Camping in the Tetons, Driving Through Yellowstone

Warning, this post is extensive! I have been slowly working on it for days. Often the biggest part of keeping my blog updated is downloading my photos from the cloud, selecting and sizing the best ones, then uploading to my blog platform. It is so difficult to pick the best shots! I love them all.

Anyway, I feel like my best approach is to just cover the trip day by day, so here I go …

May 29 – We checked out of our place in Cedar City, Utah and drove north towards Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, stopping overnight in Salt Lake City. Dale was off on Monday for Memorial Day and had taken vacation days for the rest of the week.

May 30 – We arrived at our campsite around 3pm after a five-hour drive from Salt Lake City, and a brief stop in Jackson, Wyoming for lunch. We grabbed some subs and ate them in the park in the middle of town. Dale and I both agreed that the subs were the best we’d ever had. (This day was also our son and daughter’s birthday! It was hard being so far from them on this special day. Last year we were all together at Lake LBJ.)

The weather forecast for the Tetons was a little concerning, with low temperatures at night and possible rain. Thankfully we prepared in advance and bought a tarp, poles and rope so we could create a covered living space near the fire. Our little tent, however, would have to hold its own. Thankfully, the rainfly worked like a charm.

Grand Teton National Park

I believe that this park has the most beautiful scenery I’ve ever experience. No matter where you are, there are extraordinary vistas of the Teton Mountain Range. And, they were still covered in snow, which made it even more beautiful.

We reserved a campsite in the Sunset Bay Campground, near Lake Jackson, for three nights. The park has several lakes and camping areas, but this is the largest of all of them. We were a short walk from the lake, and a short drive to a small grocery store, laundry/shower facility and a restaurant.

In addition to the beautiful mountains, the Snake River winds through the park as well. The Snake River originates in Wyoming, flowing through Idaho to Washington. It was once the home of more than two million wild salmon, but dams and irrigation has greatly diminished the numbers.

The two photos above are of the same spot on the Snake River. The left one shows Ansel Adams capturing the same section of the river that I shot on the right. He helped to make Grand Teton National Park famous.

The Tetons are known for its diverse wildlife population, such as moose, elk, bison, and even the elusive gray wolf. We saw a few bears, elk, chipmunks, ground squirrels, a couple of bison and a marmot.

May 31 – We planned to get up early to see the sunrise at Oxbow Bend, a popular scenic view of the river and mountains. However, sunrise is at 5:45am! We were just waking up at that time, and it was 39 degrees! Thankfully our sleeping bags were warm, but we were more than ready to get fully dressed and in a car with heat.

It was convenient that Oxbow Bend was only 10 or so minutes from our campsite. After taking our time looking around, we headed a few miles down the road to Jackson Lake Lodge for breakfast at the Pioneer Grill, which was unexpectedly cute! It is one of the oldest, and rumored to be the longest continual counter, creating a friendly, 1950’s-style, atmosphere where guests interact with travelers and employees from around the world. The food was abundant but not too tasty, unfortunately. Our server was from Bermuda but works at Teton during the summer and Colorado during the winter.

After breakfast we set out to see some of the most popular sites along the main park road. We took our time and explored each one fully. It was so nice to have a flexible schedule. Some highlights included Menors Ferry Historic District, Cunningham Cabin and Mormon Row.

Menors Ferry Historic District – Menor’s Ferry once belonged to William D. Menor who came to Jackson Hole in 1894, taking up a homestead beside the Snake River. Here he constructed a ferryboat that became a vital crossing for the early settlers of Jackson Hole Valley. He charged 25 cents per horse and rider.

Chapel of the Transfiguration – This small log chapel, built in 1925, offers spectacular views of the Teton Mountain Range.. The Chapel will seat 65 people with additional seating outside, weather permitting. Special services are still held there.

Cunningham Cabin – The Cunningham Cabin stands as one of the valley’s few remaining structures from the homesteading era when settlers filed nearly 400 claims in Jackson Hole. Cunningham built his cabin in 1888 in the Appalachian style, commonly called “double-pen” or “dog-trot.”

My grandparents lived in a dog-trot home until I was five years old. Whenever I visited I had to use an outhouse and bathe in a tin tub on the back porch, which I called “boat-boat”. The open area allowed air to blow through to help keep the house cool. It also let the chickens in!

Mormon Row – Another of the park’s more famous sites is “Mormon Row”. Mormon settlers traveled from Idaho to east of Blacktail Butte in the 1890s to establish a community known today as “Mormon Row.” These clustered farms shared labor and community, which was a stark contrast with the isolation typical of many western homesteads. The barns are some of the most photographed buildings in the park.

Signal Mountain – We happened to see a turn for Signal Mountain. It’s always nice to be able to drive to a summit, especially when you get to see elk and bison. It was an unexpected side trip that was so enjoyable.

We concluded our adventures for the day on the shores of Jackson Lake, trying to take photos of the sunset. Then we walked the wooded path back to our campsite and got ready for bed.

June 1 – We had two awesome outings on this day. In the morning we hiked at Jenny Lake, and in the afternoon we made it to the top of a snowy mountaintop!

Jenny Lake – The park has several beautiful lakes, but I think Jenny Lake is the most popular and after exploring a bit, I can understand why. After finding a parking spot, we headed to the start of the Jenny Lake Loop Trail. Our plan was to go about three miles to the Hidden Falls, then hike up to Inspiration Point, then head down to the water’s edge to catch the shuttle boat back to the visitor’s center where the hike starts. Everything went according to plan, thankfully. Along the way we encountered a marmot (we didn’t know this was what it was until our newest son-in-law, Jackson, enlightened us), ground squirrels, chipmunks and two bears! We were not far from the bears at all, but there were a lot of other hikers with us, so we felt pretty safe.

Jackson Hole Tram – In the afternoon we headed out of the park and towards Jackson Hole Ski Resort to ride a tram to the top of Rendezvous Mountain. We thought it would be a good addition to our overall experience and we were right. We entered the tram surrounded by greenery and warm temps, then exited the tram at 10,000 feet, into snow and cold wind! According to their literature … “In just 12 minutes, the Aerial Tram glides skyward 4,139 vertical feet. The summit offers staggering 360-degree views of the Tetons, Jackson Hole valley, and surrounding mountain ranges.” It’s true! We also enjoyed a waffle and coffee from the famous Corbet’s Cabin Top of the World Waffles. We were told that this mountain has some of the most challenging ski runs in the world.

That evening we took advantage of the laundry facilities. The showers were full though, so we thought we could wait one more day to shower. However, the day before we discovered a “family” bathroom near the marina that is large, clean and heated! So every evening we headed there to prepare for bed. It was so nice, especially since the bathroom in the campground was one of the worst I’ve ever used.

June 2 – On Friday morning we woke to rain which is not the best conditions for packing up a campsite. We lay in our sleeping bags for a bit until the rain seemed to lighten up. We have gotten pretty good at packing up, plus our gear is minimal compared to what we used to take camping, so we were packed and leaving fairly early. However, we needed a good breakfast to keep us going all day in Yellowstone, so we stopped by the John Coulter Restaurant near our campground and had a hearty meal.

Yellowstone National Park

We had one day to drive through the Yellowstone. Months ago while planning this trip, I was hoping to spend the week in Yellowstone, but I couldn’t find a campsite. In hindsight, I feel like this was a blessing because we enjoyed the Tetons so much and our campsite there was perfect. Did you know that Yellowstone is only 31 miles north of Grand Teton? We were in Yellowstone early and stayed until late in the afternoon.

Geysers Galore

The first place we stopped as we headed north through Yellowstone was West Thumb Geyser Basin. Apparently it is one of the smallest geyser basins in Yellowstone, yet its location along the shore of Yellowstone Lake made it a very scenic spot.

Next we headed to see Old Faithful, about 17 miles further northwest. When we arrived it was drizzling, but it didn’t keep hundreds of people from standing around waiting for the next eruption. It was impressive. Once Old Faithful had settled down, we followed a boardwalk through the Upper Geyser Basin, about two square miles that contain the largest concentration of geysers in the world. A wide variety of other thermal features also exist there, including colorful hot springs, thundering fumaroles and violent boiling springs. There were safety signs everywhere warning you to stay on the boardwalk. There was also an extraordinary amount of bison poop everywhere. Being a Texas girl, at first I thought it was cow patties, but I quickly realized my mistake.

We also stopped by some other geyser basins, all while keeping a look out for wildlife. We were told that we would see plenty of wildlife in Yellowstone. We saw elk, bears, deer and large herds of bison, which was very cool.

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

For me some of the best views at Yellowstone were the meadows, rivers and the “Grand Canyon of Yellowstone”. I expected the geysers to be the highlight of the park, but not so. Around lunchtime we headed toward Canyon Village which encompasses the main viewing areas for the Yellowstone River and the canyon surrounding it, along with numerous waterfalls. Apparently, from what I’ve read, the falls are one of the most underrated features at Yellowstone. Also the rivers are considered the world’s best for fly fishing. We saw numerous fishermen in hip waders, standing in the most beautiful settings. I wish I had gotten photos.

By late afternoon we were exiting the western entrance to the park and driving toward Island Park, Idaho where we would spend the night before continuing on to Oregon.

What an adventure! Thank you Lord!