Oh Yellowstone. ❤️
Grand Tetons and Yellowstone were both so different, they had their own unique experiences and vibes.
In both places I experienced a certain kind of ecstasy, in which the dictionary calls, “A rapturous delight or an overpowering emotion or exaltation; a state of sudden, intense feeling.”
That’s what it was.
A flutter of joy, curiosity, wonder, excitement, uncertainty on what this place is like, what our time here would be like, that we’re here. That’s what I felt on the dark night on the way from the small, artsy Jackson Hole airport to our hotel in Jackson. We were at home only that morning, the idea that we could be here- so far from home so quickly. We were in Wyoming. Surrounded by mountains! The windows were down, that crisp mountain air blowing in our faces. It was pitch black, the only light around being our headlights and the stars. The stars. Unlike anything you’ve ever seen. Canyon City playing in the car. Delight. Adrenaline, excitement, giddiness, wonder… ecstasy. This was it’s own feeling I experienced than on the rest of the trip, but I had a similar emotion at different points as well.
Like in Yellowstone. Feeling that wonder of huge, boiling, burning hot, acidic pools of water that is being heated from the earth’s core. Bubbling mud and geysers with steaming hot water shooting dozens of feet into the air, all being stored in a chamber beneath the ground that comes from -again- the earth’s core. You feel a little closer to the power of our planet in Yellowstone National Park.
I also felt it in the wonder and excitement of seeing wildlife. A huge bull elk walking outside your car. Bison all around, surrounding you, making intimidating grunts and bellows. It’s a mixture of adrenaline, excitement, wonder… and being scared out of your mind.
I want to thank my Aunt and Uncle and their family, they too experienced the wonder of Yellowstone and encouraged us to go. We are so glad they did! Thank you for being that spark for us. Thank you for convincing us and sharing all your recommendations of things to do and places to go in Jackson Hole and Yellowstone.
We stayed in Jackson for 3 nights and explored Yellowstone for 5 days. Jackson is the town I’m referring to located just a little south of Grand Teton National Park. Our audio car guide (will talk more about him soon) helpfully taught us that Jackson is the name of the town, Jackson Hole is the name of the hole-like Vally that the Grand Tetons and Jackson are located in. Jackson Hole will keep you very busy with tons of hiking, beautiful turnouts and views, excursions, and it’s known for lots of wildlife. Not to mention all the stuff to do in Jackson!
I’m going to take you along and share what we did on our trip and some of my favorite random memories.
The first day in Jackson we were ready to do some nature exploring. Jenny Lake came highly recommended from my Aunt and Uncle, specifically Hidden Falls and Inspiration point. First, we walked to breakfast at The Bunnery. Got some necessary supplies at a local market (we did not end up getting bear spray which I was very much not liking). Hiking at Jenny Lake- the woods were so beautiful and peaceful, tons of beautiful views of the Tetons and lots of Wonderhunting. Eating delicious sandwiches at Hidden Falls. Chilling at Inspiration Point after a short stretch of a tense and anxious hike hugging the side of a cliff. Riding the relaxing ferry back over Jenny Lake, just glad we were not hiking back. Exploring the iconic old ranch buildings overlooking the Tetons and seeing beautiful horses!
I do wish I would have let go of the fear of bears while there! We’ve not had the experience of being places where there are so many bears and I was very preoccupied and anxious about that in our time. 😉
Then we made our way down to Schwabacher’s landing, the iconic mirror lake reflecting the largest of the Teton Mountains in hopes of a moose sighting. They were known for coming out at this spot. Waiting… and waiting… for over an hour. It was absolutely gorgeous, magic hour, watching the sunset behind the Grand Tetons. I was a little restless that night and in a weird mood but the setting was so peaceful. We kept the silence filled but towards the end as it was getting darker it was very quiet, we were there with quite a few other people coming and going, hoping for the same sighting. Sadly no moose came out that night. But we enjoyed a well deserved dinner of BBQ afterwards.
The next day was exploring too but in a different way- exploring Jackson. First breakfast at Cafe Genevieve. Then the National Museum of Wildlife Art. I have to say- that was one of the best art locations I’ve ever gone to. Trust me, I’ve been to lots of art museums and galleries. It was so inspiring. They also had a thing going on where you could vote for which painting and sculpture you liked the best from a grouping of a few rooms which added a different sense of attention and fun to it. My favorite part though was the outside. Beautiful statues of huge elk, bison, moose, etc. The museum was built on the side of a hill, the architecture looked like it was a rock castle. Then there was the view. The National Museum of Wildlife Art is overlooking the National Elk Refuge. Even in the fall when there’s no elk yet, the panoramic view from above is still stunning and you can just imagine how beautiful it would be in the snow with thousands of elk.
We explored lots of art galleries and shops in Jackson and had expensive but ridiculously good milkshakes for lunch. For dinner we stopped at Liberty Burger which also came highly recommended from my Aunt and Uncle.
At one of the art galleries we stopped in, we got to talk to a wildlife photographer. He talked about a campground they’ve been seeing moose at and explained sunrise and sunset was the best time to see them, which confirmed what we had heard. We were leaving Jackson Hole the next morning, we didn’t have many opportunities to do this. And we knew, which he had also said, that Yellowstone was not the place to see moose, they just weren’t that far north anymore. Grand Tetons is known for it and is the place to do it. This was our chance. So after our burgers we set out, driving along the Tetons at magic hour- awesome.
I loved driving along that big, open road stretching along the Grand Tetons, either going to or from Jackson. That drive is just so cool. It’s so open. Just sagebrush in all directions, trees growing along the river and then hill and the Grand Tetons themselves shooting into the sky. It’s really like you’re in a hole. Even coming from Jackson before you hit the Teton’s view, it’s so beautiful.
We turned onto the road towards the campground and didn’t have to get far before we saw a lot of cars.
Now one thing to know if you go to either Grand Teton or Yellowstone National Park is that when there are a bunch of cars randomly on the side of the road, not at a destination or something like that, you need to stop. That’s a clear sign that there’s wildlife.
Sure enough. We saw the cars and looked out to where they were looking and saw a big black thing standing in the trees in the distance. There it was again, ecstasy. Thrill. Excitement. But also a little fear. I remember myself thinking and saying out loud, “I wonder what it is? It was big, maybe it’s a bear? It looked pretty bony though so it’s probably a moose.”, pretending as though I were an expert.
We ran out of the car, that crisp September air hitting us, running out to the line of photographers and onlookers- not even sure what we’re running out to see. That was the best part. And knowing there was something really big and really powerful that they were looking at, that we were very close to.
There were 3 bull moose, laying on the ground. It took us a while to figure out there were 3 because 2 were hidden nicely but the main one we could see pretty well. It was so thrilling, watching them and listening to the photographers talk to each other and overhearing all their stories. The one photographer let us look into his scope and later he showed us his pictures of these same 3 bulls just that morning, all rutting each other. He was pretty darn close to the action (which in his eyes is not a problem although they did make the photos so much cooler) but he was just so excited and still couldn’t believe he had the opportunity to get these amazing pictures of a lifetime.
It was also very nerve-wracking having this big guy only about 100yds away. Everyone wanted them to stand up but I was happy with them where they were on the ground, thank you very much. At any moment he could get up and charge us, there was nothing in between. He’d probably be able to get to us sooner than we could get to our cars.
Nevertheless, we savored that crisp air with the sunsetting and the Teton range behind us.
We were so happy to see the moose, we felt so lucky to have met that photographer earlier that day and experience that before we left. Since we only made it a little down the road before we had stopped, we decided to go further down to the campsite the guy talked about and see what we could see. We got only a little further and saw even more cars. This was our lucky night! We stopped, ran out (again) to the onlookers, and down over a bank and across the river but still pretty close, were 2 more bull moose! One was standing up and one was laying but we eventually saw it getting up. They were more active than the others. So neat! This was a little more comforting knowing they couldn’t charge us any minute because we were standing on a bank above them.
Such an amazing night to remember.
Well, I decided to make this a 2-parter (as you probably know already from the title) so in the next one we’ll be moving on to Yellowstone.
I’ll now include my answers to the questions I’m including in the posts as a part of my High School Homeschool project. Because this is mainly a post about our time in Grand Teton National Park, I’ll have the questions be about that and in the next one they’ll be about Yellowstone.
What’s something you liked about it (and why)? I loved the whole vibe of Jackson Hole. The wildlife. The Tetons. The open plains of sage bush. The snake river, winding it’s way through the plains. The huckleberries. The town of Jackson, it’s such a cute mountain town. The food. The art. And those nights of Canyon City playing in the car, surrounded by sage bush and mountains.
What’s something you disliked about it (and why)? I wish I would have been more acceptant of the hiking and stopping. I did not want to hike. When we went sightseeing and driving in the car, because of our audio car guide we enjoyed listening to, he suggested many quick stops. Which we didn’t do most of the stops he suggested but I didn’t want to stop and get out. I just wanted to stay in the car. I was counting down to when we’d get back or when we’d be done with the hike. I wish I would have just accepted it and enjoyed that more and brought God into it. Maybe I wanted more of a low-key, cozy vibe but I was probably being lazy and running from my problems. I’m so focused on creating and experiencing the vibe and the trip, even the fear of bears that I ran away from other important things, the most important thing. But I also have come so far since then with God, I’m in a better place with him in ways.
What was your biggest takeaway or lesson? I treasured that time with my family and the chance to slow down and be in this mountain vibe for a little while. I also loved how we got our moose sightings after that restless yet peaceful night at Schwabacher’s landing, even though it was a bit disappointing in the end.
What is something you’re curious to learn more about as a result of this experience? I’d love to learn more about the wildlife in that area, we learned a lot through our time there especially at the National Museum of Wildlife Art. I know this isn’t learning but I’d also just like to go back. 🙂
I hope these inspire you to visit Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. It’s worth it.
Lucy