wyoming | driving through yellowstone

When we were planning our trip to Wyoming, Larry and I decided that we would spend our free time in Grand Teton National Park and not go to Yellowstone. This was a short trip, and we are often guilty of trying to cram too much into our vacations (must see ALL the things!), so we wanted to spend the time we had exploring and appreciating the Tetons and not try to do too much. Yellowstone would have to wait for another time.

We arrived in Wyoming on a Tuesday and I spent the next couple days exploring Jackson on foot while Larry worked. He finished his meetings after lunch on Thursday, July 31st, and since we only had a half day of free time, we decided to drive along the Teton Range and admire the mountains from the car. We drove and drove from the south end of the park to the north end, unable to tear our eyes away from the iconic 13,000 foot peaks. By the time we got to the north end of the park, we realized we weren't very far away from the entrance to Yellowstone. I didn't want to deny Larry the chance to see a little bit of such an amazing park, so we decided to drive in. It's a huge park and we didn't have a lot of time to see all the things I saw when I visited as a child, so I suggested we visit a geothermal feature or two, since that is what really makes the park unique. "Do you want to see Old Faithful?" I asked, but Larry wasn't interested in going to the most touristy park of the park, so we drove on (through the rain) in search of a spot with available parking.



We ended up at Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone's largest hot spring. (Two days later, someone would crash a drone into this very spring.) We got out of the car, walked the boardwalk, smelled the sulfur, and snapped some photos:








And then we headed back, stopping at a few overlooks in Yellowstone to grab a few more pics before driving back towards the Tetons.



While I'm all for getting out of the car and exploring the world on foot, sometimes taking a scenic drive is just perfect. Especially when you have a view of the Tetons the whole way.


We got back into Jackson just in time to check into our little cabin at the KOA, eat a picnic dinner, and drink some beers next to the crackling campfire (our neighbors cooked steaks and mac and cheese for dinner and I have to admit it smelled sooooo good!), while listening to water rushing from the nearby creek and Snake River.

The perfect relaxing day before our big hike on Friday...