National Parks Part 2 – The Hints Keep A Comin’

Okay, so you’ve decided to visit Yellowstone and the Tetons.  Now what?

Hint #1:  Jackson Hole and the Tetons
If you are flying in, it’s a good idea to spend your first night (or more) in Jackson Hole.  By the time you arrive and pick up your car, you will probably be tired.  Jackson Hole is great place to catch your breath, rest up and enjoy the scenery.  It is also much easier to get lodging, and because we were visiting outside of ski season, the hotel rates were quite reasonable.

So, what does Jackson Hole have to offer?  Museums, scenery, shopping, and great restaurants!  We particularly liked Gather, which was only a couple of blocks from our hotel.  The food was delicious, creatively presented and reasonably priced.  Chicken with pancakes and berries plus flourless chocolate cake were just two of our choices.

If you have a sweet tooth (and as you can tell from the photo above, I do), then you will definitely want to stop at Moo.  In addition to great ice cream, they also offer truffle animals that are almost too good to eat.

Nature lovers can’t miss with a hike in the Rockefeller Preserve.  Follow this linkfor trail maps, hours and rules for visiting.

Be forewarned.  To get there, you have to travel on some unpaved roads.   And some of the trails are a bit rocky, but the scenery is magnificent and oh so peaceful.

We spent our first two nights in Teton Village,  then headed for Yellowstone early in the morning, stopping for breakfast in Jackson Hole.  If you follow my advice from my last post and stay in Jackson Hole at Springhill Suites, you would be able to enjoy a free breakfast (they start serving EARLY) and would get to Yellowstone even earlier than we did.  If, however, you choose to experience the Teton Village, check out the Mangy Moose for breakfast, and Osteria or Spur for lunch or dinner.

Hint #2 Take a Tour
Be sure to reserve your tours WELL in advance, especially if you are visiting during peak season!  If you visit Yellowstone during non-peak season, some activities might not be offered.  For example, none of the boating activities were available on Yellowstone Lake, but there was still more than enough to do.  The Event Plannerwill tell you what is available, when.

We booked two tours–the “Circle of Fire, and “Wake Up to Wildlife”.    The Circle of Fire tour lasted all day, and was a very good value at $86 per adult.   Every seat on this large tour bus is a good seat, with excellent views wherever you sit.

We paid $100 per adult for Wake Up to Wildlife.   We did NOT book in advance, so we ended up taking this tour on the day we were checking out of our hotel–not ideal, but it was all that was available.

The “historic” yellow buses used for Wake Up to Wildlife can only seat 13 people, ( three rows of 4, plus 1 beside the driver.)  The tour is supposed to start at 6:15 AM and last until around 11:30.

Both tours charge half price for children under the age of 11; both tours pick up and drop off at several park hotels, and for both tours, the bus driver is also your tour guide.  Both of ours were retirees who thoroughly enjoyed their jobs.  Their love for the park, its history, animals and lore was obvious.  While driving, they kept us entertained with stories, jokes and oh so much valuable information.

Hint #3 The Wildlife
You don’t need to take a tour to see wildlife.  It didn’t take long for us to encounter our first of MANY bison and elk.   These animals are very comfortable strutting their stuff along the roads, in the roads, pretty much where ever they want.  That does have an impact on travel time and traffic, so keep that in mind, relax and enjoy the show.

The park literature does a great job reminding visitors that these are wild and potentially dangerous animals, so we kept a safe distance, but we DID observe others who got dangerously close.

We didn’t see any bears, and although we theoretically DID spot some wolves, an osprey, pronghorns, some mountain goats and a badger community,  most were way too distant to see without binoculars.

On the Wake Up to Wildlife tour, our guide supplied the scope, and some of “wolf watchers” we encountered along the way were kind enough to share their equipment with us.  But even with powerful scopes, I never was able to see the wolves.

Even with the very good zoom on my camera, this photo of badger butts was as good as I could get–so you can imagine what the deleted ones looked like!I had better luck outside of our hotel in Mammoth Hot Springs, where several of these little guys were cavorting across the street.

My opinion, based on my ONE experience, was that we would have been better served to skip “Wake Up to Wildlife” and explore on our own.  (Others who have experienced the tour are encouraged to weigh in).  Here’s why: on our own, we could have stopped when we wanted, for as long as we wanted.  The bus was unable to stop  when animals were sighted along the way, so, for example,  we SAW many “red dogs” (the locals’ name for baby bison) during our tour, we weren’t able to stop and watch them, or get a good shot.

Because of its size, the bus was limited to parking in specific areas.

On our own, we could have left when we wanted and returned when we chose.  Despite being in the lobby on time (at 6:15 AM!!!), the tour bus didn’t leave the parking lot till 6:40 AM.  If you think that made me grumpy, you’d be right.   Oh yeah, one more thing:  There is no coffee making paraphernalia at Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, and nothing is open at 6:15.  You DO get a bottle of cranberry juice and a muffin, but that’s it until your return at around 11:30.  We knew that, so stocked up at the nearby General Store the day before.

There WERE positives:  The bus driver’s stories and his telescope for viewing animals.

Hint #4  Yellowstone is MUCH more than Old Faithful
I was completely blown away by the incredible geological features of this amazing park.  The Circle of Fire Tour takes you to the main highlights, such as Geyser Basin at West Thumb.   This area, bordering Yellowstone Lake is fascinating.  Check out the colors from the mineral deposits!

When the Park first opened, visitor were able to board a ferry in West Thumb that would take them across the lake to our hotel.  While we were there, no boats were sailing or chugging across the lake, probably because the ice wasn’t completely gone until May 21 (according to our guide).  Even though the ice was about 30 inches thick, it is hard to understand how the lake can remain frozen with all the smokin’ hot activity close by. Okay, I am going to TRY to insert a video of the boiling mud.  Hope it works.

We stopped at a couple of waterfalls as we made our way to Old Faithful, arriving at the complex with about an hour and a half before the geyser was expected to erupt, just enough time to get lunch, before the show.

The only place where we encountered crowds during our tour was at Old Faithful.

If I had to choose a favorite spot, it would be very difficult, but I guess I’d choose the Fountain Paint Pots.   I just loved the stark landscape.

I could keep going with photos from the Circle of Fire Tour, but you get the idea.  The geological features are jaw dropping!  And it is great to have the guide explain what is going on.

Hint #6 Getting hungry?
The choices pretty much boil down to amusement park quality food, fine dining or “do it yourself”  from purchases at the General Stores.  We tried all three and for us, it was easy to determine that fine dining was the way to go.  Because we are used to New Jersey and New York restaurant prices, the food did not seem all that expensive to us.
I would NOT recommend eating in the Yellowstone cafeteria!  The food resembles airplane food, except at least airplane food is not served and consumed in the midst of chaos.  To be fair, it WAS fast.  In retrospect, I wish we gone with the slower, but probably better, restaurant at Old Faithful Inn.

If you want to have dinner at the Lake Hotel, (and I hope you do), you will need to make reservations well in advance.  I made reservations for both nights we stayed there, figuring we could cancel if we didn’t like the food.  We liked it so much, we ended up having all our meal there.

At Mammoth Hot Springs, you can’t make a reservation; it is first come, so beware if you see a bus loads of tourists pulling into the parking lot.

An unexpected bonus?  All of the waitstaff were knowledgeable about the park and were happy to share information with us.  Their tips led us to some wonderful spots we might not have found on our own.

Tip #7 Don’t miss theTravertine Terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs
The view from the top of the terraces is pretty spectacular.

Although you CAN drive and there is a parking lot at the top,  it is so much more fun to walk up and down.  It is roughly the equivalent of  26 flights of stairs (according to my fitbit), but there is plenty to see along the way.  You can stop, gawk, and catch your breath.

We celebrated our 43rd wedding anniversary at the Mural Room, Jackson Lake Lodge in the Tetons.  Where else could your butter be shaped like a moose?

Although I could go on and on about the glories of Yellowstone, I think you just have to experience it for yourself.

Next adventure?  Iceland.  Hope you’ll come along!