“What a joy it is to feel the soft, springy earth under my feet once more, to follow grassy roads that lead to ferny brooks where I can bathe my fingers in a cataract of rippling notes, or to clamber over a stone wall into green fields that tumble and roll and climb into riotous gladness!”
– Helen Keller
Last but not least! Here we end this 3 part series of the Yellowstone/Grand Tetons grand adventure. In this portion of the blog you will have the opportunity to learn about the areas from Mammoth down to Old Faithful and into the Grand Tetons.
Let us begin on our fourth day of the trip. Before driving down to Old Faithful we did stroll along the boardwalks near Mammoth to check out Palette Springs and Canary Springs. They were definitely worth a stop. Then we drove around forever trying to figure out where the Boiling River was. Boiling River is a small area where a hot spring runs into the river to create this swirling maelstrom of ice cold and boiling hot water. This spot isn’t marked on the map and there is no sign at the parking lot. We finally found it just a short distance north of Mammoth before the exit out of the park. There is a gated parking lot along the edge of the river on the east side of the road. We saw elk and a fawn and had a great time trying to walk in the water and find a good spot. One second the water would be ice cold and the next scalding. Everyone was hollering and laughing all at the same time. Really a great spot to relax for a while.
The Old Faithful Inn was one of my favorite stays. I had no idea how much history and beauty there was. You can take a tour of the Inn but you have to schedule it ahead of time. If you get lucky enough you might even be able to get to go on top of the roof with an employee while they change the flags, again you have to schedule this ahead of time as well. Make sure to ask about the hidden notes!!! We left a couple 🙂
The fifth day before heading down into the Grand Tetons we hiked up to the overlook for Old Faithful for an unobscured view of the eruption. It was a relatively easy hike with a great view that I don’t think many people know about. There was a little niche in the rocks about a ¼ of the way down. We had a great time taking silly pictures.
We only spent two nights in the Tetons. It wasn’t enough time at aaaaallll. I want to go back so so so badly. One of the most stunning places I’ve visited. Oxbow Bend was probably my favorite spot. The sunset was breathtaking. There are a lot of different types of birds to see here as well.
We also checked out Log Chapel of the Sacred Heart and drove along Jenny Lake Drive. The view behind our hotel, Jackson Lake Lodge, was spectacular and is supposed to be a great spot to see moose. We also enjoyed dinner and (finally) a real breakfast at the restaurant in the hotel. We loved the moose shaped butter and moose waffles. So cute! We also had a huckleberry margarita during dinner there. Yum.
Menor’s ferry historic district was interesting. There are some little pamphlets available so you can do a self-guided tour. Schwabacher’s Landing offers the best panoramas of the Teton’s toothy Cathedral group. Another popular destination is Mormon Row. You do have to go out of the Tetons to get here but it is worth it; beautiful view of the mountains. There is an old barn here that a ton of people come to take pictures of. We did some horseback riding along Colter Bay which we all really enjoyed. While on our white water rafting trip we saw a baby bear! The water during our rafting trip was so cold. Like seriously really cold. Me no likey. It waaaaas fun though.
On our last day we stopped in Jackson Hole on the way to Salt Lake. We did some shopping and got some pics with the well know antler arches in the square. We had lunch at the Snake River Brewery and did a flight tasting. The beer was great and the food was delicious. I definitely recommend this place. Then it was time to head to the airport and home.
I hope y’all got some great pointers on Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons with this blog post. If you’ve been to this area I would love to hear about your favorite spots so leave a comment.
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