Guest Blog: Wyoming’s Grand Teton & Yellowstone National Parks: Wild America

Today we'd like to introduce a new guest blog mini series: Remembering 2010 Travels. Our first guest blogger is B. N. Sullivan the voice behind the AircrewBuzz tweets. You can learn more about Aircrew Buzz online. In today's post B.N. invites us to travel through Grand Teton National and Yellowstone National parks.

If you like wildlife and dramatic natural scenery, you would have loved my 2010 vacation -- a week-long driving trip through northwestern Wyoming to visit Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park. Each park is a destination in itself, but since the two are adjacent to each other, it is easy to visit both in one trip if you allow enough time.

The Parks

The scenery in both parks was spectacular: mountains, rivers, lakes, and waterfalls – and (of course) the geysers and geothermal springs for which Yellowstone, in particular, is famous. The

wildlife was plentiful and diverse. We saw lots of big animals like deer, antelope, elk, bison (buffalo), and grizzly bears – yes, really! We also saw many smaller critters, like coyotes, river otters, and ground squirrels, along with innumerable species of birds.

One of the most amazing aspects of wildlife viewing in both parks is that the animals are right there!! In many instances, we didn’t even need to get out of our car to get a good look at them. We saw a huge grizzly bear poking around at the edge of the forest, right beside the road. It was so close I did not dare roll down my window, much less get out of the car. Twice we had to stop to allow herds of bison to amble across the road in front of us. They took their time, some even pausing directly in front of our vehicle to stare at us while we stared back.

At one point, we pulled over to the side of the road so I could photograph the lovely autumn scenery along a bend in a river. I walked to a spot not more than 20 meters from where the car was parked. I could still hear cars passing occasionally on the road behind me, while in front of me there was a family of otters playing on the river bank, and migratory ducks gliding along the river’s surface, pausing occasionally to preen. It was magical. We did some hikes on established trails in both parks, but in truth you really don’t have to stray very far from the roads to see lots and lots of wild creatures going about their business.

Nearby Towns

We chose Jackson, Wyoming as our base for the first few days. Jackson, which is south of Grand Teton National park, is a charming resort town in the area known as Jackson Hole*. Jackson is a magnet for those who like outdoor sports: skiing and snowboarding in winter; fishing, hiking, mountaineering, and kayaking during the warmer seasons.

While we used Jackson as a base for exploring Grand Teton National Park and the southern end of Yellowstone, our base for the last few days of our trip was Cody**, Wyoming. From Cody we ‘commuted’ daily to the central and northern parts of Yellowstone National Park.

Quite by chance, we also discovered a real treasure in Cody itself. The weather was fine and clear during our trip, save for one morning when we awoke to a drizzle. Rather than drive to the park in the rain, we decided to find something to do in Cody for the morning. We had noticed a facility called the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, down the road from where we were staying. It appeared to be some sort of museum, so we decided to drop by for a look. We ended up spending the entire day there, and even at that, we did not get to see everything there.

Before we arrived in Cody, we had never heard of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, but since spending a full day there, we have been telling everyone about it. Not at all a trumped up ‘tourist attraction’, it is a real, top-notch museum, with extensive, carefully curated and wonderfully displayed exhibits. There are five themed exhibits, each in its own hall, and each of which could be a stand-alone museum: Western Art; Greater Yellowstone Natural History; Plains Indians (history and cultural anthropology); Firearms; and, of course, one about William ‘Buffalo Bill’ Cody, his life, and the times in which he lived. It is a remarkable place – an absolute ‘must see’ in Cody, Wyoming.

Logistics

There are plenty of organized tours available for visiting these and other National Parks, but we like to travel independently. We rented a car for the duration of our stay, affording us maximum flexibility to go where we wanted to go, and to spend as much or as little time as we pleased at each spot.

There are overnight accommodations within the parks -- lodges, cabins and campsites – but our preference was to base ourselves in nearby towns from which we could venture into the parks daily to explore. Both Jackson and Cody have a full range of accommodations, ranging from relatively inexpensive motels to more upscale hotels, and plenty of places to dine, and shop. We enjoyed coming back to the relative ‘civilization’ of these towns in the evenings after full days of driving and hiking.

Tip regarding park entrance fees: It costs $25 per car to enter the parks each day, but if you are going to visit the parks for more than two days, it’s best to purchase an annual pass for $50 or, if you are at least 62 years old, a senior pass for only $10. Holders of those passes can enter both parks as often as they like with no additional entrance fees.

Have you been to either of these National Parks? If so, what aspects of your trip to the park(s) were the most memorable? If you've not been to the park(s), will you plan to visit one or both in 2011?

* Jackson Hole Airport (JAC) is served by American Airlines; Delta Air Lines; Frontier Airlines; United Airlines

** Yellowstone Regional Airport (COD) is served by Delta Connection and United Express.