Our Trip to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks

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Immediately following the Leisure Travel Van Caravan Tour of Idaho 2022, we started part three of our summer road trip with two other LTV couples.

On this part of our summer adventure, we head to the Grand Teton National Park and then to Yellowstone. Along the way, we have the privilege of seeing more wildlife than I think we saw on our entire caravan through the Maritimes in 2019, a 7-month journey from our home in southern Arizona.

From left rear: Nathan, Paula; Middle left: Paulette, Me, Danny; Front: MaryAnn

A much smaller caravan this time with plans to explore as many of the national parks as we can on our way to scout out the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for our next caravan tour in 2023.

Since we purchased our LTV in September 2017, we set a goal for ourselves to visit every state in the Union with our LTV. In four and a half years of ownership and over 80,000 miles, we have only seven states to visit: Hawaii (of course), Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio. We intend to fulfill this goal on this trip through the mid-west. Obviously, we won’t be taking our LTV to Hawaii–we’d have to get on a plane to check that off the list.

We saw this young moose running in a field next to the highway in eastern Idaho.

Grand Teton National Park

The Grand Teton National Park is one of our favorite national parks. We were here last year and back again this year; looking at these majestic giants never gets old for us.

Grand Tetons are part of the Rocky Mountain range.

Another moose along the side of the road.

Waiting in line to enter the Grand Teton National Park.

Our campsite is about a mile from the entrance to the park.

I recommend making reservations six months in advance if you plan to camp inside the park. Last year, we managed to get two nights inside the park. This year, we were just outside the main gate about a mile at Gros Ventre Campground.

We managed to get campsites very close to each other.

Grand Teton Mountain Range

While visiting the Grand Teton National Park, it isn’t easy to take your eyes off the mountains, even while driving. Fortunately, MaryAnn was driving, so I could take pictures.

Jenny Lake and Hidden Falls are must-sees while visiting the Grand Teton National Park. Get there early in the morning to get a parking spot for your LTV because the parking lot fills up fast. Jenny Lake is probably the most popular place in the park.

There’s a ferry across the lake to the Hidden Falls (a must-see), or you can hike around the lake to the falls, but bring your hiking boots. It’s not an easy hike. If you’re not athletic, I suggest taking the ferry across the lake but be prepared to wait in long lines.

We hiked around the lake to the falls and then took the ferry back.

The trail continues after Hidden Falls practically straight up the side of a mountain to an overlook of Jenny Lake and the surrounding area. I watched many people attempt to climb up the trail to the overlook, but few could finish. That part of the trail is for the young collegian athlete, well beyond my level of athleticism.

Known as Jackson Hole, this small mountain town is a must-visit, with plenty of shops and restaurants.

Maryann and I are in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Don’t worry; no Elk were injured to make this archway. Elk naturally shed their antlers every year.

From the Road Between Grand Tetons and Yellowstone

Yellowstone

Grizzly bear with three cubs next to the road. I took this picture from about 20 yards away.

No visit to Yellowstone would be complete without checking out the many geysers.

From the Road in Yellowstone

Mountain goats along the side of the road.

The entrance/exit to Yellowstone from the Montana side.

From the entrance/exit of Yellowstone, we immediately cross the border into Montana.

A few miles into Montana, we stopped in the Gallatin National Forrest in the Canyon Campground for $8 per night, dry camping/boondocking. This is our preferred way to travel.

We didn’t spend a lot of time in Yellowstone this year. We did stop to watch Old Faithful again, of course. After leaving Yellowstone National Park, a huge deluge of rain and thunderstorms swept through the Yellowstone area, washing out many roads that we had been traveling on, forcing the park to close temporarily. We continued east from the national forest in Montana to Cody, Wyoming, and then to Devil’s Tower.

Terry & MaryAnn Barber

I am a retired US Air Force, Service Connected Disabled Veteran, and retired pastor. MaryAnn is a retired Special Ed Teacher. Our 2018 Unity FX has over 100,000 miles, and we have visited every state in the Union except Hawaii, of course. We have also managed to make our way to Canada, where we have visited every province except two. We aren't golfers, bikers, fishermen, or hikers, we're explorers, and we want to see as much as we can for as long as we can until our time on this earth is over.