Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons

We headed back out west in the summer of 2018 with Julie’e sister, our brother-in-law, and the nephews to take on Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks. We flew in and out of Bozeman, MT, which is a pretty happening place. Its airport was built to resemble a log cabin, so you are immediately immersed in that western mountain vacation feeling as soon as you exit the plane. (really, even before you exit, because you are surrounded by mountains as you land.) We wasted no time; as soon as we gathered our bags and picked up the rental cars, we headed straight to the Montana Grizzly Encounter. Within one hour after landing, we were up close and personal with some ginormous grizzlies.

We spent two nights in Bozeman, our first night and our last night of the trip, so we got to see a decent amount of the place. After our grizzly encounter, we headed back into town to do some exploring. We discovered a great trail right in the middle of town called Peet’s Hill. It provided impeccable views of the town and surrounding area, and you could see a giant “M” inscribed in the side of one of the mountains. (Montana State University is there, so I’m guessing it has something to do with that.) The last thing I’d like to mention about Bozeman is that it has a fun downtown full of hip bars and restaurants. On the first night, we went to a place I imagine most tourists go called the Montana Ale Works. It’s a huge bar and grill type establishment, and it incorporates bison into many of the dishes. It was my first time in Montana, so I had to go with bison in some form or another; I landed on the bison patty melt, which was even better than it sounds. Also, we shared an order of bison pot stickers, because at the time we thought, “how often do you see bison in pot stickers?” However, as I discovered on my last night in Montana a week later, every restaurant gets in on the bison action. After we circled back to Bozeman on the evening before flying home, we decided to try a Thai restaurant. (something I imagine fewer tourists do) The woman at the hotel front desk suggested Thai Basil, and she was spot on. While I have indulged in much Thai food during my life, shout-out to Thai Diner Too in Richmond, VA, I had never thought to add bison to it… until now. Thai Basil offers “local bison” as a protein option, so I went with the bison spicy basil, and it did not disappoint. It’s what I imagine Teddy Roosevelt would’ve served if the King of Thailand ever visited the White House for a formal State Dinner.

Bright and early on Day 2 we headed south to Yellowstone National Park. Not to get you too worried, but Yellowstone, while a beautiful, majestic national treasure of natural wonders, is also basically a hotbed of geological activity that, in theory, could blow up at any point. It’s not “like visiting a volcano,” but rather you actually are visiting a volcano; a super volcano in fact. But rest easy, because it isn’t due to blow again for thousands of years. And, the last time it did blow (aprox. 640,000 years ago), ash blanketed an area of the US reaching from southern California all the way to Missouri and Arkansas from west to east, and from North Dakota to southern Texas from north to south. Odds are, even if you weren’t visiting the park, this eruption would ruin your day, so you might as well be visiting it when it happens.

As you drive through the park there are lots of great things to see; as one friend of ours put it, “It’s like Disneyland for adults.” However, even as you drive between destinations, you can encounter all sorts of wildlife along the way, and the interesting characters who follow them. We came across a group of people who spend 1-2 weeks a year here in the park tracking the pack of wolves who make Yellowstone their home. They even know the names of each wolf. (I didn’t think to ask them who gets to name the wolves.) We came across them as we were driving along the road, and we noticed them pulled over, out of their cars, and gazing at a point in the distance. We, like many around us, pulled over to see what was up, and that is when we met the wolf people. They showed us the pack in the distance, chowing down on what appeared to be the remains of a bison. (I prefer my bison prepared the way I had it the previous night, rather than how these wolves were eating it.) As we stood there, gazing into the distance, a great idea popped into my head for a Yellowstone game. It’s pretty simple to play; just suddenly pull your car over to the side of the road. Hop out and start staring and pointing into the distance, then see how many cars will see you and then pull over and do the same, even though you aren’t actually looking at anything in particular. Then, see how long it takes the people who stopped behind you to realize there isn’t anything to see. It could be fun. You could take bets on how many people stop and/or how long it takes them to move on.

We pretty much flew through the park and hit up everything in two days. It’s really cool to see how the park changes in landscape from one part to the next. There’s a giant canyon in one part, mountains in another, and then you hit the plains where herds of bison roam free. (watch out for the wolves) There are also plenty of geysers to check out. While Old Faithful gets all the glory, we were actually lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the Steamboat Geyser erupting while we were there. We were told it had been quite rare for that geyser to go off, but it was unusually very active in 2018.

We spent two nights in the “cabins” at the Canyon Lodge while we were in the park. Don’t let the term “cabin,” fool you; they were basically converted double-wide trailers that had been divided into hotel rooms. But hey, they were in a great location, and they were much more convenient then being in the actual lodge. We could park right by our rooms, and the kids could play in the woods while the adults relaxed with a tasty beverage as we kept a fairly loose eye on them. There was a Canyon Village as well, complete with shops, a restaurant, and a cafeteria-style setup next to the restaurant. When dining at this restaurant, keeping with the western red meat theme, I went with one elk sausage and one bison sausage, complete with a side of apple sauerkraut. (loved it)

On Day 4 we headed further south to Jackson Hole and the Grand Tetons National Park. This isn’t just a clever name; this park has a huge set of Tetons. We stayed at a place on the outskirts of the park in Jackson Hole called Dornans. This place is fantastic, and this time our cabins were actually “cabins.” It is located on the banks of the Snake River, and aside from having glorious, fully equipped and super fancy cabins for rent, it also has an Italian restaurant with rooftop bar, a Chuck Wagon that utilizes Dutch ovens for serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, a beer, wine, and spirits store, a general store, a deli, a coffee and ice cream cart, bike rental shop, and a rafting company… all in one spot! I didn’t want to leave.

One morning, after a hearty breakfast from the Chuck Wagon, we bought some sandwiches and various accompaniments from the Deli and General Store, packed them in our backpacks, rented bikes, and headed for Jenny Lake. There was a bike path the entire way there, and the 8 mile journey to Jenny Lake was fairly flat and enjoyable. Once we arrived, we parked the bikes and walked to the lake. There is a ferry that takes you straight across the lake to various trails that wind along and up the Tetons. We found a spot to have lunch, walked around a bit, and ferried back. After that, we hopped back on our bikes and pedaled the 8 miles back home. I had been a little worried about how the kids would handle a 16 mile round trip bike excursion, but they did great. (the youngest rode on a tandem bike) If you ever find yourself out that way, I recommend it.

So, one great way to see the Tetons is to bike along them; check. Another great way is to raft down the Snake River. A day after biking 16 miles and hiking a good amount, we made the prudent choice of engaging in an activity that required a fair amount of sitting. If you have ever been rafting down some hard core rapids that require the paddles and the helmets and the moniker, “You will get wet on this ride,” then you may be interested to know that rafting on the Snake River is not that. We did wear life jackets, but no other equipment was needed. We just got to sit back, relax, and let the guide do his thing. We took in more great views of the Tetons, along with several bald eagle and other such woodland creature sightings. So, now I’ve given you two ways to explore the Tetons with varying degrees of difficulty. Enjoy.

Jackson Hole is the name of the region of Wyoming we were in. It got it’s name because the relatively low lying area is surrounded by mountains on all sides, making the area look like a big hole. The town of Jackson, WY is also located here, and we took the opportunity to explore it a few times during our stay. Many people told us to check out the “Millionaires Bar,” while were there, but none of those people mentioned it did not allow minors. Instead, Julie and I took to the kids to a different bar nearby. We chilled there for a while, me with my local draft, Julie with a glass of wine, and the kids with a Shirley Temple and Cherry Coke. A full on biker dude sat down next to Sam and ordered a bottle of Bud and a shot of Jack Daniels. After some apps and another round of drinks, Sam declared he would like to be a bartender when he is old enough. I asked him why, and he said, “Because that guy looks really happy.” Obviously, we still have some more parenting to do.

We’d already hit up Montana and Wyoming, but we still wanted to check off another state during this trip, so we decided to take another way back to Bozeman. Instead of going back through Yellowstone, we drove through the Teton Pass, which led us over the Tetons and into Idaho. (Another state!) It was a beautiful route full of somewhat scary mountain driving leading into rolling hills. We stopped at Big Sky, MT for lunch, and I recommend Alberto’s Mexican Cuisine, because there’s only so much bison one can stand during a week, and the salsa there is very good.

Now you have a rough outline for a great trip out west. I highly recommend going, and you might want to do it sooner, rather than later. The way things are going in Washington D.C. these days, they may be drilling for oil in the middle of our national parks some day, which would put a damper on things.