We were up early to make our way to Grand Teton National Park for the day. There were a few things we still wanted to see in Yellowstone and we were hoping to beat the rush of the crowds. Along our early morning drive, we saw a black bear near the road, deer, and yellow-bellied marmots. We were also very lucky to see a Mama Grizzly and her two cubs. We watched through the binoculars as the cubs frolicked in the grass as their mom strolled nearby. The one thing I really wanted to see was a herd of bison and Deven really wanted to see baby bison…and today, we finally saw that! Hayden Valley (which we now call Jackpot Valley, as it is the jackpot for wildlife viewing!) had herds and herds of bison. They were lying down, playing, crossing the road, butting heads, rolling in the dirt – you name it, we saw it! After slowly making our way through Jackpot Valley, we stopped at a few waterfalls – Tower Fall, and the Upper and Lower Falls of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. We stopped at a few different lookout spots along the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. This picture of the Lower Falls was taken at a beautiful spot called Artist Point. A little less than 10 miles south of Yellowstone is the entrance to Grand Teton National Park. This park is much smaller than Yellowstone, covering about 300,000 acres. As we approached the park, I read about how stunning the sight of the Teton Range is due to the fact that there are no foothills impeding its 7,000 foot ascent. However, upon our arrival, it was raining so hard and the clouds were so thick we could hardly see anything. We stopped and took pictures anyway, toured an Indian Arts museum, looked around an amazing brand new, LEED-certified visitor center and eventually made our way across the park to Jackson, Wyoming. I always thought Jackson Hole was the city, but I learned that Jackson Hole is actually the valley and Jackson is the city…even though we refer to the city as Jackson Hole and there are many signs throughout the small, but bustling town referring to itself as Jackson Hole. Some interesting geological facts about this area: due to an active fault, Jackson Hole has been sinking for 9 million years, while the Tetons have been slowly rising; also, atop Mount Moran (12,605 feet – one of the taller of the range) sits a patch of sandstone that matches another layer of sandstone about 24,000 feet beneath the surface of the valley. It’s crazy to think about how fault lines, volcanoes, erosion, etc. have created some of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen. Heading towards Jackson, we were scanning the valleys for moose and elk. All literature refers to the fact that tourists will see an abundance of both; however, we saw neither. Maybe because of the heavy rains and thunder – who knows, but we saw nothing. After eating lunch in Jackson Hole, taking pictures with the famed antler arches, and walking the streets, we headed back through the park – certain we would see some wildlife now that the rain had passed. We did see wildlife – one little coyote right by the road. I felt ripped off! No moose? No elk? We eagerly awaited our return trip through Jackpot Valley so we could feed our newest addiction of seeing animals in the wild. The drive back through Yellowstone and along Yellowstone Lake was so pretty – the sun had been shining there all day. Jackpot Valley delivered and we photographed more herds of bison. It’s such an amazing sight and every time we spotted another herd, we pulled over and took pictures like we’d never seen them before. We saw another grizzly wandering near our campsite and only minutes after pulling into Slough Creek for the night, a thunderstorm passed through camp with heavy rains and lightning that lit up the sky – it was amazing! At this point, we were not leaving the Sprinter, so we called it a night. It was another late night and a long day of driving, but we are determined to get an early start tomorrow.
