Day 13: Yellowstone to Jackson

We woke up warm and cozy in our hotel before driving the 5 miles into Yellowstone. Once inside the park, we set up for a camp breakfast outside the Albright visitor center. We boiled some water for oatmeal and coffee right there on a park bench. It was still cold out, but it was peaceful-plus, food just tastes better outside.

 After our breakfast, we loaded back into the car and headed south through the park.  Along the way we had to wait for a bison to cross the bridge before we could pass.  He walked right past the drivers side door, but didn't seem as interested in us as we were in him luckily and just passed right by.


We stopped for a four mile hike after Madison Junction. The hike passed through several hot springs, but overall wasn’t the prettiest hike we’ve ever done.






We did see a very large herd of bison though, including a few young ones. We passed through several different landscapes on the hike, and it was cool to see areas that were still recovering from the 1988 fire.



After our hike we continued south to Old Faithful. We figured we couldn’t leave Yellowstone before hitting up the biggest tourist attraction there.

Our timing was impeccable. Old Faithful goes off every 90 minutes, on average (according to the guidebook that Bobbi leant us). We sat down and waited less than 5 minutes before it erupted. It really was impressive, and this is the time to be in the park.


There were still people around, but you could really imagine just how crowded this whole park gets during the summer months. We had front row seats for the geyser show, and so did everyone else there. Perfect!
We continued our drive south after the show. The climate in the south end of Yellowstone is completely different from the northern end. All of the animals seemed to be in the north, probably because the southern part is covered in snow. We realize that it’s November, but it was still surprising to the drastic climate change within a few miles drive.



We exited Yellowstone into Teton National Park just before dusk. Teton National Park was really stunning. We were able to see the silhouette of the Teton Mountains over the lake before it got too dark, and they really were breathtaking. Our timing today was really working out!
Jackson Hole is just south of Teton National Park, and it was here that we were staying for the night.
Jackson Hole is certainly a tourist town; hotels, motels, flashy bars and restaurants line the streets. We had no problem finding a hotel for the night despite the fact that it was a late Friday night. We chose the Antler Motel, which seemed to be just a few blocks from the main drag.

This turned out to be a good choice; the receptionists were friendly and the blanket and pillows were down. We changed out of hiking clothes after checking in and headed out to diner. Snake River Brew Pub was recommended to us by the staff, and they did not let us down. This place was crammed with young, out-doorsy locals who all seemed to know each other. They had good beer and good food to boot. I had french onion soup ollowed by a mushroom and veggie pizza (can’t get enough veggies out here!), and Clint had a buffalo burger. We were able to walk there from our hotel, and it was off of the touristy strip.