Trip to the land of Yogi Bear

Yellowstone National Park, July 2013

As the Independence day weekend rolled around, I was unusually excited for our next holiday because it was my first visit to a national park in the U.S. I had heard so much about Yellowstone that I could not wait to see it. The Jackson Hole airport has to be one of the quaintest and prettiest airports I have ever been in! It was right near the mountains and almost like a rich man's mansion with all the wood and glass. We walked straight to Hertz where they informed us that our rental had been upgraded (always nice to begin a holiday this way!). Renting a car is an absolute must in Yellowstone because that is the ONLY way you will get around this enormous park.

Travel tip: While planning travel around popular holiday weekends to places like Yellowstone, ensure you have your reservations in place, months in advance. Despite planning in February for a July vacation, we could not find any accommodation within the park itself and had to stay at the Jackson Lake Lodge.

As we drove towards our Lodge, we could not help pulling over every few feet to take in the amazing views and gawking at the Bisons which kept gathering everywhere. What I liked most about the roads though it was a simple two way road was that it had many strategically placed pull outs where you could get off the road, park and take a few pictures without disrupting the flow of traffic.

Booking the Jackson Lake Lodge, in hindsight, was an excellent decision and we would definitely stay there again if we had the choice. It had a magnificent view of the Grand Tetons and even if you do not stay here, I would definitely recommend driving here for breakfast in the Mural Room which has the best view with large windows facing the mountains and a good breakfast spread. The staff even have binoculars to help you spot wildlife as you eat.

The first item on our agenda was another thing that had been our bucket list for a while- Whitewater rafting! We drove up to the pick up point where we changed into our water gear and then we took a nice, long bus ride to the point where we would begin the rafting trip and move downwater where the bus would pick us up again. We were both super excited though a little apprehensive since they told us the water was a little chilly. Our guide was this chilled out guy who was OK with anything. There were two young boys on our raft and he let them take turns sitting at the edge of the raft where the water would hit them best. It was super fun though my arms did feel like they would fall off at certain points. Once the waters calmed, he told us that we could jump off into the water if we wanted and S jumped without a second thought while I was very apprehensive about getting back on the raft and the current. Me and another man were the only ones on the boat while the rest of them played in the water. At the next stop, I couldn't help but jump in after seeing how much fun they had. And predictably, I had trouble scrambling back on the boat when our guide peered over caught my lifejacket and pulled me up with his hands! Overall, a wonderful experience that we would definitely recommend and try again ourselves. Check out Jackson Hole Whitewater here.

The next day we had booked an All day Yellowstone Wildlife Safari with Jackson Hole Safaris where the driver would ensure we stopped at all the scenic spots and also was an expert at wildlife spotting. We were extremely lucky that day to not just catch elk but also managed to see a grizzly bear with two cubs trailing behind her. Our driver explained to us that in Yellowstone, it was particularly hard to spot wildlife because when people spot it, they stop to take picture therefore causing huge jams in those two-way roads, so if you are stuck way back in the line, you will have no idea why you are stuck and by the time you do get to the stop, the animal would probably have walked away. We loved the tour and our guide but as we discovered the next day, we could have done most of this by ourselves since the map of Yellowstone is very simple and it is pretty hard to miss the top attractions.
You might want to consider this tour if you want to pay full attention to the park around you and don't want to drive, all details are available here.

Since we had covered most of the key attractions like the Old Faithful, Mammoth Hot Springs and The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, we kept Day 3 to explore Yellowstone by ourselves. We had booked a kayak tour on the west thumb of the Yellowstone river. We did not anticipate the amount of effort this kayak trip would take. By the time we finished the 8 mile kayak trip, both of us felt like we wouldn't be able to raise our arms for a couple of weeks. We then followed the main road passing through the Yellowstone national park, stopping where we liked or if we saw any wildlife. We did manage to spot a black bear! The Grand Prismatic was my favorite on this route, just wowing us with the colours we saw and overwhelming our noses with the heavy scent of Sulphur. As we neared the Lamar valley, a storm was approaching and the sky was heavy with dark rain clouds, it only added to the beauty of the place and the bison standing in herds. Though the rain began pelting down, we both absolutely loved that drive and would still rate it as one our most romantic ones. Though the planned safari did have its value, we enjoyed being on your own and doing things by our schedule.

For the next trip, I would plan to stay a few more days so we could try a few hikes and spend some more time at each of these places.

Yellowstone done, Yosemite here we come!