chapel of the Transfiguration and made a quick walk through historic Menor’s Ferry. Just a couple other folks at the Chapel, so it was fairly tranquil there this evening, which is fitting. The setting in which the little church sits is serene yet magnificent; rather appropriate, all things considered. The little log structure has some lovely stained glass windows, yet the view through the large window behind the alter is far and away the best, with the aspens and the mountains providing a stunning backdrop.
There is a sign at the entrance to the grounds of the Chapel
that really captures the essence of this wonderful little area and the why the
name is so well suited; the sign reads:
“The name “Transfiguration” is taken from the event in our Lord’s worldly life in which, during a time of prayer and meditation in the mountains, Jesus appeared to His disciples “transfigured.” They saw Him no longer as a simple man, but in an intense light they perceived a glory beyond His ordinary appearance.
The name is apt because, in the presence of this magnificence and grandeur, some small hint of that eternal majesty is conveyed to us who pause and, in quiet, worship. Like the disciples on the mount 2,000 years ago, we would like to stay here. We cannot – we must return to our lives – but, like those disciples, please take away with you the vision of the power and the beauty of God’s presence in the world.” |
It was 5:00 by the time we walked over to Menor’s Ferry, so the buildings were closed. We actually ran into one of the volunteers locking up the back with the old wagons and carriages, but we still got a peek inside. The replica ferry was actually in “dry dock” as it was pulled well up on dry land. The interpretive sign next to the ferry provided some idea on the operation which was actually quite ingenious. This was a “reaction ferry” and used the current of the river to propel the ferry across the river (basically, the river flowing around the pontoons generated the force used to move the ferry, just like the forces of the air over a wing produce lift to allow and airplane to fly. There was also great history about the formation of Grand Teton at the Maud Noble cabin. This is where the idea for creating Grand Teton National Park was presented to Horace Albright, then Superintendent of Yellowstone, by residents of Jackson Hole, certainly a group a forward thinking folks.
Our final event was a drive up the Moose-Wilson Road at about 5:45. Nothing big in the area right around the pond, but we did walk out the trail just past the pond and saw several birds, mostly of the “gone” variety, but I did get a fleeting photo of a woodpecker that I later identified as a Yellow-bellied sapsucker (at least I’m pretty sure that was what it was). We returned to Signal Mountain Lodge via the park road, but surprisingly there was nothing out and about. Well, we can’t complain if the animals were not out tonight as we have had an unbelievable stretch of seeing the amazing wildlife over the past several days.
For our last dinner at Signal Mountain Lodge for 2014 we went to our old standby, Deadman’s Bar. I had the burrito and Lynn had the quesadilla. Her meal came with jalapenos, but those were quickly transferred to my dinner. That burrito with the red sauce and the additional flavor of the peppers was exquisite and just made the Pako’s IPA go down that much smoother. We finished with one more beer on our porch. I swung over to the General Store to check the selection. No Sweetgrass, so I went with a 22 oz. bottle of Green Flash West Coast IPA that we shared. We enjoyed that last beer in the park watching the Juncos flitting about in the trees as the evening closed in around us. A very nice way to finish our day. Here are the photos from today (Yellowstone and Grand Teton images).
Day 10 – Wednesday, July 23 – Day in Jackson: In order to expedite our departure this morning, we bought provisions for an on-the-run-breakfast last night at the General Store when I fueled up the POS. With the big dinner last night, we were not that hungry this morning, so we ate our yogurt and saved the Pop-Tarts for later. After a quick stop at the registration building to check-out and get Lynn her morning caffeine (she again came out as a two-fisted drinker), we were off and running at 7:40. Not too shabby.
The plan for today is to hit the favorite view points and maybe take a critter drive and then head into Jackson for the day. The smoke and haze from the last week had dissipated and there were high, white clouds in the blue sky and great light from the morning sun. It looks like we’ll get some very nice views today.
First stop was Oxbow Bend. The water was like a mirror. The Tetons and the clouds were reflected perfectly. I took the time to go down to the edge of the water at a couple locations to get a different perspective of the scene. Simply beautiful views. I think that this morning was the best day in terms of air clarity and the overall view that we have had here.
The plan for today is to hit the favorite view points and maybe take a critter drive and then head into Jackson for the day. The smoke and haze from the last week had dissipated and there were high, white clouds in the blue sky and great light from the morning sun. It looks like we’ll get some very nice views today.
First stop was Oxbow Bend. The water was like a mirror. The Tetons and the clouds were reflected perfectly. I took the time to go down to the edge of the water at a couple locations to get a different perspective of the scene. Simply beautiful views. I think that this morning was the best day in terms of air clarity and the overall view that we have had here.
Lynn was on critter alert while I focused on the vista shots and there was plenty of animal activity here as well. Of course the Uinta ground Squirrels were out and about, along with several birds: Canada geese, cormorants, While Pelicans (five) and five Great Blue Herons roosting in the trees across the water. Lynn also spotted a mule deer doe and fawn and later we saw a mule deer swim the river and scamper across the adjacent field.
We headed south on route 89, stopping at one view point for the big picture vista of the Tetons. Ideal lighting, I thought. As we were leaving the pullout, Lynn spotted a small head of bison heading for the road, so we took our time to avoid the jam. We got to the crossing just about the time the excitement was over, but still aw the big beasties up close for the final time on this trip. A big daddy bull was bringing up the rear. Man, he had a big ol’ noggin’!
We headed south on route 89, stopping at one view point for the big picture vista of the Tetons. Ideal lighting, I thought. As we were leaving the pullout, Lynn spotted a small head of bison heading for the road, so we took our time to avoid the jam. We got to the crossing just about the time the excitement was over, but still aw the big beasties up close for the final time on this trip. A big daddy bull was bringing up the rear. Man, he had a big ol’ noggin’!
After this final bison jam and a short construction delay, we cruised on to Schwabacher Landing. No painters this time and no pro photographers but still several folks enjoying the views plus a few fishermen, er, fisherpeople (I’d say the one group was Granddad, Dad and Daughter with an outfitter looking to spend a little quality time….good for them!). Not crowded, mind you; still plenty of room for everyone. We walked the trail along the water to get additional views of the Teton Range and their refection. There were a few little critters in the area, including chipmunks and a family of Barrow’s Goldeneyes.
Just like at Oxbow, the view was perfect. The clouds were dispersing a bit, but there were still some small cotton balls floating past plus some streaks of cirrus clouds. Again, this may have been the best day at this location from both trips.
Oh and did I mention the road down to the landing? Yeah, paved…so nice.
By now the sun was getting higher in the morning sky and the temperature was quickly rising. We did make a quick stop at Mormon Row; still great views of the Tetons behinds the historic old structures. The area around the homestead house was closed for animal habitat restrictions, perhaps for the Cliff Swallows that were nesting in the area. Of course that did not stop one photographer with an old-time camera rig; some folks are just special. He only went a pace or two into the closed area, but still the signs were clearly posted and not ambiguous in the least. I bit my tongue and moved on since another photographer (probably a pro) went over to address the issue. We stopped briefly at the Mouton barn for our final shots. Mountain Bluebirds added a splash of color.
Just like at Oxbow, the view was perfect. The clouds were dispersing a bit, but there were still some small cotton balls floating past plus some streaks of cirrus clouds. Again, this may have been the best day at this location from both trips.
Oh and did I mention the road down to the landing? Yeah, paved…so nice.
By now the sun was getting higher in the morning sky and the temperature was quickly rising. We did make a quick stop at Mormon Row; still great views of the Tetons behinds the historic old structures. The area around the homestead house was closed for animal habitat restrictions, perhaps for the Cliff Swallows that were nesting in the area. Of course that did not stop one photographer with an old-time camera rig; some folks are just special. He only went a pace or two into the closed area, but still the signs were clearly posted and not ambiguous in the least. I bit my tongue and moved on since another photographer (probably a pro) went over to address the issue. We stopped briefly at the Mouton barn for our final shots. Mountain Bluebirds added a splash of color.
It was now almost 9:00 and getting warm, so we decided to skip the critter drive along Gros Ventre Road and up Moose-Wilson Road. Instead we made a quick stop at the Moose Visitor Center to donate our bear spray to the Ranger on duty. As there was no line at the permit counter, I spoke with the Ranger there. She was very appreciative to get our two canisters and said that they would be put to good use. We chatted a bit about our bear encounter in Cascade Canyon as the amazing wildflowers this season. Seems that there was a lot of snow this winter which tends to provide more water through the season and therefore better flowers.
We said our goodbyes to the parks. One final shot of the Tetons then it was off to Jackson so that Lynn could check-out the shops and galleries. After confirming the rental car shuttle schedule, we headed to the Homewood Suites. We knew it would be too early to check-in as it was just now 11:00, but we figured we could at least ditch the car there and store our gear, but we got lucky as there was a room available. Score! So we dumped our stuff in the room and reloaded for an “urban” hike. We were on our way to explore the square by 11:30.
We hit a couple of the shops then went to our old stand-by, Merry Piglets, for lunch. I guess we must like this place as we have been in Jackson three times over the past two trips and have eaten lunch at the Merry Piglets each day. As it was right at noon, we were a bit concerned about there being a crowd and there were several folks on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant, however, they were all waiting to get into the upscale burger joint next to Merry Piglets. Perhaps another contributing factor to keeping the crowd down was that the credit card machine at Merry Piglets was again inoperative. Whatever the reasons, we were seated right away. I tried the shrimp roll-up which was good size and very tasty. Lynn had the asada burrito which was huge, so I got some of that as well. Quite tasty.
After lunch, we started the most arduous hike of the trip, the slough through the shops around the Jackson Square! In fairness, the shops and galleries we visited were very nice. Lynn focuses on the jewelry and art galleries. The high point for me was the very first place we entered after lunch, the Tom Mangelsen photo gallery next to Merry Piglets. Man, this guy gets around and has a great eye. His images are simply amazing. There is a lot of time spent in the field to be in the right place at the right time to capture these outstanding images. We both found the information on the mountain lion family that took up residence in the National Elk Preserve back in the late 1990s to be particularly interesting. Apparently a cougar and her cubs were in the preserve for 42 days providing an unprecedented look into the lives of these elusive cats.
We said our goodbyes to the parks. One final shot of the Tetons then it was off to Jackson so that Lynn could check-out the shops and galleries. After confirming the rental car shuttle schedule, we headed to the Homewood Suites. We knew it would be too early to check-in as it was just now 11:00, but we figured we could at least ditch the car there and store our gear, but we got lucky as there was a room available. Score! So we dumped our stuff in the room and reloaded for an “urban” hike. We were on our way to explore the square by 11:30.
We hit a couple of the shops then went to our old stand-by, Merry Piglets, for lunch. I guess we must like this place as we have been in Jackson three times over the past two trips and have eaten lunch at the Merry Piglets each day. As it was right at noon, we were a bit concerned about there being a crowd and there were several folks on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant, however, they were all waiting to get into the upscale burger joint next to Merry Piglets. Perhaps another contributing factor to keeping the crowd down was that the credit card machine at Merry Piglets was again inoperative. Whatever the reasons, we were seated right away. I tried the shrimp roll-up which was good size and very tasty. Lynn had the asada burrito which was huge, so I got some of that as well. Quite tasty.
After lunch, we started the most arduous hike of the trip, the slough through the shops around the Jackson Square! In fairness, the shops and galleries we visited were very nice. Lynn focuses on the jewelry and art galleries. The high point for me was the very first place we entered after lunch, the Tom Mangelsen photo gallery next to Merry Piglets. Man, this guy gets around and has a great eye. His images are simply amazing. There is a lot of time spent in the field to be in the right place at the right time to capture these outstanding images. We both found the information on the mountain lion family that took up residence in the National Elk Preserve back in the late 1990s to be particularly interesting. Apparently a cougar and her cubs were in the preserve for 42 days providing an unprecedented look into the lives of these elusive cats.
We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the square and the adjacent blocks. There are a lot of talented artists and artisans displaying their creation s in the galleries in Jackson. But we did cover the area in just this single afternoon, so staying in Jackson just one night worked out fine for us. I guess it was around 4:00 when we returned to the hotel to drop-off Lynn’s loot, do some packing and get fuel in the POS for the early morning drop-off tomorrow. Once those chores were done, it was time for a beer, so we walked to the Snake River Brew Pub. We walked in about 6:00 and there was space at the bar which was perfect as we were not planning on a big dinner after that rather large lunch.
We ordered the beer sampler which had eight 5-oz. samples so we got to try everything they had on tap. We worked through from low to high IBUs. All were good, but the Pale Ale and IPA were my favorites; no surprise there. I guess the beer jump-started our appetites so we split the steak taco appetizer. After ordering the tacos, I noticed the jambalaya on the menu. Got to try that, so I got a cup. It was OUTSTANDING! More of a chowder (think Manhattan clam chowder, but with chunks of crawfish and sausage). I told Lynn that I would come back to Jackson just for the jambalaya!
Lynn mentioned that we missed the shoot-out at the square, not that either of us were that interested in the show. Well, maybe next trip. We wanted something sweet, but the candy store that we saw earlier was closed, so we settled for a standard chocolate bar and then headed to the hotel for the night. We will have an early start to our travel day tomorrow. We did not take a lot of photos today, but here are the hightlights.
Day 11 – Thursday, July 24 – The Journey Home: Up at 3:30…ouch! On the road at 4:20 and finally on the shuttle from the rental car return at 4:55 AM. United check-in was slow due to a couple of large groups but things moved along well enough and we were through security before 0600. The email advising us to allow two hours to get through check-in due to the airport construction was clearly overly conservative. But now we’re done with the hard part of the trip; the rest is just sitting, waiting and flying back home. No issues with the flights (Jackson to O’Hare to Hopkins) and we were back home by 5:00 PM. Another outstanding National Parks journey has come to a close. Just in time to start getting ready for the next adventure…next stop Sequoia National Park!
That’s a wrap. Our return to Wonderland was exactly what I had hoped for and nothing that I expected all in the same trip. There were a few things we wanted to do and a lot that we wanted to see, so I had a plan in place to let us accomplish those things, keeping in mind that Mother Nature was not in the loop during the planning process. But regardless of how well we did on the plan, I knew that we would have a wonderful time in the parks, and that we did. Plus we had plenty of downtime; a few quiet afternoons to enjoy a cold beer and each others company while taking in the beautiful surroundings.
No matter how much planning and preparation go into a trip, there are some things that are just beyond our control. The smoke from the forest fires is a perfect example. Of course weather is another variable that we just have to deal with, but on that point we were extremely fortunate. Other than the overcast in Roosevelt and the rain on the afternoon of the Cowboy Cookout, we had perfect weather with pleasant temperatures and mostly blue skies each day. The smoke from the forest fires had a minor impact, but we worked around it for the most part. Another pleasant surprise was the lack of crowds. Since we visited in the middle of summer, I was prepared for huge hordes of tourists based on comments on the Trip Advisor forums. I mean we hit some crowded areas, but we did not spend a lot of time in places like Old Faithful or Canyon which are really crowd magnets. Of course we generally get on the road early, so I expect we are ahead of 90% of the visitors.
Perhaps the fact that we missed the crowds for the most part is the reason that we did not see any “stupid people tricks” in the parks (well, we did see a few, just not as many as the 2011 visit), but there were several examples of “Special” people. There were a couple of photographers who felt they were allowed to disobey the “closed area” signs in order to get a shot. Of course we saw a few folks getting way too close to the wildlife, including moose and bears. Poor driving was a consistent theme, particularly around the animal jams (c’mon folks, if you are rushing to get somewhere perhaps you picked the wrong place for a vacation). And there were a few parents (and grandparents) who were doing nothing to control their kids). But I reckon you’ll find examples of these antics just about anywhere. The good news was that these folks were the minority. The vast majority of people that we met were friendly, laid-back and looking to enjoy the wonders of nature.
The only disappointment for me for the trip was the lack of clear night skies, particularly when we were in Roosevelt, as I so enjoy sitting out at night and gazing up at the heavens. I remember the stars from our 2011 trip and they were simply awesome (there are no words to describe the scene or the exhilaration of staring out into that amazing star field). The overcast and smoke wrecked view but that’s OK. We’ll be back to try again. Perhaps the trades off for the lack of stars were the amazing carpets of wildflowers that we saw everywhere that we went. This was by far the best display of flowers that we had seen anywhere. Just blankets of yellow, white, purple, blue and red, in some places as far as the eye could see.
As is always the case when in the parks, hiking was our primary objective with Cascade Canyon being the one “must do” for the trip. Mission accomplished! This was a truly great hike through magnificent scenery with a few bonus animal sightings (and one closer than we wanted encounter with a black bear). We were stymied on this hike in 2011, so we really wanted to get it in this trip. It is also on the list for our next visit with the goal of reaching Lake Solitude. For Yellowstone, the one hike that I had on the required list was the return to the hills overlooking Grand Prismatic Spring to get a higher view over the Midway Geyser Basin. We did this one in 2011, but it is such an amazing sight that I had to return. Well worth the effort to see this amazing natural wonder.
We did very well on the trails and covered a lot of ground. In addition to Cascade Canyon and the Grand Prismatic Spring overlooks hikes, we spent a lot of time hiking in the parks totaling a little over 40 miles during the trip (well, according to the EveryTrail app on my phone). Here’s the list of the hikes in the order we made them with links to reviews and detailed maps on EveryTrail (the detailed descriptions included with these reviews were taken in large part from the journal, so there is a fair amount of overlap):
We ordered the beer sampler which had eight 5-oz. samples so we got to try everything they had on tap. We worked through from low to high IBUs. All were good, but the Pale Ale and IPA were my favorites; no surprise there. I guess the beer jump-started our appetites so we split the steak taco appetizer. After ordering the tacos, I noticed the jambalaya on the menu. Got to try that, so I got a cup. It was OUTSTANDING! More of a chowder (think Manhattan clam chowder, but with chunks of crawfish and sausage). I told Lynn that I would come back to Jackson just for the jambalaya!
Lynn mentioned that we missed the shoot-out at the square, not that either of us were that interested in the show. Well, maybe next trip. We wanted something sweet, but the candy store that we saw earlier was closed, so we settled for a standard chocolate bar and then headed to the hotel for the night. We will have an early start to our travel day tomorrow. We did not take a lot of photos today, but here are the hightlights.
Day 11 – Thursday, July 24 – The Journey Home: Up at 3:30…ouch! On the road at 4:20 and finally on the shuttle from the rental car return at 4:55 AM. United check-in was slow due to a couple of large groups but things moved along well enough and we were through security before 0600. The email advising us to allow two hours to get through check-in due to the airport construction was clearly overly conservative. But now we’re done with the hard part of the trip; the rest is just sitting, waiting and flying back home. No issues with the flights (Jackson to O’Hare to Hopkins) and we were back home by 5:00 PM. Another outstanding National Parks journey has come to a close. Just in time to start getting ready for the next adventure…next stop Sequoia National Park!
That’s a wrap. Our return to Wonderland was exactly what I had hoped for and nothing that I expected all in the same trip. There were a few things we wanted to do and a lot that we wanted to see, so I had a plan in place to let us accomplish those things, keeping in mind that Mother Nature was not in the loop during the planning process. But regardless of how well we did on the plan, I knew that we would have a wonderful time in the parks, and that we did. Plus we had plenty of downtime; a few quiet afternoons to enjoy a cold beer and each others company while taking in the beautiful surroundings.
No matter how much planning and preparation go into a trip, there are some things that are just beyond our control. The smoke from the forest fires is a perfect example. Of course weather is another variable that we just have to deal with, but on that point we were extremely fortunate. Other than the overcast in Roosevelt and the rain on the afternoon of the Cowboy Cookout, we had perfect weather with pleasant temperatures and mostly blue skies each day. The smoke from the forest fires had a minor impact, but we worked around it for the most part. Another pleasant surprise was the lack of crowds. Since we visited in the middle of summer, I was prepared for huge hordes of tourists based on comments on the Trip Advisor forums. I mean we hit some crowded areas, but we did not spend a lot of time in places like Old Faithful or Canyon which are really crowd magnets. Of course we generally get on the road early, so I expect we are ahead of 90% of the visitors.
Perhaps the fact that we missed the crowds for the most part is the reason that we did not see any “stupid people tricks” in the parks (well, we did see a few, just not as many as the 2011 visit), but there were several examples of “Special” people. There were a couple of photographers who felt they were allowed to disobey the “closed area” signs in order to get a shot. Of course we saw a few folks getting way too close to the wildlife, including moose and bears. Poor driving was a consistent theme, particularly around the animal jams (c’mon folks, if you are rushing to get somewhere perhaps you picked the wrong place for a vacation). And there were a few parents (and grandparents) who were doing nothing to control their kids). But I reckon you’ll find examples of these antics just about anywhere. The good news was that these folks were the minority. The vast majority of people that we met were friendly, laid-back and looking to enjoy the wonders of nature.
The only disappointment for me for the trip was the lack of clear night skies, particularly when we were in Roosevelt, as I so enjoy sitting out at night and gazing up at the heavens. I remember the stars from our 2011 trip and they were simply awesome (there are no words to describe the scene or the exhilaration of staring out into that amazing star field). The overcast and smoke wrecked view but that’s OK. We’ll be back to try again. Perhaps the trades off for the lack of stars were the amazing carpets of wildflowers that we saw everywhere that we went. This was by far the best display of flowers that we had seen anywhere. Just blankets of yellow, white, purple, blue and red, in some places as far as the eye could see.
As is always the case when in the parks, hiking was our primary objective with Cascade Canyon being the one “must do” for the trip. Mission accomplished! This was a truly great hike through magnificent scenery with a few bonus animal sightings (and one closer than we wanted encounter with a black bear). We were stymied on this hike in 2011, so we really wanted to get it in this trip. It is also on the list for our next visit with the goal of reaching Lake Solitude. For Yellowstone, the one hike that I had on the required list was the return to the hills overlooking Grand Prismatic Spring to get a higher view over the Midway Geyser Basin. We did this one in 2011, but it is such an amazing sight that I had to return. Well worth the effort to see this amazing natural wonder.
We did very well on the trails and covered a lot of ground. In addition to Cascade Canyon and the Grand Prismatic Spring overlooks hikes, we spent a lot of time hiking in the parks totaling a little over 40 miles during the trip (well, according to the EveryTrail app on my phone). Here’s the list of the hikes in the order we made them with links to reviews and detailed maps on EveryTrail (the detailed descriptions included with these reviews were taken in large part from the journal, so there is a fair amount of overlap):
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While researching the hiking trails in Yellowstone, I found a very informative website, trailguideyellowstone.com. Plenty of great ideas and very detailed descriptions of the trails; a very useful site. All of these trails were great and I would hike all of them again, but there are so many others that I want to explore as well. It will take another trip or three to fit it all in (no, probably more that that).
Even with all the time on the trails we still put a lot of miles on the POS. When we got in the rental car it had a whopping 3 miles on the odometer. But the time we were through, there were nearly a thousand (we drove 990 miles in and around the parks, to be exact) over our 11 days in Wyoming. There are a lot of miles to cover to get around Grand Teton and Yellowstone! But honestly I feel a bit bad about doing so much driving in the parks; I just think about the pollution from all us tourists. This is a catch 22 as you have to get on the road to explore a huge park like Yellowstone or Grand Teton, but at the same time we all need to try and minimize our impact on these natural wonders. It is a tough balancing act.
Probably the main reason for racking up the driving miles was to see the fauna in the park. The drives along Moose-Wilson and Gros Ventre Roads or through the Lamar and Hayden Valleys were extremely productive for us plus we saw a lot of critters out on the trails. We had great success during our 2011 trip, but I think this had to be our best trip to date for animal sightings. We compiled a list each evening which has been summarized here. And these are just the ones that we could positively identify (or we were at least mostly positive). We also saw a lot of “gone” birds or critters that were a little too far away from us to make a for certain identification.
Even with all the time on the trails we still put a lot of miles on the POS. When we got in the rental car it had a whopping 3 miles on the odometer. But the time we were through, there were nearly a thousand (we drove 990 miles in and around the parks, to be exact) over our 11 days in Wyoming. There are a lot of miles to cover to get around Grand Teton and Yellowstone! But honestly I feel a bit bad about doing so much driving in the parks; I just think about the pollution from all us tourists. This is a catch 22 as you have to get on the road to explore a huge park like Yellowstone or Grand Teton, but at the same time we all need to try and minimize our impact on these natural wonders. It is a tough balancing act.
Probably the main reason for racking up the driving miles was to see the fauna in the park. The drives along Moose-Wilson and Gros Ventre Roads or through the Lamar and Hayden Valleys were extremely productive for us plus we saw a lot of critters out on the trails. We had great success during our 2011 trip, but I think this had to be our best trip to date for animal sightings. We compiled a list each evening which has been summarized here. And these are just the ones that we could positively identify (or we were at least mostly positive). We also saw a lot of “gone” birds or critters that were a little too far away from us to make a for certain identification.
Mammals: Furry critters, big and small. The big guys are the ones that we are all looking to find when in Yellowstone and Grand Teton.
Reptiles: As mentioned, we saw several snakes on the trails, but most slithered off the trail before we could get a good look…it is amazing how fast a snake can move when it wants to!
Insects – Butterflies: Like the Gone Birds, there were also many butterflies that would not sit still long enough for a good look (most whites and sulphurs) but there were a handful that were willing to pose for photos so that I could make identifications once I was home.
Here are the photographic highlights from our critter sightings. |
Birds: We saw a lot of birds of all sorts (song birds, waterfowl, raptors) but could not identify all of them…lots of “Gonebirds”
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Of course seeing the wolves in Hayden Valley was one of the top highlights of the trip, but we had great sightings nearly every day. The string of sightings in Grand Teton where we saw Mule Deer, Elk, Bison, Pronghorn and Moose in an hour of touring was a great example of the diversity and density of the animals in the park. I put together a short (4-minute) slideshow to capture these and other highlights from the trip.
So another outstanding adventure in our National Parks has come to a close. The entire experience was a delight as I enjoy all phases of travel: the planning and preparation (well, maybe not the packing), the trip itself and all the post trip tasks like processing and organizing the photos, writing the journal and posting reviews (speaking of which, here are the reviews for this trip, which also pulled heavily from the journal). For me it is fun to plan these excursions and I learn a lot from reading advice on Trip Advisor and researching the National Parks related websites as well as other sources like Yellowstone Treasures (an essential reference for visiting the park). The post-trip activities seem to allow me to relive the trip and keep the adventure fresh in my mind for a longer time. But of course the best part is being on the road and immersed in the grandeur and majestic surroundings of Grand Teton and Yellowstone. We are already planning our return to Wonderland.
So another outstanding adventure in our National Parks has come to a close. The entire experience was a delight as I enjoy all phases of travel: the planning and preparation (well, maybe not the packing), the trip itself and all the post trip tasks like processing and organizing the photos, writing the journal and posting reviews (speaking of which, here are the reviews for this trip, which also pulled heavily from the journal). For me it is fun to plan these excursions and I learn a lot from reading advice on Trip Advisor and researching the National Parks related websites as well as other sources like Yellowstone Treasures (an essential reference for visiting the park). The post-trip activities seem to allow me to relive the trip and keep the adventure fresh in my mind for a longer time. But of course the best part is being on the road and immersed in the grandeur and majestic surroundings of Grand Teton and Yellowstone. We are already planning our return to Wonderland.