Yellowstone National Park

Whether you like taking trips in a boujee way of first-class flights, sippin’ champagne cause ya’ thirstayyy or plain old getting in the car and driving, Yellowstone National Park has a charming flair for every interest.

After our fabulous idea of “hey, let’s jump on a flight to Alaska” didn’t turn out [due to needing proof of a negative COVID test, which we did not know we needed], we resorted to jumping in the car and taking an 8-hour drive from Denver to good Ol' Idaho. I would highly recommend if you decide to drive in, that you leave as early in the morning as possible. We came up with the idea of heading to Yellowstone in the early evening, drove into the area at around 3am which unfortunately made us miss beautiful surrounding views. What we did not miss, was an insanely rad view of the stars and Milky Way! I have never seen this part of the sky so prominent from any other location. It looked as if cotton candy and stars made a baby and then stretched the little guy out across the sky [good visual?].

Because we arrived late, we resorted to a hotel stay our first night. It was a perfect place to stay for a couple of hours before waking up and hitting the road bright eyed and bushy tailed. We stayed at Cobblestone Hotel and Suites in Victor, Idaho. Due to COVID-19, the breakfast was a grab and go situation and the pool as well as hot tub were closed at this time. There is a brewery next door, which we did not have time to partake in, however it looked super cute and quaint with outside seating available. The hotel is about 45 minutes from the Grand Teton National Park entrance which made it super convenient to take on two National Parks in one trip. On our way to the park entrance, we stopped in Jackson Hole, Wyoming to grab groceries for the cooler. I would recommend stopping there if you plan on staying in either of the parks. It is the closest town before entering and will save you a lot of coin on White Claws, I mean groceries for your next couple of days. There are convenient stores around Yellowstone, however, the Hershey’s Chocolate bars were $10.00 for 6 bars #AREYOUKIDDINGME?!

Jackson Hole had a few different grocery store options around. We stopped at Albertson’s along the way and proceeded on our journey into Grand Teton National Park. When arriving at the park, you will drive through the ranger station and pay an entrance fee. The current fee is $30 per car or $15 per person. Depending on if you want to do a family trip or self-getaway will determine your pricing. The views were absolutely breath taking! We used the pull offs along the road a couple times to snag up some gorgeous photos of the mountains. It is absolutely incredible to see the formations of these specific mountain peaks. They are so jagged and sporadically formed along most of the mountain range making them easily distinguishable from others.

My favorite surprise of driving through the GTNP was the unexpected realization that the parks are actually connected. Meaning, Grand Teton and Yellowstone are brothers. This could be me very well admitting that I am an idiot and don’t know anything…which could very well be true in most instances. Anyways, because they are connected, but still separate parks, you will have to stop at another ranger station before entering Yellowstone National Park. You will pay an additional entrance fee much like you had to for Grand Teton, however, Yellowstone is a tad pricier. You are looking at $35 per car or single entry for $20. Once in the park, your entry is valid for 7 days.

There was something incredibly magical about driving through Yellowstone. There’s such a sense of peace and serenity when you are going through the winding roads with your windows rolled down and the mountain air taking over. Because we went on Father’s Day weekend, many of the camp sites were already booked up. There is a site called Grant Village on the lake located closer to the more attractive sites in Yellowstone. Had we known where we were going before hand, we would have booked two nights there. Instead we stayed at Bay Bridge campground located further North on the lakefront. Still a fabulous area to rest your head, just a little further of a drive to get to the scenic views. The rate was $30/night with a checkout time of 11am. The campground had clean bathrooms on site which included 3 stalls, 2 sinks [with very cold water, no hot] and my favorite, an outlet [for hair dryers only]. Let’s be clear, this was the women’s bathroom, I’m not sure what the men are working with. We were there for 2 nights, three days and if it had not begun to rain ridiculously, I think we may have stayed another night. Upon arrival, we set up our tent, chairs and grabbed wood for a campfire to have later that evening. Once we made our hut a home, we took a drive to see some of those famous views.

First stop, Old Faithful! This was one of the coolest and yet debatably underwhelming experiences ever. While I enjoyed watching this geyser go off, Jeremy was mildy over it [he had seen it twice before]. I made him sit and wait for a solid 45 minutes to watch a 2-5-minute display of a water-cano. You could argue that the Dancing Waters at the Bellagio in Las Vegas are more entertaining…and I would most likely agree, but this was still a mind-blowing experience. Old Faithful erupts every 30-120 minutes. If you are attempting to time this excursion on your route of exploration, I suggest grabbing an extra bottle of patience for this one. Although there are plenty of geysers along the perfectly laid winding path around the area, OF is THE one you don’t want to miss. Another cool place to check out on the OF territory is The Old Faithful Inn. OF Inn is said to be the largest log hotel in the world and was built in the early 1900’s using logs and stone from local places in Wyoming. The building itself is totally spooky and definitely gives off the vibe that a few, like 5 billion, people died in that place – BUT totally worth checking it out. OF territory is also where you can find a couple gas stations, convenient stores, general stores, souvenir shops and all that good stuff. Don’t get the chocolate bars if that’s what you’re looking for…We went for the mango White Claws, Twisted Tea and Golden Road, the essentials only kind of stop.

Next on our list, Midway Geyser Basin – which totally lived up to my expectations. If you have not ever checked out this stench-y pool of eggs, I would highly recommend doing so. Midway is an Instagram favorite. The vibrant colors surrounding the energetic turquois, boiling watering hole is fascinating. You have two different options for viewing this site – a lower view, and upper. The lower view point is barely visible due to steam rising. Had I known this, I would have ventured to the top and not wasted my time. The upper view point takes you on a trail through wooded area [10-15minute walk] to get to the lookout. TOTALLY WORTH IT! This is where you can see all of the surrounding colors as well as the piercing blue water. Make sure you bring not only sunscreen but loads of bug spray! Holy cannoli were those puppies biting bad!

Time for a night of much needed sleep so we could rest up for another eventful day in the morning! Which brings me to your next must do! The next day we were driving up to see the Mammoth Hot Spring. Along the way we saw a sign for horseback riding. I have never owned a horse, but have always enjoyed the art of riding horses. I have been dating Jeremy for almost three years and had yet to get him on a horse trail - believe me I’ve tried. This was the perfect place to do it! We pulled in, spoke to this sweet wrangler and he got us on our way! To my surprise, the horseback riding was a very affordable excursion. $53 per person/1 hr. and $78 per person/2 hrs. After speaking with the wrangler, he recommended doing the 1 hr. due to the better views. Before heading off, they were sure to go over all safety measures with us and answer any questions we had.

There was a total of 9 people on our trail ride with 3 wranglers to ensure our safety along the way. Within 3 minutes of us leaving the ranch, we ran into 4 massive wild buffalo taking naps in the grass about 75 yards from us. Thankfully they did not seem to care that we were there! The ride itself was a little over 3 miles long and the wranglers offered a lot of fun facts along the way. As much as I wanted to run into a bear, the only remnants I saw were claw marks along tree trunks, which was still pretty entertaining for me. All-In-All horseback riding through Yellowstone was a 10/10 for the both of us!

Now time for Mammoth Hot Springs. We managed to see Elk, Deer, more Buffalo, and no bear along the drive there. The springs itself made up for the bear disappointment. These springs were absolutely like nothing I had ever seen before! The steam coming off of the multiple geysers and the snow like, calcium-carbonate cascading down the terraces were pure magic. Although Mammoth is a bit away from most must-sees in Yellowstone, I would make sure it is on your list! Mammoth is a small community about a .25-.5 mile down the road that also offers lodging, more convenient stores, a restaurant as well and MY FAVORITE – the first place I saw a wild grizzly bear!!! Can’t promise the bears will always be present, but man oh man was I stoked that they were! Mama bear and her cub stirring up commotion in town!

Now that I have managed to write your ear off and bore you with unnecessary commentary, I will wrap this up. We camped in Yellowstone one more night before loading up camp and heading to our next adventure! Although I left out the multiple other stops along our journey, these are the ones I will remember seeing/doing up until my dementia kicks in. Old Faithful, Midway Geyser [prismatic], Mammoth Hot Springs and don’t forget the horseback riding! All fabulously, fun adventures to take on when you decide to hit up Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Park!

DONT FORGET

"Live through love, learn through patience, and accept kindness with gratitude"

:Liv

Yellowstone National Park

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