It can be a real challenge to work in everything you want to do, even when you have a lot of time to do it. In general, I like to have an activity one day and then a free day. Activities for me are generally things where I have specific time I need to be somewhere, or a really big hike or something planned. Any of these days could have been flipped around though – mostly because so much of it involved driving instead of hiking.
Day 1
- Flew into Jackson Hole.
- Rode the Big Red Tram and had Waffles and Wine at the top.
- We were on the look out for Moose, Bald Eagles, and Yellow Bellied Marmots.
- Ate some yummy pizza at Pinky G’s.
Day 2
- This was a travel day for us. Headed up through the Grand Tetons into Yellowstone to the Lake Lodge.
- Our room wasn’t ready, so we turned on Gypsy and headed up to Mammoth Hot Springs. As a reminder Gypsy is a $5 app that runs on GPS and is the best 5 bucks you’ll spend! It was a great day of critter watching and then exploring the unique volcanic features that are so much a part of Yellowstone.
- We called it an early night because we had a big day coming up.
Day 3
- We headed to Old Faithful by 8 am to beat the crowds that we were told would be there later in the day. (We ended up skipping the Grand Prismatic Spring later that day because the crowds were just too much). I wish we had just stopped when we were out and about that morning.
- We headed out to West Yellowstone – we needed to get our fishing licenses all settled and had terrible cell service in the park, so it was best to go meet our guides.
- Wolf and Grizzly Park – we had a lot of fun watching the bears play and listening to the guides. Grizzlies are no joke!
- Lunch at the Slippery Otter Pub
- I booked a Wildlife Tour for the afternoon. We opted to go on a private tour because I wanted us to see as much as possible. This one is my biggest regret. Our guide was fine, but the information he shared with us was all stuff we had learned about from Gypsy. He did hook us up with Wolf Watchers, so we hung out watching wolves for about an hour. If you know from folks who live and work in Yellowstone where to look for them, you don’t need a guide, though. You’re welcome :0)
Day 4
- We slept in a bit and then headed out towards Cody. We were only going towards that entrance not trying to go all the way to Cody.
- We saw a Mom and Baby Grizzly across a big ravine. 2 pieces of advice here. 1) ALWAYS have your binoculars handy. 2) ALWAYS have on good shoes. I wasn’t planning to go tromping around, so I had on my flip flops. Not my best idea as we walked about a half mile or more following the bears (again from afar).
- We headed back in to the South Rim hike. This is a must do hike, and it takes awhile. You go up along the ridge of Yellowstone’s Grand Canyon and then loop back around for some thermal features. I’ve never been on a single hike that was that crazily different depending on where you were on the trail – waterfalls and forest to barren, smelly thermal features. It’s super important to stay on the trail as you literally can die if you fall into a thermal feature. Also a good idea to have your bear spray handy and to talk loudly. We enjoyed a late sack lunch once we got past the particularly smelly parts. This hike wasn’t very crowded, which we really enjoyed.
- After that, we did a quick hike on Pelican Creek. We had to choose between Pelican Creek and Storm Point – they both take you on a flat hike out to the lake and back. Storm Point is longer. There were a TON of mosquitos – big ones, too. If I had to do it again, I think I would opt for Storm Point given that I would have to put on deet either way.
Day 5
- We booked a fly fishing trip inside the park with Arrick’s in West Yellowstone. We had never been fly fishing. It was too warm to have a great day actually catching fish, but we had a lot of fun trying. Some of the best little hikes we did were to get to the river where there were no trails. After a while, I put down my pole and just enjoyed cloud watching. If fishing were easy, it would be called catching – Ha!
Day 6
- We slept in as we had a big day of hiking planned and we needed a break.
- Mount Washburn is a must do hike! Grab it at Dunraven Pass as the hike is way prettier from there. Gypsy will take you up a dirt road where you can also start the hike, but it’s no easier and a lot less interesting. It’s about 3.5 miles to the tower at the top, and it was pretty steep for me. I took a lot of breaks to catch my breath. It was beautiful at the top! We needed more water on the hike, though. It took us a 2.5 hours on the way up and 1. 25 to get back down. We were encouraged to get down faster than usual because of a thunderstorm that came up. We also saw a female Bighorn Sheep just hanging out. I was pretty happy with all the butterflies and flowers along the way, but was ecstatic with the adventure on the way down.
Day 7
- We booked a fishing trip through Yellowstone to fish Lake Yellowstone. We had a great guide and had a lot of fun. If you don’t like to fish though, this is one you can skip. We went out on a motor boat using a depth finder to spot fish. Cut Throat Trout used to be main fishing, but someone with good intentions introduced Lake Trout to the eco system. Unfortunately, Lake Trout eat baby Cut Throats so that population is in real trouble. We caught one Cut Throat that we threw back, and then we raked in the Lake Trout. There is no limit as the goal is to catch as many as possible to get them out of the system. As a side note, Lake Trout aren’t as yummy as the Cut Throat. One more reason I’d like to wring that good intentioned person’s neck.
- We had lunch at the Old Faithful Inn – it was a nice break from the cafeteria style food we’d been enjoying. We were waiting out another thunderstorm complete with lightning.
- Then we headed to Mystic Falls. This is one of my favorite hikes. It wasn’t terribly hard, and the falls at the end were just beautiful. It starts at Biscuit Basin which is pretty cool to check out, too.
- We topped off the evening by having a chef in the cafeteria prepare our Lake Trout for us. There was a minimal charge and it made for a great evening!
Day 8
- We were up before sunrise so we could get a picture at Artist Point at dawn.
- From there we did Uncle Tom’s hike. This one is mostly stairs right down the side of the canyon. Take your time, but definitely make the time to do this one!
- That afternoon we did Elephant Back Mountain. It was a beautiful hike with chipmunks and chattering red squirrels keeping us company. I loved this hike because it wasn’t crowded at all.
- That night we went on a Wagon Ride that we booked through Yellowstone Parks. I highly recommend this experience! The steaks are yummy – it was probably our best meal in the park. If you book early enough you can ride horses and get to eat first as opposed to riding in the wagon. I would definitely take the horse ride if I did it again.
- That night we tied one on with some of the staff at our lodge. We had way too much fun and stayed up too late, but I always recommend hanging out with the folks who live and work in the area.
Day 9
- This was a travel day for us. We headed back through the Grand Tetons to our hotel in Jackson. And we saw Moose!! It was the last critter on our wish list, and it was epic! A mom and a baby came right up to where we were. Well within about 10 feet. Later I learned how mean and dangerous they were. Ignorance was bliss this time. And I didn’t learn my lesson the first time with the Grizzlies because I was tromping around again in flip flops. Please learn from my dumb mistakes.
- We drove up a narrow road to Signal Mountain Summit which was gorgeous!
- Definitely take Moose Wilson Road. We spent 40 minutes watching a Black Bear munch on berries, and it’s a nice drive regardless.
Day 10
- We went White Water Rafting with Baker Ewing. It was a fun day. The rapids weren’t too challenging in August, though we were all soaked. We made a game out of spotting Bald Eagles because there were so many of them. And you can jump in the river at one point – I highly recommend taking a dip.
- Souvenir shopping. We aren’t big shoppers – our pictures and stories are our souvenirs for the most part. It was such an amazing adventure for us that we decided to get a print for our “travel wall.” And I bought a Moose ornament for my Christmas Tree. I’ll remember this trip every time I decorate and take my tree down.
Day 11
- We slept in for our last full day and then headed to Jenny Lake.
- We loved taking a path less traveled to see Moose Pond. We even blazed our own path a little. We saw swarms of baby Dragon Flies – it was cool when they would land on our hands. I guess their wings get tired, or they are just that trusting.
- We walked up towards the far dock for the Jenny Lake Ferry. It was about a 2.5 mile hike. It was long, but not too hard. And we loved seeing falls that were hidden along the way.
- We had dinner in Jackson at a Silver Dollar, a very nice restaurant, where my boys could have a Bison Steak. We followed up with Moo’s ice cream and decided that we had almost had enough Huckleberry concoctions.
Day 12
- Time to head home! We drove 1200 miles on a grand adventure!
Traveling with Trisha 