Day at Lake Yellowstone

Solitary bison

Our following day, stationed at Lake Yellowstone, was a busy one.

Dragon's Mouth

After breakfast, we headed to the mud volcano area, where we saw both the thermal features and our first bison. We saw several more bison, a herd as well as individuals, in the Lamar Valley.

Just after lunch, we took a boat tour of Lake Yellowstone out of the nearby marina. The ranger talk on board was a little goofy, but we had fun and saw the remains of a sunken ship and a bald eagle.

Lake Hotel from the water

Back on land, we went to the canyon area to enjoy the Yellowstone canyons and waterfalls.

Hot springs, wild animals, and water would continue to be the major themes of this vacation.

Waterfall-induced rainbow

Yellowstone Canyon

Lower Falls

To Lake Yellowstone

At the Tetons

The following morning we set off for Lake Yellowstone, with stops at Mormon Row and the West Thumb Geyser Basin.

At Mormon Row we photographed the most photographed barn in the world with the Tetons in the background. A classic shot. We also enjoyed a picnic lunch, explored the small collection of hot springs at West Thumb, and drove along the lake to the famous Lake Hotel.

Mormon Row

Lake Hotel

The Lake Hotel was built in 1891 and exudes a quiet elegance even today. Its large dining room overlooks the lake, but like the hotels of its day the rooms are small. The nearby Lake Lodge was a mush less formal affair.

Stooling stool

I'll take a quick break from reporting on my vacation to complete a little side project.

My disabled son continues to learn the finer points of using the bathroom, but he is such a little guy that his feet don't touch the ground. Our other stools are too big for this purpose, so I fashioned him a little stool from some left over cherry plywood and stock.

It is held together with pocket screws and glue.

Jackson, Wyoming

Beer at the summit of Rendezvous Mountain

We spent the first full day of our trip in the Jackson area. Once I finished my beer on the summit of Rendezvous, it was back down the mountain for us (and a scenic trip on a ski lift). Finished with Teton Village, we went grocery shopping in Jackson (better prices at Smith's on the south edge of town than at Albertson's). Having simple picnic breakfasts and lunches worked well for us on this trip.

Famous antler arch

Cheese crackers, potato chips, soda, peaches, cherries, granola bars, radishes, water, cookies - of such things were made breakfast and lunch. Dinners we ate out. At this, I must mention Calico. Situated between Jackson and Teton Village (a short drive from either) was this wonderful little restaurant. Perfect for families. It had a nice lawn on which children and adults played. The wrap around deck accommodated our party nicely, with views of the mountain sunset. The food was good and a good value. Three different locals recommended this restaurant to us, each saying it was their favorite.



We spent the rest of our first day just exploring Jackson. There was the shoot out street play, various art and souvenir shops, and restaurants in town. I liked the pine sidewalks and kitschy Old West atmosphere. What a fun introduction to the area.

Old West Shootout

Teton Village

It is a long way to the top

Skipping our travel day to Jackson, Wyoming. All we did on that day was get our rental car (a Kia Sorento) and make our way to the Elk Country Inn. The SUV was serviceable and the Inn room was great (three queen beds, one on a loft with a balcony) with two exceptions - there was no elevator to take us to the second floor (our luggage was heavy) and our balcony, all balconies in fact, looked over the dumpster of Bubba's.

Teton Village is a short drive from Jackson. There, we took a tram to the top of Rendezvous Mountain. I had thought that I built enough of a tan doing yard work in Ohio, but in the half hour we spent at the summit my arms got burned to a crisp. Although there was snow at this level, the air temperature was 63 degrees.

It was nice to enjoy a beer among the peaks of the Tetons. From our vantage point, we could look into Jackson Hole (a hole being a high mountain valley) and into Idaho. I wasn't the only one to make a mistake. My wife ignored her anemia and the altitude and decided to clamor around the mountain top with our daughter. She ended up not feeling so good after doing that.

View from Rendezvous Mountain

Still, she loves mountains, so there wasn't a better way to start our vacation than this.