our trip // the sights

Get your patient pants on because this post is going to be a tad long and full of photos and facts. Although, I'm proud of myself for cutting it down to under 20 photos of all the sights and "attractions" we saw and visited both in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. One thing you may notice is the lack of people/tourists in the pictures and that's not because I photoshopped them out. There just weren't that many people there. It was awesome! I had done a lot of research and reading about the best times to go and not be surrounded by crowds, and there seemed to be two very definitive answers: May and September. If you don't mind some chilly evening temps, I would HIGHLY recommend going in May - everything is very fresh, there's lots of new baby animals everywhere, and hardly any people. Also, if you're planning a trip to Yellowstone and/or the Tetons, this book was a crazy awesome resource. I read it for hours before our trip and always had it with me during the trip. It's full of tips, maps, hikes, restaurants, and reviews.

Now for the real reason we're here...

hello Wyoming! so glad I could finally add you to my list of "states I've been to."

we spent a night in the shadow of Devils Tower on the way to Yellowstone.

a photo op (thanks to this fence) with the Bighorn Mountains. also notice the lack of cars...on the interstate. so awesome.

lots of snow during a mountain pass through Montana.

my favorite feature at the Mammoth Hot Springs.

at the north entrance of the park before we went to explore Gardiner, MT.

an early morning walk around the boardwalks at the Norris Geyser Basin. this place was completely amazing and free of any other humans.

a hot-spring fed lake

a steaming stream in the Norris Geyser Basin

the breathtaking Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. I was half expecting John Muir to be sitting on a rock in the distance.

one of many boiling hot springs around the Old Faithful area. the water in these things was so beautiful and clear...and stinky.

Old Faithful...not gonna lie, but sort of a let down.

the boardwalk leading to the Grand Prismatic Spring, which would have been more grand if there wasn't so much steam

Tim taking the most scenic off-road pee of his life with this view of the Tetons.

before our trip, I had been in contact with a ranger out at Grand Teton National Park and we were able to get a behind-the-scenes tour of the Grand Teton Rescue Cache and see a bunch of Bob's (Tim's dad) equipment that was destroyed during his climb of the Tetons back in July 2010. Read more about the storm and the amazing rescue effort here. It's a long, but extremely good article about the events of the rescue.

the money shot taken from Mormon Row.

we ended the week by spending some time in the town of Jackson amidst the high-end shops, awesome restaurants, and elk antlers.