Jackson Hole in One

With so much covered in my first post on Grand Teton, it's hard to believe we also went to Yellowstone and the Jackson area. But we did...

Yellowstone National Park

During our time in Yellowstone we were lucky enough to snag two nights at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge. This is within walking distance of Old Faithful, the visitor's center (offers a 15 minute park video), and a lovely walking path to several other springs and pools.

The one full day we had in Yellowstone was spent driving clockwise around the lower loop, or at least that's what I'm calling it. This took us from Madison -> Norris -> Canyon Village -> Lake Village -> Old Faithful. In total, it took about four hours, even with the bison crossing. Here are the many things we saw on our way:

Grand Prismatic via the Overlook

Mystic Falls (4 mile RT via Biscuit Basin)

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone (Lower and Upper Falls)

Mud Volcano (<1 mile loop trail)

A whole bunch of buffalo 

And believe me, the park is way way bigger than what we saw. There was a lot more we could've seen, but we had limited time and more to see. Including...

The Jackson Area

Although it took us a while to figure out whether Teton Village (with a huge Jackson Hole sign) or Jackson were considered "Jackson Hole", we had a fun time in both. (It's Jackson, FYI). The last couple nights of our trip we stayed at the Mountain Modern Motel, a hipstery spot right downtown.

We took a winding, sometimes unpaved, road from Grand Teton to Teton Village and a quick Yelp search took us to Spur Restaurant in Teton Mountain Lodge. The food and spicy margaritas were delicious, including the dessert.

Our time in Jackson was spent walking around the shops and eating. I had a beer in Grand Teton earlier in the trip and the brewery, Snake River Brewery, happened to be right in Jackson. The Hoback Hefeweizen was delicious and the pretzel more similar to a wonderful biscuit scone.

I'm not usually a fan of Asian fusion restaurants, but in the case of Teton Thai I'll make an exception. It featured so many types of food and it all was marvelous. Plus they had $5 beers!

Our last grand adventure in Jackson took us to Lewis and Clark River Expeditions for a trip down Snake River. We had a beautiful day for the scenic float with a basic, but tasty, turkey sandwich and chips. Plus we fraternized with some celebrity...houses...

Our guide was great and I'd definitely go back for another tour with Lewis and Clark. They also offer white water trips!

Since we're not a skiing type of family, Jackson Hole was perfect for a summer trip. While I understand the appeal with having ski lifts at your door, I definitely prefer the warmer weather. But you never know...maybe one of these days.