Day 7
Well, today included a lot of learning moments that concluded with how we would do things differently in the future, ha.
Since our next stop was not that far away, we planned to stay in our RV park until checkout time at 11. This worked well for allowing everyone to rest later after two full days in the park. Pappaw then came over and made waffles for everyone, and I was able to do one more load of laundry before we left.
What we didn’t account for was the traffic getting into West Yellowstone, as well as the traffic that would surround Old Faithful. It probably took an hour to get through the West Yellowstone entrance into the park, and then several circles around the Old Faithful area parking lots before Nick finally created a parking spot for us. Our goal was to kill time at Old Faithful before we would be allowed to check in Grand Teton. However, we realized that the last time we stopped at Old Faithful with our rig in 2022, it was the end of August and past the busy tourist season. We should have just planned to drive straight to Teton and avoided the crowds. Now we know!
After we did finally park at Old Faithful, the kids went into the Lodge General store and chose their souvenirs. We ate lunch in the RV, and then enjoyed a treat of ice cream from the General Store before driving south again to Teton.
It was 4:30 by the time we settled in our RV park- Headwaters at Flagg Ranch. Then came our second disappointment- the place we planned to rent bikes from closed at 6, so we wouldn’t have time to fully enjoy the bike trail I wanted to bike since 2022, and return the bikes. Again, now we know. 😅
This change of plans did allow us to have a slow evening at our campsite- Behr hung a hammock, we grilled hobo meals, and the boys enjoyed exploring Flagg Ranch on their bikes/scooters.
Day 8 – our 1 full day in Grand Teton National Park – a 1 day itinerary from Dirt in My Shoes.
Jenny Lake- I debated if we should leave at 6 or 7am to start our day. We chose 7am for departure time, but upon arrival at Jenny Lake quickly realized we should have left at 6am. Even arriving at 8am showed a full parking lot and 30 minute wait for the shuttle boat.
We road the shuttle boat, which I recommend for saving time. The kids enjoyed it, as well!
Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point- we did these two trails and it was the highlight of the day! Although each trail has a significant elevation change, the distance for each one is about half a mile, and the payoff for such a short distance is incredible! We highly recommend!
We decided to continue on to Cascade Canyon in hopes of catching some moose sightings, but no such luck. This trail was pretty, but it was hard to enjoy the views due to having to pay attention to the rocky, unleveled path. I would skip this trail next time. Nick’s parents opted out of this trail and waited for us at Inspiration Point. I’m glad they did because it was pretty rocky.
We then made our way slowly down the mountain. Upon arrival at the boat dock, Momma had a dizzy spell, likely due to not drinking much water (she knew there were no bathrooms on the trail). We were able to get her on the boat and some paramedics checked her out once we reached the opposite shore of the lake. The combination of her blood pressure medication and the altitude had lowered her blood pressure but it began to climb back to normal while they monitored her. She reassured everyone she was okay and didn’t need further medical attention, but she definitely took it slower the rest of the day.
String Lake – Our next planned stop was a picnic and swimming at String Lake. We shortened this a bit and didn’t do any swimming, but I took notes on families that were and how they packed chairs, canopies, etc. for the shores of String Lake. It is a gorgeous place and we will plan to rerun earlier in the day next time so Beau can hopefully fish some before the swimmers arrive. He walked the banks for a while and didn’t find any place to cast because so many families were swimming this time of day.
We then drove south through the Moose entrance for a gas station and some caffeine for Nick, ha, before continuing on our next several stops, listed below:
Antelope Flats Road and Mormon Row – this was worth a visit once- I’m not sure I will return, but it was pretty neat to see the iconic Moulton Barn, pictured below.
Schwabacher Landing – this was a quiet and peaceful little trail that we enjoyed. Behr had been begging to wear Karis, so this was the one hike where she was not on my back!
Snake River Overlook – this is the location of the iconic photo taken by Ansel Adams in 1942 – definitely worth a stop!
Oxbow Bend – a quick and easy stop to see more views of Snake River
Jackson Lake Lodge – Nick wanted to return to this lodge for the wall of windows that overlooks the lake and Tetons. We didn’t have time to hike Lunch Tree Hill but it was one of our favorites from 2022.
Our plan for dinner was another recommendation from Ash – Leeks Marina Pizzeria. The pizza did not disappoint! We enjoyed the atmosphere and food and left full and ready to go to bed, ha!
At this point we were only about 15 minutes from our RV stop. This national park day differed from the two in Yellowstone in that we started away from our RV park and worked our way back toward it. That’s definitely our preference and will be a way that I plan to adjust our itineraries in the future.
Grand Teton is one of my favorite parks and one day I plan to return for longer (we’ve only ever had 1 full day at a time here) and bike the path from Dornan’s to Jenny Lake. I also would like to start at String Lake early in the day, and hike the Lakeshore Trail at Colter Bay. We did Taggart Lake hike back in 2022, so that’s why we skipped it this time.
jami lee gainey 