Adventures out West
"The West is not a place, it's a feeling." - Unknown
We were lucky enough to escape the heat and humidity of D.C. and travelled west for seven nights in late July thanks to awesome Grandparents. When we first started planning this trip, our main goal was to experience the unique wildlife in that part of the country and so we decided to split our time between two National Parks - Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park. Both delivered in all the best ways!
We flew in and out of Jackson Hole, Wyoming and used it as our home base for the first four nights of our trip. The airport is super nice, easy to navigate, and very convenient to downtown Jackson Hole which is a destination in and of itself. It's a great town with an upscale western vibe and authentic cowboy charm. We stayed in town at The Rockwell Inn which worked well for us and made it very easy and convenient to walk to all the local restaurants and shops. The kids loved the daily chocolate chip cookies :) Hotel Jackson and The Cloudveil would also be on my list of splurgier places to stay if we go back. The weather was incredible throughout our trip and such a nice reprieve. We experienced chilly mornings and nights and gorgeous dry sunny afternoons. In fact, it is so incredibly dry in that part of the country that some of us suffered from nosebleeds throughout our time there. A small price to pay for perfect weather, but not something I was expecting!
Our first afternoon we spent biking through the National Elk Refuge which is situated right outside of downtown Jackson Hole. You are biking on a path that runs along the main road in and out of downtown but the scenery is stunning. This was a good way to orient ourselves and move a bit after flying all day. We went to Snake River Brewing for a beer and a casual dinner afterward and it was just what we needed. The brewery has a fun outdoor area with picnic tables and games where kids can play and adults can enjoy their beer. Inside, the restaurant offers a full menu. Enjoyed this spot!
The next morning we woke up super early for a private sunrise wildlife tour in Grand Teton National Park. We booked our tour through Jackson Hole Ecotour Adventures and our guide Sage was fantastic. We saw lots of great wildlife (think Elk, Moose, Beavers, Heron) and so much of the park in those five hours with our guide. Sage knew all the places to take us and all the areas to stalk for the best sightings. I highly, highly recommend a private tour. The entire five hours we spent with Sage was built around what we hoped to see and learn about. We did this in Yellowstone as well and it just makes for such a special experience.
Day two was spent hiking the Taggart Lake Trailhead in Grand Teton. The trail is approximately four miles long, with some incredible views and a stop at the Lake along the way. Chris and I found the hike very manageable but our girls definitely struggled stamina-wise towards the end and frankly it wasn't the picture-perfect morning I had planned. But, we recovered after (physically and emotionally) and decided to treat ourselves to lunch (and cocktails for Mom and Dad) at the Four Seasons Jackson Hole which was just a 10 minute drive from the trailhead. Our lunch at The Handle Bar was one of our favorites on the trip. The Bison Burger and my summer spritz were both an 11 out of 10. We were super impressed (no surprise here) with the Four Seasons and we agreed it would be a stunning place to stay during the winter with its ski in ski out setup and the gorgeous views of the mountains.
On Day three we took a river float tour that included a stop for lunch along the Snake River. We booked this via Teton Scenic Floats and our guide Matilda was awesome! The float was very calm and peaceful with a few small rapids sprinkled in (the girls loved this!). After, we made our way to Jenny Lake to walk around and play in the water a bit. It's definitely a crowded spot but worth a stop. We had our best dinner of the trip at Trio in downtown Jackson Hole that evening.
Our final morning in Grand Teton we packed up our car and headed to Yellowstone. This is about a two hour drive but we made multiple stops along the way. Our first stop was Colter Bay where we did the one mile hike and saw a baby grizzly bear(!!) foraging nearby. I didn't get a picture of it because I was a nervous wreck, ha. Next, we drove to West Thumb which is a geothermal site in the Park where we experienced steaming hot pots unique to Yellowstone. This was unlike anything we have experienced and was very, very cool. Our ultimate destination was Old Faithful geyser to see it erupt (which happens around every 50 minutes) and spend the night at the Old Faithful Inn which is situated steps from the geyser. Full disclosure, the Old Faithful Inn is very historic and the common areas including a very grand lobby are quite lovely and rustic but the accommodations are very basic. Do not expect luxury accommodations or amazing food since it's inside the park. With that said, it worked for us and was a place to rest our heads. I got sick mid-way through the trip so I definitely appreciated a place to power nap for the afternoon while everyone else explored more of the geysers nearby.
We woke up very early the next morning and drove 45 minutes to Norris Geyser Basin to meetup with our guide and embark on a full day private tour of the northern section of the park. We booked this tour through Yellowstone Guidelines and our guide Cooper was very knowledgeable and planned an excellent day for us. Just like in Teton, it is so worth it to get up super early for these tours if you want the best chance at seeing wildlife. We were lucky enough to see wolves and lots of other wildlife including lots and lots and lots of bison. In fact, Cooper explained that we were there during bison mating season so the males were particularly active and more aggressive with each other than we anticipated. We had a front row seat to two male bison fighting over a female. This was one of the highlights of the entire trip for me. Being so close to 4,000 pound bison in the wild was an experience I'll never forget. On this tour we also saw so many other areas of the park including the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone which was incredible and a definite must-see. Yellowstone is a much larger National Park than Grand Teton but both are equally stunning and so beautiful in their own unique ways. Truly everywhere we turned while exploring both parks was like a scene from a postcard.
Our final leg of the trip was spent in West Yellowstone where we spent two nights glamping at UnderCanvas West Yellowstone. This was such a cool experience and the kids absolutely LOVED it. We stayed in a family tent that included a pull-out for the girls to share and a king bed. There was a bathroom and running water in the tent but no electricity (besides usb power packs) and no heat (except for a wood stove). The nights got COLD and my saint of a husband got up throughout the first night to stoke the fire and add logs to keep us all warm, but honestly we were all really into it. The second night we got lots of extra blankets (and requested extra hot water bottles from the UnderCanvas staff to put inside our bed to provide extra warmth). We did great and we loved the adventure of it! The common area at the campsite is awesome and setup with campfires, corn hole, a small bar, live music, and complimentary s'mores each night. The first night we were disappointed that the musician was a no-show and the bar was closed but the second night was fantastic and another highlight of our trip. We threw on our cozies, grabbed pizza from a local spot in West Yellowstone and a bottle of wine from the restaurant onsite and ate by the campfires while listening to live music and playing corn hole. Ended the night with s'mores and voila, perfect night.
During our time in West Yellowstone we booked a guided horseback riding tour and it was something the girls had been looking forward to the entire trip. We booked the tour with Diamond P Ranch which is minutes down the road from UnderCanvas and it was a great experience. We had only a little experience on horses before this trip and it didn't matter at all, we all felt super comfortable. The two hour tour took us through Gallatin National Forest on a mix of different terrain and it was beautiful. Highly recommend this activity, the girls absolutely loved it! After horseback riding, we grabbed a picnic from Ernie's Deli (highly recommend!!) in West Yellowstone and drove to the Madison River picnic area inside the park to eat lunch. Afterward we drove a short distance to the Harlequin Lake Trailhead to hike the easy one mile out-and-back trail that led us to a beautiful lily pond and some coyote sitings!
The next morning we left UnderCanvas and made our way back to Jackson Hole airport (2 hour drive) to fly back home. This trip was memorable in so many ways and got us excited to check even more National Parks off of our bucket list!
