Yellowstone is a national treasure and a must-visit. It's the first national park in the United States and has some of the most fascinating geological features and wildlife in the country all within the park. You’re pretty much guaranteed to see bison everywhere, but the other wildlife is a bit more rare to see, but we saw lots! In total we saw a black bear, a grizzly bear mama with three cubs, a moose, elks with one baby, a fox, pronghorns, prairie dogs, and loads of bison (including very up close views as they walked in front of our car). The land is incredibly diverse with geysers, colorful hot springs, waterfalls, rivers, canyons, and gorgeous valleys that are home to all the thriving wildlife, all sitting on top of a massive supervolcano.  We couldn't believe the vast difference of landscape within an hour drive from one spot to the next. I've never seen anything like it.

For anyone looking to plan a trip, we went in spring (early June) and loved it for many reasons. The mornings were cold and crisp but warmed up by mid day without being too hot. Waterfalls are usually heaviest in the springtime due to the recent / ongoing snowmelt. And our favorite perk, there were a lot of baby animals. Crowds weren't too shabby either, they really pick up in the summer when kids are out of school.

Here was our itinerary:

Day 1 - Flew to Jackson, walked around town at night. We stayed at the Flat Creek Inn. For some reason motels out west just work. I’d never stay at one in the east. Can’t tell you why. 

Day 2 - Woke up early and drove to Yellowstone. We stayed at the Old Faithful Inn, loved it. We started at Old Faithful Geyser, and walked all the way to Biscuit Geyser Basin and saw everything in between (which is the entire Upper Geyser Basin). Took about 3.5 hours or so. Early evening we went to see Grand Prismatic Spring and the other springs/geysers in that little area. I would recommend going on the Fairy Falls Trail to see Grand Prismatic Spring from the overlook on that trail. Seeing it ground level is really interesting in itself, but you can’t really see the full size and color of it that make it famous.  

Day 3 - We drove from Old Faithful to Mammoth Hot Springs which was a fairly long stretch, but stopped a lot along the way. On the way we saw Gibbon Falls, Artist Paintpots, and the Norris Geyser Basin. The closer you get to Mammoth, the more mountainous it gets with super steep drop offs and winding roads. Hot tip: Get you someone who drives mountain roads with no issue. Mom was equal parts a nervous wreck and awestruck of the views from the roads. Lots of gorgeous look outs. No guard rails on the curves though (wtf). We stayed at Old Faithful Inn one more night. 

Day 4 - We drove all the way to Lamar Valley from Old Faithful in the morning. It was beautiful and so full of life. It made us so happy that all the animals were living their best life there. On the way back down, we went to Tower Fall. There’s an easily accessible viewpoint of the waterfall, but mom and I also walked all the way down to the base of it, which was gorgeous. We stayed at Canyon Village.

Day 5 - In the morning, we had a short 5 minute drive to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and all the famous lookouts it has. We spent most of the day walking around that, all the way down to the water and around the rim, and right up to the waterfalls. It was totally gorgeous.

Day 6 - We drove back down towards Jackson, on the way there we saw Mud Volcano with some grumpy bison boys squishing around in the mud, we drove through the Hayden Valley (tbh we didn't see anything here like we did at Lamar) and around Yellowstone Lake. We stopped plenty and took our time, reaching The Rustic Inn in Jackson by around 4:30pm. The Rustic Inn in Jackson is amazing and I’d definitely stay there again.

Day 7 - We spent most of the day in Jackson shopping and just checking it out. It was rainy and cloudy so it was a good day to do the town vs the mountains. 

Day 8 - This is the day we hiked in the Tetons, it was the most we could have gotten out of one day there. We also saw Mormon Row, those famous little barns with the Tetons in the background. Check out these photos in "the tetons" blog.

Day 9 - Flew home. Battled the depression of the impending reality of going back to work. Seriously wondering why I'm not a park ranger or something.

Grand Teton National Park is absolutely breathtaking. The Tetons are definitely now one of my favorite mountain ranges. The land around is completely flat, and then BAM, jagged snow-capped mountain peaks tower out of the earth, claiming authority over all the land. Mom and I only had really one full day here, but we made the absolute most of it. There’s tons of hiking here.  We got very lucky as we just picked a trail kind of randomly, and it was fantastic.  It started at the String Lake Trailhead all the way to Hidden Falls and Inspiration point, which runs alongside Jenny Lake. It was about 6 miles out and back, and it was an easy hike til you get to the mountain and go up to Inspiration Point.

Major shout out to my 67-year old mom, who was a total and complete badass. She was nervous about bears (we didn’t have bear spray, highly recommend you rent or buy some for your own peace of mind), so she didn’t want to hike just us two. I tried to not be disappointed because I was itching to hike and assumed we wouldn’t easily find another group. However this group of late 20s folks walked by us right at the trailhead, and we asked if we could just stick with them so my mom felt better. They said sure but warned us that they’re fast. We went for it. They honestly were going really fast even for me (like too fast as in no time to take anything in, felt more like a race, jogging at points). In fact we passed this gigantic marmot standing eye level on a log at one point and they didn’t even notice ha. I was worried about mom at first but dang, she completely kept up even on the rocky, rooty trail with no complaints. I was honestly so impressed. THEN - we get to the mountain and it was a very steep climb and parts were really exposed with a surely-fatal drop off, and she has a little fear of heights. She CRUSHED it with a good attitude and made it to the top like a friggin' champ. I was so inspired and she felt really accomplished too. Yay! 

We spent one day in Jackson shopping around and it was lovely. Next time I come to this area, I’d be totally fine staying in or around Jackson and getting into more localized outdoor activities like rafting, fishing, horseback riding, etc. There’s so much to do there, and the town is so adorable with tons of good food, shops and fun bars like the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. Our favorite restaurant was a Mexican spot called Hatch. 

Overall, this is an absolutely gorgeous part of the country. I felt healthier and more balanced just having been there.