yellowstone and grant tetons vacation

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Yellowstone and

Grand Teton Trip

Our Trip August 2010,David LeBlanc



Day One, Travel Day

August 26, 2010

Travel Day!

We are off to an early start this morning.

We met Carmen and Robert at the

Parking Spot and made it to the airportin no time at all. Check in was a breeze

as was security. So now we have two

whole hours to wait. Lucky for me, I discovered the USA Today

Crossword Puzzle on my ipad. I also downloaded Drew Brees' book for

Chyrisse and I to read on the plane. Flight was nice, unfortunately no

entertainment or meal.

Picking up the rental car was a bit frustrating. Chase Bank had put a

fraud alert on the credit card. I had to call the bank twice to get the

hold lifted. But after a small delay, we were off in our big white Chevy

Suburban. Driving that thing is like driving a bus, and parking it is

even harder.

Not sure if not having any type of agenda is going to work for us. We

could not decide on a place to have lunch, and when we would seesomewhere, there would be no parking. After a bit of searching, we

found a place next to Whole Foods

called Rubio Fresh Mexican Grill.

It was set up like a fast food place,

but served delicious food. I believe




everyone was satisfied with lunch, especially Leonard

who seemed to enjoy his 5 pound burrito.

We shopped a bit in Whole Foods then set out for

Temple Square. Once again parking was difficult, so we

parked at the visitors center near the State Capital

building. After a 5 minute downhill walk, we arrived

at the Temple area. Everyone was so helpful, but you

would expect that from a "cult".

We walked around not sure where to go first at the

gigantic Mormon complex.

We saw a sign that read "Visitors

welcome", thinking it was a visitor's

center, we went in. As it turned out, the

building was the Relief Center, a building

dedicated to the women of the church. A

very nice lady came out to meet us and

explained the building to us and offered to

show us how to get to the observation deck

of the Office Building. Security was high

at the Office Building, a sign of the times.

The view from the top of the building,

which is the tallest building in Salt Lake

City, was really awesome.

Next we went to the building that housed

the genealogy research center. We did a

little research on the computers, not

really coming up with too many pieces of




information, but it was still a lot of fun.

The Visitors Center was also very interesting. The ground floor has a

replica of Jerusalem during Christ's life with interactive features. As

you go up the stairs, a very large statue of Jesus with a background

of the Universe is the centerpiece. While there, we met a Mormon

missionary from Kingwood, who offered to show us the Tabernacle.

The Tabernacle has amazing acoustics. Our guide demonstrated the

sound of a pin dropping with out any amplification. I wonder what it

must sound like to hear the Mormon Tabernacle with the pipe organ

in that building.

The walk back to the truck was pretty tough, Beverly almost didn't

make it. But we made it and headed for Midvale for overnight stay at

Homewood Suites. Dinner at Hopper's Brewery and Grill was ok. We




shared a sampler of beers from the taps, but the best beer was a

special bottled beer of Black Lager. The food was pretty good.

Because we stayed next door at Homewood Suites, we got free

appetizers. We got a smoked cheese fondue and a chorizo flat bread.

For dinner most got battered chicken or fish and hamburgers.

Overall, unimpressed, but good.

Back to the hotel...for a good nights sleep.




Day Two:Off to Idaho

Breakfast at 8:30am in the

hotel, before heading out.

We planned a pit stop at

Cabelas Outdoor superstore,

and headed in that direction.

On the way, we noticed two

quilt shops next door to

each other with an antique

store across the street. Ithink everyone enjoyed the

antique store. When an antique store is done right, you actually feel

like you have visited a museum. Carman found some jewelry and

made the lone purchase. As for the quilt shops, I have never seen a

quilt store that big. But unfortunately, Beverly did not find what she

was looking for.

Cabelas turned out to be a fun

excursion as well. Many stuffed

animals made this place feel like

a museum as well. It is truly an

outdoorsman's ideal store.

Leonard must have really loved

it, but not enough time to truly

enjoy it. Chyrisse found a few

shirts and Robert bought a cap.




We then started our journey to Idaho. We had a four hour drive to

Ashton, and chose to stop at a truck stop with a Taco Bell and a

Subway. Truck stops are pretty interesting

as we kept hearing "number so and so you

shower is ready". What a life a trucker must

have.

We stopped at the state line for maps and

info and then

drove on to Ashton. The cabin turned

out to be as nice as expected. A three

story cabin with a pool table in the

basement and sleeping space for 24.

Brad, the owner came by and was a bit

strange. Brad speaks with a hoarse

voice and appears to have had some

type of radiation that

caused his raspy voice. I am not too

impressed with him

though. He has a

500 dollar deposit

that he will hopefully

return to me after

our stay. None of us

trust him too much.

He owns the only bar

in Ashton that you

can smoke in, a fact that seems to impress him though. Ott's is the




name of his bar and I doubt if we will take him up on his offer of a free

drink.

The little town of Ashton isn't much, but it was busy this weekend.The high school homecoming was going on as well as the marathon.

The main street was closed off for a parade and

celebration. I picked up my marathon packet at

the elementary school. Interestingly the packet

was in a Idaho potato sack. What a cool idea. The

packet contained the bare essentials, my race bib

and timing chip and a nice embroidered polo shirt.

On the way to the school, we witnessed an accident

in which a woman slammed her car into a fire

hydrant and small building next to the

supermarket. It was a bit scary, because another

100 yards and we could have been in her uncontrolled path.

The market was our next stop. We picked up a few necessities and

ingredients to make a chili, which turned out to be pretty good.

Leonard and I make a good cooking team. While the chili was

cooking, it was a good time for a little pool downstairs. One of the

"necessities" that we found at Dave's Market was some Alaskan

Amber beer. This is a beer that is so good that Chyrisse and I have

tried to figure out a way to have it mail ordered. This is a beer so good

that all six of us in the cabin liked it, that is amazing!

It was off to bed a bit early since Robert and I had to be up for 4:30....




Day Three:Marathon Day Up at 4:oo. I feel sorry that Robert always gets the chauffeur

assignment on marathon day, but he wins it by default since Leonard

and Chyrisse do not see very well at night. But I am very grateful to

Robert for sacrificing a little sleep for my hobby.

I was dropped off at the elementary school to catch the 5:15 bus to

the race start in the Targhee National Forest for a 6:30 race start.

The race ran thru some of the

most beautiful scenery that I have

scene on a marathon course. The

temperature at the start must

have been in the 40's, but

fortunately we were able to stay

on the bus until minutes before

the start. The first 13 miles ran

on gravel and packed dirt thru the

forest, in many areas on ATV trails. Near the halfway point, we ran

next to Mesa Falls for a photo op. The second half of the race wasmostly on paved roads with a giant hill from mile 17 thru 20. The hills

at the end really messed up my good timing, but I still managed to

finish in 4:20, which is about 10 better than predicted.




It was nice to have a cheering squad as I turned

for the final 0.2 miles. I found a little burst of

energy to put on a good show and not let them see

me struggling.

My finishers medal is made of wood which is a bit

unique. One of the perks of the race is a

Huckleberry shake, which I had to have right

after the finish, so we walked a couple of blocks to

the restaurant that

was giving them

away. Everyone

enjoyed theirshakes, but not as much as I enjoyed

my much deserved shot of protein.

After my shower, we headed back into

town for lunch at Trails Inn. Buffalo burgers were pretty good as

were the double battered fries. My burger was a "Husky Burger", a two beef patty burger with ham and cheese...definitely made up for

the 3100 calories I burned during the run.

After lunch, we headed toward Mesa Falls, getting to see much of the

course from the race. We went to Lower Falls first, then on to Upper

Falls when it started to rain. The visitors center was very

interesting, but only Carmen and Robert made it out to the falls. I

don't think I could have taken the stairs anyway...going down seems

to hurt much more than going up.




Back in Ashton, we made another visit to Dave's Market for

ingredients for dinner. I met a couple of marathoners from Virginia

who run 8 marathons a year. I did not catch their names, but we had

a nice conversation sharing stories of our runs. Baked chicken and

southwest hash browns was the menu for the night. Cooking time

allowed for the guys to

play many games of

pool. It seemed to be

Roberts night for great

shots and many

victories. For what

happened after dinner,

I have no idea because I

crashed. Although

there was one funny

story....all of the

bedroom TVs watch the same channel and while Chyrisse was

watching the channels just kept changing until finally it landed on the

weather channel. Leonard had the controls....too bad we didn't mess

with him and keep changing it.




Day 4:Yellowstone

Going to Yellowstone today.

Our cabin is about an hour from Yellowstone. Interestingly, we

passed thru three states to get to the park entrance...Idaho, Montana

and finally Wyoming.

Our first stop upon entering the park was some fumaroles and mud

pits and lots of geezers (I mean geysers, I think). Once in the park, it

seems the only wildlife in abundance was the buffalos. We did stop for

a photo op with a swan.

Old Faithful was our next stop. It seems that we had just missed an

eruption and hate to wait about an hour for the next one. We took the

0.7 mile loop around Old Faithful and then took a seat for the

eruption. A cheerful unafraid chipmunk was the highlight of the

small loop. Most of us waited patiently. I will admit the eruption did

not live up to expectations, but it was well worth the wait just to

experience it.

We had lunch at the Yellowstone Inn Dining Room. The Inn was

impressive and food was good. We worked off our lunch with a walk

thru many more geysers and hissing puddles. It seems that each of




us got sprayed at least one time by an unexpected eruption. First to

get it was Leonard and Beverly, but Chyrisse and Carmen got it too, as

well as Robert and I. Lots more buffalos on our walk. Old Faithful

gave an encore performance from a different vantage point. From

this angle, it was actually more impressive.

After a long stay at Old Faithful, we got back on the Grand Loop to

finish the lower loop. It was much longer trip than expected but we

were rewarded with scenic views and a few more wild animals. We

saw mule deer, elk, cranes, ravens and lots more buffalo. It started to

rain off and on but didn't dampen our spirits. The loop passed along

Yellowstone Lake which was really spectacular and finished back

near West Yellowstone, where we filled up the car and picked up

sandwiches and beer for dinner. Finally the rain started to taper.

Dinner was nice with lots of good conversation around the massive

granite bar that dominates the kitchen area. We stayed

up until past 11 talking and drinking. Good times....




Day Five:Yellowstone Pt 2

Lazy morning in the cabin. It started to rain hard this morning, so wepostponed our departure for about an hour. I spent the morning

catching up on my journaling. I found a great program for my Ipad

that allows me to create documents with pictures....so my journal will

make a great souvenir for the six of us.

We made our way up to Yellowstone by late morning. There was a 20 minute

delay for road construction that gave us

time to come up with new meanings for

the acronym BMW On the fly, I came up

with "Big, Mighty, Woman", but "Blonde"

or "Bleached" would have been better.

The Upper Grand Loop offered such different scenery than the Lower

Loop from yesterday. Our destination was Mammoth Hot Springs for

lunch. On the way we stopped to look at the Terraces.

We had lunch at the Terrace Grilland did a little shopping in the

General Store. The little town of

Mammoth seemed to be park

headquarters with lots of

residences for the park's rangers.




In the middle of town was a park with green grass that seemed to be

a haven for elk, who lounged around looking all

photogenic.

The rest of the day was spent driving the loop

looking at magnificent vistas and searching

for wildlife. Toward the end of the day we hit

the jackpot. Traffic was stopped and people

were running around

so we knew we had

something great

coming up. Leonard

and Chyrisse got out of

the car so that they

could have extra

photography time. The

cause of the hoopla was

a grizzly and her two

cubs. What a sight that was! Chyrisse got some

great shots.

Wolf Pack Ale House was our dinner stop. The

restaurant was once a Brewing Company but

now specializes in serving microbrews fromaround the region. Chyrisse couldn't refuse

Rogue Chocolate Stout, and I can't blame her. We

all had pizza and beer and I think we were all

satisfied. We also stepped into a Fly Fishing

Outfitter where Leonard got information about




excursions. Too bad we couldn't

plan for a day trip like that.

Maybe next time.

Got back to the cabin a little late

and everyone went their own

way for bed. Chyrisse and I stayed up working on photos.

Day Six:Driggs and

Jackson

This morning we took it easy and took our sweet time. We started our

drive toward Jackson, driving thru Driggs, where we will be spending

the next 3 nights. The road to Jackson goes over the Teton Pass,

which is a highway with steep inclines greater than 10% at times.

Our Chevy Suburban did not seem to enjoy the drive over the Pass. It

struggled on the uphills and made strange rumblings on the downhill.

We all thought something was wrong with it, which stressed me out a

bit, as this was the first time we had ever had "problems" with a rental

car.




We made our way into Jackson and stopped for lunch at Snake River

Brewing Company. Lunch was very good. Everyone enjoyed their

sandwich, and the beer sampler was really top-notch. Chyrise and I

really enjoyed the Zonker Outmeal Stout.

After lunch, we decided it would be best to call Avis for advise. We

were advised to take the car to the Jackson Airport and exchange it

for a new vehicle. At the kiosk, the attendant told us that it was

typical for a car's anti-lock braking system to react with a shimmy or

a mild rumbling. He told us that the Teton Pass was the second

steepest incline on a state highway in the US. I will have to look up to

see which is the steepest, although I never need to cross it, especially

in a loaded down Suburban. At any rate, all was well with the car, so

we went back to the town for a little shopping.




Jackson is really a touristy town, yet it has a certain charm. There

are plenty of high end galleries and shops nestled between the

souvenir shops. One particular gallery featured the art of a

photographer. His work and gallery were impressive. Another shop

we enjoyed was a western wear store with lots of furniture made from

Juniper and also wine racks made with antlers. It felt like a museum

to see all of these unique items for sale.

The afternoon went by fast and soon it was time to find our cabin for

the night. The drive over the Teton Pass went much better than the

first drive, possible thanks to a slow moving eighteen-wheeler.

Driggs appears to be a nice little town with all of the essentials,

including a really nice supermarket. We did a little shopping and

picked up ingredients for dinner as well some more Alaskan Brewery

Beer, the Stout was really good.

We were a little disappointed to find that the cabin was about 15 miles

from the town. Our disappointment was very short lived when we

arrived at our cabin.

This place is incredible. Words cannot describe how special this place

is. This is a 3 story cabin with gorgeous views of the Teton Range.

The cabin or more appropriately mansion cabin is over 5000 squarefeet. Robert and I guestimated its value at about 2 million dollars,

which I found out later was pretty accurate. The cabin is so amazing

that we changed our plans for the remainder of the trip. Instead of

going to Grand Teton National Park for two days, we decided to stay in

the cabin tomorrow and live like millionaires, if only for a day. Wow.




Again words and probably

pictures will not do this place justice.




For dinner tonight, we made hamburger steaks and boiled potatoes.

It is so nice to sit and visit and talk and drink. And drink we did,

Carmen polished off a bottle of wine with a little help from Beverly,

and I exceeded my limit as well. But, I guess we were just a little

overwhelmed at our new surroundings.

This place is high tech. I plugged in Chyrisse's Ipod and soon music

was playing on the entire main level, inside and outside. Everything

about this place is high end, no corners were cut when this place was

built. We are scheming on how we can buy one like it. I guess, I

should stop raving about this place, but its hard.

Day Seven:The CabinDid I mention yesterday how nice this

place is? I have Bill Douglas music

playing on the sound system. I am

sitting next to Robert with the most

amazing view outside. A




hummingbird keeps flying by. It is so peaceful. I never want to leave.

This is the life...I am already considering when I will come back.

The weather is a bit rough today. Very overcast and windy, so it may

have been a really good idea to just relax today. We had a few

repairmen come by today to check out the internet and work on

home cinema.

We drove in to Tetonia for lunch at North End Grill. The food was

actually very good. Then we headed into Driggs. Our first stop was

quilt shop, and this time Beverly did find some fabric. Next, it was

Carmen's time to shop at a rock shop. Then we went shopping for

ingredients for another home cooked meal. We had hoped to find elk

or buffalo, but no luck at the little store. So we opted for Ginger

Teriyaki chicken and mixed

vegetables, which when finished did

not come out too good. The chicken

was way to thick and I miss my

kitchen and utensils.

But,

before

dinner, Leonard, Chyrisse and I made

a small hike to the river's edge. I

think we found a good place for both

gold panning and photography

practice.

Back at the cabin, the gang started playing scrabble and having a

good time. Dinner was nice with a little Frank Sinatra and Dean

Martin. We broke up early because tomorrow is a full day of sight

seeing.




Day Eight:Grand Teton

THURSDAY SEPT 2, 2002.

Thursday began with an early rise. We made it out of the cabin at

8am. The drive over the pass was not bad at all and we arrived in

Moose in about 90 minutes. The drive from Wilson to Moose was very

scenic and rustic. The road was unpaved, muddy and narrow through

a forest of Aspen trees. At Moose, we stopped at the visitors center.

From Moose, we started our nearly 40 mile scenic drive through

Grand Teton National Park. Our first stop was on Mormon Row to

photograph the

famous Moulton

Bridge with theTetons in the

background. The

rest of the drive

was just stopping

and enjoying the

scenery and

snapping a few

photographs. We

finally saw our

moose at a pull out overlooking one of the lakes. She was a long way

off, but still, we got to check her off the list.




We stopped for

lunch at Signal

Mountain Lodge.

Again the food was

really good.

Robert and I had

buffalo burgers with elk

chili, Bev and Leonard had

a bowl of the elk chili,

Carmen had a buffalo

burger and Chyrisse had a

hummus sandwich.

The best thing was the Grand

Teton Brewing Company's

Amber beer, we think it was

the best regional beer we had

on this trip.

We then drove to the top of

Signal Mountain for nice

views of the valley. Then

drove to Jenny Lake, but




decided against taking the boat ride, because it was too late. We also

stopped at the Chapel of the Transfiguration, where hopefully

Chyrisse got some good HDR photos.

The drive back was again nice, except for the time facing the sun over

the pass. We stopped at KMart to look for souvenirs, then made our

way to Driggs for supper.

Teton Thai was a bit crowded and expensive so we decided to pick up

some pizza from the supermarket. The kids working the pizza place

seemed incompetent and a bit intimidated by Carmen, but who isn't?

Anyway, the pizza that I thought was going to be a disaster turned

out to be outstanding and we really enjoyed another evening meal at

the cabin. Our conversations go all

over the place. I will miss our

evening conversations. This really

was a good vacation.




Day Nine:Dream Over

FRIDAY.......

It's time to leave this place. What an experience. When asked last

night what our favorite part of the trip was, Robert and I chose the

silence and beauty of the cabin in the early morning. Leonard chose

all the things he had never seen before and diplomatically threw in

spending quality time with us. Beverly chose the quilt shop, andCarmen...I am not sure if she ever chose one thing. As for Chyrisse,

her favorite will not be decided until after she sees her photos.

This morning, Leonard, Chyrisse and I, hiked down to Teton River's

edge. Leonard did a little gold panning and Chyrisse practiced with




her new filter. The hike back was a bit tough but we made it. We

stopped by the lodge before we left and met Sean Cracraft who is the

manager and PGA member. His wife, Linda was our consierge for our

stay.

The ride to Salt Lake City was pleasant. We

stopped for lunch at Quiznos in Idaho Falls. We

also stopped for coffee at Starbucks inside a Fred

Meyers in Pocatello, where we also mailed our

pint glasses back home. We arrived in SLC and

went straight to hotel. On our way to Hopper's, we

saw a Thai restaurant called Thai Spice.

Fortunately, we tried it and all, or almost all of us

liked it.




Day Ten:Travel Day

yellowstone and grant tetons vacation

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