World Travel with Bob: Wyoming 2018

We've just returned from ten days in Wyoming, visiting Jackson Hole, Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park. This was our first time in this part of the US and we were looking forward to some hiking and scenic views. We weren't disappointed.

There are many ways to reach this area. We flew to Salt Lake City and then caught another flight to Jackson, Wyoming. You can drive from Salt Lake City to Jackson, but you'll have a five hour drive versus about a 45 minute flight. When we ended our trip, we flew out of Billings, Montana, back to California.

If you take a similar trip and include some back country hikes, don't forget to pick-up some bear spray. There are some Wyoming stores that rent bear spray for $10 per day, or you can purchase a can of bear spray for $50. Used or unused bear spray cans can be left for recycling at park hotels or local airports.

Jackson Hole: While primarily known as winter ski resort, during the summer you can ride either the tram or gondola up to Rendezvous Mountain (10,500 feet elevation) or Bridger Gondola station (9,100 feet elevation), respectively. Once up the mountain, there are several hiking trails to select from. For the ambitious, you can trek seven miles down to the valley resort area. Instead, we chose a trail from Rendezvous Mountain tram station to the Bridger Gondola. This trail was largely downhill until the last quarter mile, which was fairly steep. Being in high altitude, we had to take a few extra rests during the uphill portion of our hike. Our hotel concierge warned us that the alternate Cirque Trail was closed on the morning of our hike - but we later learned this was incorrect information.

We stayed at the Hotel Terra while we were in Jackson Hole. Our favorite restaurant for dinner was the Spur Restaurant and Bar, located at the Teton Mountain Lodge.

Grand Teton National Park: After two nights in Jackson Hole, we continued our drive into Grand Teton National Park.

Mormon Row, Grand Teton National Park

Another Iconic View of Mormon Row

Our first stop was the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve. This holding, within Grand Teton, contains 1,100 acres and access to Phelps Lake. Originally the JY Ranch, it became a Rockefeller family summer destination before it was deeded to Grand Teton in 2001 All ranch compound buildings were removed and the land restored to original pre-construction conditions.

Phelps Lake

Within the Preserve, there is an easy hike to Phelps Lake. Along the hike, you pass firs, pines, cottonwood trees, aspens and a wide variety of low growth plants. While we didn't see any bears during our hike, we did find bear scat along the trail. A good reason to carry bear spray.

We stayed three nights at Jackson Lake Lodge. This National Historic Landmark lodge was built by John D. Rockefeller in the mid-1950s. The hotel marked the transition of National Park hotels from the more rustic design to mid-century architecture. The view of the Tetons from the lobby were spectacular.

Jackson Lake Lodge, Source: GTLC

Our Jackson Lake Lodge room was one of the many cottage rooms. The rooms were comfortable and clean - though with somewhat thin walls. Dining and shopping venues were located in the main lodge building - about a 3-5 minute walk from the cottages. We enjoyed several breakfasts and a dinner in the Mural Room. We also had a couple of lunches at the Pioneer Grill. This diner has horseshoe shaped counters and can serve quite a few people at one time.

We pre-arranged a prix-fixe dinner at Jenny Lake Lodge Dining Room. The five-course dinner, plus dessert, was very much enjoyed. My favorite selection was the seafood bisque with soft-shell crab, avocado and Serrano salsa.

If you want to join organized tour activities, there is an Activities Desk in the lodge to assist. We took a scenic evening raft trip down the Snake River, leaving the lodge at 5:30pm and returning by 9pm.

For a morning hike, we visited Taggart Lake. The fall colors were just beginning to appear, particularly as we walked along the creek portion of the trail.

Yellowstone National Park: Driving from Grand Teton to Yellowstone, we took a lunchbreak at Old Faithful Inn Dining Room. If you're visiting Yellowstone, be sure to enter the Old Faithful Inn - the interior is an eyeopener. Afterwards, we viewed the Visitor Center and then joined a large crowd waiting to watch Old Faithful geyser erupt. These eruptions occur every 80 to 90 minutes and the rangers post estimated eruption times in several locations.

We continued our drive to Canyon Lodge, a centrally located hotel complex in Yellowstone. The Lodge is composed of five recently constructed standalone buildings and some older cabin rooms, with a capacity of serving 500 guests. We stayed in a "Superior" rated Moran Lodge room that included two queen beds, en suite bathroom, a coffee maker and fridge. Having a coffee maker and fridge in our lodge room allowed us to have some quick breakfasts for early morning getaways.

The primary disadvantage of the Canyon Lodges is that dining facilities, groceries and shopping venues are not located amidst the five lodge buildings or cabins. Instead, you need to either walk 15 minutes or drive to the Canyon Village area. In the summer, I heard that parking at either lodge or village is very congested and finding a parking space can be a challenge. We were traveling in the late fall, so lodge parking was never an issue for us.

While cell service in Grand Teton National Park was very good, alternatives for cell service or WiFi in Yellowstone were very limited. The lodge had very slow WiFi service only available in the Canyon Village facility and in the lobby of one of the five Canyon lodges. We did notice that ATT cell service was better in the early morning, between 5am and 7am.

There's a lot to see in Yellowstone and the park covers a very large geographical area. Despite timing our visit in late September, there were many park visitors. At times, simply finding a parking spot at a thermal area was a challenge. I came away with the impression that Yellowstone is the "Disneyland" of National Parks. Though, in the late fall you don't see many children. One of our guides kiddingly remarked that fall visitors are often "the newly wed or nearly dead."

Where did we visit in Yellowstone? Pretty much all the popular viewing locations:

Upper, Mid and Lower Geyer Basin areas
Old Faithful
Mammoth Hot Springs
Lamar Valley (best wildlife viewing spot for bison, bears, osprey, red fox and wolves)
Hayden Valley
Lake Yellowstone
West Thumb Basin
Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

We participated in one all-day "Circle of Fire" bus tour operated by the Yellowstone concessionaire (Xanterra). The tour started from Canyon Lodge at 7:45am and returned at 4:15pm. The tour was a great way to leave the driving and parking to the guide/driver. Moreover, we were able to better enjoy the scenery as we weren't driving and learn more about the thermal areas the tour visited.