Yep, it is another early morning as we headed out to Jenny Lake Lodge in Grand Teton National Park for breakfast. Jenny Lake lodge is a rustic lodge with cabins located near the north shore of Jenny Lake. Breakfast is exceptional with cute moose shaped butter, local foods and great service.
After breakfast we explored the Jenny Lake visitors center at the boat launch area on the south end of Jenny Lake
. Our next adventure is a boat tour of Jenny Lake to see the beauty of the Grand Tetons from the water. We were fortunate as the weather was very nice. A few sprinkles fell a time or two but the sun shone most of the time. The views of the lake, the shoreline, and the majestic Grand Teton mountains was spectacular. Our guide shared some history of the lake and the regions as well as pointed out wild life and landmarks on the land. The tour lasted and hour and we loaded back into our van and headed north for Yellowstone National Park.
Along the way we passed Jackson Lake and numerous beautiful valleys. As we entered Yellowstone it began to sprinkle and the sprinkles turned to rain. We drove to the Grant Visitors center on Yellowstone Lake for a quick lunch. It was food and there is not much more we can say about it. Anyhow, it will keep us till dinner. As it was raining we passed on walking along the lakeshore and loaded back into the van and headed for the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
. Along the way we say deer and bison, and we stopped and walked along some hotpots that were steaming, bubbling and smelled of strong sulfur. We continued on to the Artist Lookout at the Grand Canyon. It is remarkable how the river that was just flowing smoothly tumbles down a roaring waterfall into a deep canyon that does resemble a mini Grand Canyon. We took a bunch of pictures and set off for more animal sightings.
As we crossed over towards Old Faithful we were slowed down by a traffic jam with people seated along the road with big lens cameras and telescopes focused on a mamma and baby bison laying in the trees. They were quite a ways from the road but it looked like the momma was laying down and the calf was either nursing or nestled up against the momma.
A little further we saw several elk grazing in a meadow and crossing a river. As we neared Old Faithful we drove along a river with geyser vents all along the river. It was strange to see the steam rising here and there along the river
. Many of the turnouts are very crowded with cars, trucks, vans, motorhomes and tour buses. It is a busy time of year in Yellowstone.
So we saw pronghorn, deer, elk, osprey, and bison. We saw lots of bison off by themselves but also groups of bison in some fields. Did you know groups of bison are not called "herds" They are called obstructs. So we saw an obstruct of bison in the meadow.
When we arrived at Old Faithful we checked into our rooms at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge. Accommodations are very cabin like. No internet and no tv. We headed to the Old Faithful Inn for dinner. Dinner was busy. The dinning room is huge and filled with families of grandparents and grandkids. There are lots of foreign tourists visiting Yellowstone as well. Dinner was good, certainly not like dinner in Jackson. Time to go see if Old Faithful is still faithful.
Old Faithful is the most famous of Yellowstone geysers
. Old Faithful currently erupts about every 90 minutes ( +/-10min). I am not sure exactly how high she blows but it seemed to be at least 70 feet. The eruption lasts about 2-3 minutes so people wait patiently every 90 minutes to take pictures and video of the show. Prior to Old Faithful some other geysers in the same area began to erupt. After the show we browsed the gift shop but found nothing that we needed to bring home. We returned to our hotel rooms for a good nights sleep.
Tomorrow is supposed to rain so it is a good thing we will be in the van to Cody.
Afternote - On our trip through Yellowstone we used a "Gaperguide". This is an ingenious GPS enabled tour guide for Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. They plug into your stereo aux input and give excellent history and tips as you drive through the park. The GPS knows right where you are and gives important guide information at just the right moment. It is also loaded with "Fun Facts" about the park that you can listen to as well. The Gaperguides are available for pickup and return at all entrances to the park. You rent it by the day and it is pretty reasonable for the great information it provides you. Just search for Gaperguide on the internet if you are heading to Yellowstone.
Good night.
Day 3 - Grand Tetons & Yellowstone
Monday, July 14, 2014
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, United States
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2025-02-11
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auntie Deb
2014-07-15
sure looks like you are having a great time and thank-you so much for the blog.
you all look so good!! big hugs!