Two National Parks

One would assume that three travelers from Boston would be prepared for the snow, if you are thinking of these three travelers, you would be assuming wrong. We were thinking by taking the northern route on the way out we’d be at places early enough to be facing fall weather at most.   Before leaving SLC, we got a personal weather update from Margret who warned us that a storm was going to be hitting the whole northwest, so while we were intending to  drive all the way to Bozeman, MT we decided to call it a night early in Jackson Hole, WY, on the south side of Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks.  In Jackson we stayed in a hotel for the first time on our trip but not without shopping around town for the cheapest one and pulling some shenanigans with only two of us checking in (Chelsea and Zach are a natural couple) and the third sneaking in the back.  We basked in our hotel glory by enjoying some nosh from a grocery store, vegging in front of the TV and long hot showers.  The next morning we awoke to a snow-covered Frida, but by the time we packed up and headed out the light snowfall had melted on the car and the roads, while still beautifully coating the trees to match the snow capped mountains.    

  First we scoped out the quaint little town of Jackson Hole, in the town square we discovered four large elk antler arches.  Apparently the antlers are gathered every year from the National Elk Refuge by  the boy scouts(they fall off naturally in late winter), auctioned at the antler auction in town and woven by local  craftsmen.  Jackson is a bit of a gateway town, heralding in people who wish to visit the national parks (Grand Teton, Yellowstone and the National Elk Refuge) with a sizable visitors center.  While in the center, absorbing some of the information available, we happen to hear one of the rangers warning other travelers about the road closures and snow tires.  We surreptitiously listened in and made our way up to the counter to get the scoop.  A local expert, Jim, (who informed us when we asked where he was from that he’s from Jackson and “ne’er been east of the Mississippi”) talked us through our options.

   Most of Grand Teton was open, although hiking was off the table for us when we learned that many of the trails had anywhere  from 4 inches to 2 feet of snow and we only had our sneakers.  Yellowstone abuts Teton to the north and we had been planning on meandering up through both parks to Bozeman which is north of Yellowstone, but we found that the road in the park that connects to the northbound highway was closed (and apparently the whole park was closing for the season in just 4 days).  To get to Bozeman we’d have to exit the park to the west and then head north.  We decided to go for it, Frida has snow tires and four-wheel drive and Jim reassured us our extra load(the upstairs, and bike rack) would only help our handling in the snow, not hurt it.  Jim showed us which roads were accessible and pointed out where we might sight moose, elk and bears.  Bolstered by Jim’s encouragement and bundled snug in Frida we ventured into the snow-covered national parks.  

   We spent most of the visit to the park inside Frida, but we gladly pulled over and ventured out whenever we saw lovely looking nature. We would bear the cold and the snow to take in the trees, misty mountains and lakes that comprised the parks. It  was was our first time driving Frida in the snow and we were glad to discover she handled well even over the winding mountain roads and falling flurries. The parks were beautiful, well worth the trip.  We practically had the place to ourselves and we were warm and happy in Frida looking out upon lovely snowy scenes.  We even gave ourselves a (quick) self-guided tour of the Cunningham cabin in Teton.

   On our way out of the park we headed over to see Old Faithful. As we got close to the hot springs the road became a mini highway. In the heat of the summer we suppose it is packed full of cars, minivans and SUVs full of families and tourists, but we were ones on the road.  We arrived at massive amusement park esque parking lot but had no trouble getting a close spot as we were the only car there.  Zach and Iris ran out in the cold to see Old Faithful.  We found her steaming quietly in the cold of the falling dusk.  We could only stand being outside for a few minutes, so we had little hope of seeing the gush of water which only occurs every 90 min or so.  We snapped a few photos as it grew colder and darker and then ran back the warm car.

   We left Yellowstone knowing full well there was a lot more that we hadn’t seen but content to have been able to witness it at such a rare, quiet, snowy time.  We drove into the darkness towards Bozeman, and arrived late in the evening.  In Bozeman we were taking in by Todd, the brother of a friend, who was hospitable despite our late arrival time and having been convinced into hosting us by his brother.  We bummed around Bozeman the next day, taking in the shops and a bit of nosh.  We had planned on staying anther night, but we were antsy to get to Seattle with it’s (warmer) costal weather, family and friends.  We left Bozeman early in the evening, ready to drive through the night and eagerly anticipating the relaxing respite of a week at Chelsea’s aunt and uncle’s house. The bean counter 
miles traveled: Jackson,303.  Bozeman, 242.
pieces of snail mail sent: Jackson,2  Bozeman,24 
mullets: 0, 0