Grand Tetons, Grand Wyoming
We crossed over into Wyoming sometime during our tour of Yellowstone. Since the park stretches across Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, it wasn’t clear which state we were in at any given moment. The vision of Wyoming was that of open farm lands and blizzards of snow. However, what we found was some of the most magnificent landscape that we have experienced!
We entered through Grand Teton’s National Park, which nearly touches Yellowstone at the south entrance. As the daylight was fading, the park rangers were out of maps, temperatures were quickly dropping, and we were miles from any sort of GPS reception, we said our prayers and headed in the direction of the mountains toward Wyoming.
We were quickly greeted with a few bull elk grazing into the road. A few more miles down the road lead us to a gang of photographers. Tip: Anytime you spot cars pulled on the side of the road or big cameras, it’s worth asking what they’ve spotted. These people are often pros and will guide you to the best spottings. In this case, a grizzly bear was resting inside of a fallen tree, and the photographers had been camped out for nearly six hours waiting for it to come back in view. Wow, what patience!
The views went on and on, and no photo will ever do them justice. God’s work at it’s best!
Since we left Oregon my top goal has been to spot a moose in the wild. They are the symbol for dozens of business signs, town mascots, and road side ‘watch out for moose,’ but I was beginning to think they were wondering around the forest somewhere with Big Foot.
Imagine my THRILL when we once again found cars parked along the road, just south of Jackson Hole, and stopped to see what the excitement was all about… About 80 feet off the road was the most incredible creature grazing in the pasture. A MOOSE!!!! I grabbed my phone, leaped from the car, and smoothly but briskly made my way as close to that creature as I could. I made sure to keep a few photographers in between us, but the site of him left me simply awe struck. My family watched from afar as I found myself nearly in tears at the sunset, the moose, and the peace that was soon to be Wyoming.
We entered Jackson Hole just after dark, found our way to our simple but perfectly located townhouse, and walked the two blocks to the bustling downtown area. The wooden sidewalks had a tasteful country feel, with high end shops, galleries, eateries, and outdoor music. We celebrated our animal sighting with some local BBQ and Monday night football at a local kid-friendly joint.
The weather in Jackson can change dramatically, and we experienced this! The sunny skies brought daytime temps around 60 degrees, but they plummeted to below freezing once the sun went down. We were sure to bring our jackets as we explored.
Jackson Hole is surrounded by the country’s largest elk refuge. We drove the dirt road as we enjoyed big horn sheep, antelope, but ironically no elk. The views from the refuge were beautiful!
Jackson Hole ski resort offered bright fall colors, abundant aspen trees, unique architectural cabins, and not a person in sight! Another plus to visiting during the off season is the freedom to explore with lines or crowds, and often great sales!
Mormon Row is a must see during your stay. The iconic cabins of some of the area’s first settlers brought us back to a simper time, and offered some great conversations with the kids about what is truly needed in life.
Adam and I decided to take ourselves on a ‘date walk’ and explore the town without kiddos. We stumbled across the coolest ‘adult candy store’ where I was able to taste the flavored liquors (coconut and chai vanilla were my favorites), while Adam enjoyed a private whiskey tasting.
We woke up on our third morning to snow: our universal sign for ‘it’s time to go!” As we drove into warmer weather, we were greeted by yet more amazing views and some very fun wildlife…
A roadside BEAR eating berries off a tree!! We did a quick u-turn as I spotted it, and pulled over to enjoy the view. We giggled as it rolled on its back and then used it’s paws to hold the branches and eat. A moose and now a bear!! I was a very happy traveler!
Our next stop: Dinosaur, Colorado. Thanks for following along!
