Grand Teton NP & Yellowstone
Diverse day for sites, sounds, experiences and weather (between 10am and 4pm temps varied yo-yo like between 68 and 47)
Tips for surviving and enjoying Yellowstone:
1: start early...seriously folks, by lunchtime it is terrifying how crowded it is along the west side from Old Faithful to Mammoth Springs. If you like to camp, most of the sites are on the west side and are full by lunchtime, earliest you can get a site is 10am.
2: slow down
3: The park is HUGE, budget your time and pace yourselves....and respect the altitude...bring and drink water...lots of it!
4: slow down! Really!
5: Be observant for wildlife to suddenly do unexpected things (and I am not talking about the resident 4-leggers.
6: Obviously you are not understanding what we mean when we say SLOW DOWN!
7: Take the road less traveled, the little side jags that RVs and Buses are not allowed on, they are SO WORTH IT! Firehole canyon (bring your bathing suit for the swimming home), Black Tail, Dragon Cauldron, Firelake....
8: Heed the posted speed limits! speed limit in the park ranges from 15 to 45 for all ~200 miles of the loop...there are many excellent reasons for these speeds, the views, the wildlife, not all travelers are in motorized vehicles...SLOW DOWN!
9: The east side of Yellowstone is incredible! most if the hot springs are along the west side, but the east side is absolutely breathtaking, we think we found an extension of Fangorn Forest along the Blacktail trail (not the hiking one)..in fact take the extra time and do the east side on it's very own day. (The moisture collects along this edge and the result are amazing meadows of wildflowers and rainforest like conditions.
10: slow down! Be safe and respectful.
