Catching Up

Eric's done a great job of summing up our time in Yellowstone in his post below. I will just add that I loved all of the wildlife (except for the mosquitoes, which there were no shortage of! Those buggers were up with the sun and biting till dark!) My favorite moments were spent at an overlook to Hayden Valley, watching for wolves and grizzlies for hours (after a strenous hike earlier in the day.) I especially liked the joy Eric got from spotting something. It was amazing to sit and watch the bison at play, locking horns. Our time there was very memorable. What Eric didn't have a chance to write about was our last day in Jackson and our experiences in the Tetons. We were up at 4 a.m. (yikes!) and to Triangle X Ranch near Grand Teton for a 5:30 a.m. river float. As painful as the early hour sounds, it was one of the highlights of our trip so far. Driving to the ranch in the dark and watching the sunrise was beautiful. Although bitterly cold, our time on the river was filled with amazing vistas of the Tetons and wildlife sitings. The highlight was when we passed a large male bison, who made aggressive movements toward us, and appeared like he was going to charge into the river after us. He didn't, but for a split second, even our river guide was tense. After our time on the river, we drove into Grand Tetons National Park and ate breakfast at a chuckwagon cookout. I don't know if it has something to do with spending time on a river or what, but that breakfast along with the one we had the previous day of rafting were the two best breakfasts of the trip! Bellies full, we explored the park and ended up at Jenny Lake. My parents and brother had visited Jenny Lake years before and always talked about how beautiful it is. To see it in person was spectacular! We did a 3.5 mile hike to Hidden Falls (gorgeous!) and then took a boat ride back across the lake. From there, we took our time driving through Tetons and up into Yellowstone. Both Eric and I agree that our time in Jackson and Grand Tetons has been our favorite so far, and we highly recommend a visit.