We had an exceptionally unique trip to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. This trip was a part of a larger US trip that Anu and I did from May 6 - June 3, 2021. Here is a link to a summary blog of the Palnitkar US Trip - May 6 - June 3, 2021.

We flew in from Anchorage, Alaska to Salt Lake City, Utah on Fri, May 28 and reached Salt Lake City at 7 am. Then we drove for about 6 hours north to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Jackson Hole is the Southern Gateway to Grand Teton and Yellowstone.

While Grand Teton is know for its peaks, Yellowstone is know for its geysers, rather than its peaks.

Fri, May 28: Grand Teton

We spent most of Fri, May 28 at Grand Teton. Grand Teton National Park is an American national park in northwestern Wyoming. At approximately 310,000 acres, the park includes the major peaks of the 40-mile-long (64 km) Teton Range as well as most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. Grand Teton National Park is only 10 miles (16 km) south of Yellowstone National Park.
 

Grand Teton, at 13,775 feet (4,199 m), is the highest point of the Teton Range, and the second highest peak in the U.S. state of Wyoming after Gannett Peak. 

We spent the night in Colter Bay inside the Grand Teton National Park.

Sat, May 29: Yellowstone, West Thumb Artist's Point

Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872. Yellowstone was the first national park in the U.S. and is also widely held to be the first national park in the world. The park is known for its wildlife and its many geothermal features, especially Old Faithful geyser, one of its most popular. While it represents many types of biomes, the subalpine forest is the most abundant. It is part of the South Central Rockies forests ecoregion.

We started our morning by driving to Yellowstone and entering it via the South Entrance. We headed to West Thumb. The West Thumb Geyser Basin, including Potts Basin to the north, is the largest geyser basin on the shores of Yellowstone Lake.

We saw lots of wildlife. 

We then proceeded Bridge Bay and Lake Village. Finally, we arrived at Canyon Village, where we saw Upper and Lower Yellowstone River Falls.

We also visited Artist's point which provides a fantastic view of the Yellowstone River.

On the way back, we were stuck in a 1.5 hour traffic jam because Bison were crossing the road. Cars are required to give right of way to the crossing bison, and hence they are required to stop for the bison.

We stayed in the city of West Yellowstone. Every single room in West Yellowstone was booked. All rooms were selling upwards of $300 per night.

Sun, May 30: Old Faithful, Grand Prismatic Spring, Upper & Lower Geyser Basin.

We started by going to Old Faithful. Old Faithful is a cone geyser in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, United States. It was named in 1870 during the Washburn–Langford–Doane Expedition and was the first geyser in the park to be named. It is a highly predictable geothermal feature and has erupted every 44 minutes to two hours since 2000. The expected eruption timing is posted on a board. We were lucky to arrive 5 mins before it erupted at around 12.40 pm.

We saw many different geysers.

We saw a beautiful formation named morning glory.

Point where the hot spring meets the colder water of the river.

We then headed north and visited the Lower, Midway and Upper Geyser basins, as well as the paint pots.

We also visited the Grand Prismatic Spring. The Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park is the largest hot spring in the United States, and the third largest in the world after Frying Pan Lake in New Zealand and Boiling Lake in Dominica. It is located in the Midway Geyser Basin.

We again stayed at West Yellowstone. We again got a 2 hour traffic jam due to bison crossing. We also saw a mother bison nudging her kid to cross the road.

Mon, May 31: Mammoth Hot Springs, Fort Yellowstone, Lamar Valley

On Monday, we started with a nice breakfast at a place that seated us quickly and did not make us wait, unlike the previous day where we had to wait 45 mins for a Subway sandwich. Here the service was quick.

We proceeded to Mammoth Hot Springs. Mammoth Hot Springs is a large complex of hot springs on a hill of travertine in Yellowstone National Park adjacent to Fort Yellowstone and the Mammoth Hot Springs Historic District. It was created over thousands of years as hot water from the spring cooled and deposited calcium carbonate (over two tons flow into Mammoth each day in a solution). Because of the huge amount of geothermal vents, travertine flourishes. Although these springs lie outside the caldera boundary, their energy has been attributed to the same magmatic system that fuels other Yellowstone geothermal areas.

In the Mammoth Hot Springs Complex, we saw a small rabbit. It did not seem to be afraid of us.

We also saw Mound and Jupiter Terraces. 

Also, saw some interesting features around Mammoth Hot Springs.

We then visited Fort Yellowstone. Fort Yellowstone was a U.S. Army fort, established in 1891 at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone was designated in 1872 but the Interior Department was unable to effectively manage the park. Administration was transferred to the War Department in August 1886. The army administered the park until 1918 when it was transferred to the newly created National Park Service. 

Finally, we drove to Lamar Valley. Located in the northeastern corner of the park, the Lamar Valley, along the Lamar River, in is often called America’s Serengeti for its large and easy-to-see populations of large animals. This river valley, bookended by mountain ranges, is home to herds of elk, bison, grizzlies, several packs of wolves, and a variety of bird species. Accessible via car year-round, this valley is a prime location for wildlife viewing - especially during the early morning or late evening hours.

We finished Lamar Valley and then drove back to Fort Yellowstone and then exited Yellowstone park through the north entrance at Gardiner, Montana at around 3 pm.

We thought the scenery had ended as soon as we exited Yellowstone at Gardiner. But even the 2 hour drive from Gardiner to Bozeman, Montana was very scenic as Yellowstone as the road cut through the Rocky Mountains. 

We arrived in Bozeman, MT on Monday evening at around 5 pm. We ate dinner at Olive Garden.

Tuesday, June 1: Flight back to India

I worked in the morning. In the afternoon at 3.30 pm, Sahil, Anu and I caught the flight Bozeman -> San Francisco -> Delhi -> Pune. Aditya took the Bozeman -> Denver -> Houston flight.

It was an end to a memorable family trip. 

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Quick Note:

This trip was a part of a larger US trip that we undertook from May 6 - June 3, 2021. We did travels during this US trip. I have also written detailed blogs about each individual travel.  If you are interested, you will find links to those detailed blogs below.

Palnitkar US Trip - May 6- June 3, 2021 - Detailed Blog

Sahil's Graduation Ceremony - May 13 - Detailed Blog 

Denver, Rocky Mountain National Park, May 14-16 - Detailed Blog

Houston Shooting Range Experience - May 20 - Detailed Blog

Alaska Visit May 21-27 - Detailed Blog

Yellowstone and Grand Teton - May 28 - June 1 - Detailed Blog