STATE 25: WYOMING
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We flew back from Michigan from my sister’s wedding and picked up our recently repaired Airstream from the dealership in Boise, Idaho, ready to conquer Wyoming. Similar to Idaho, this was going to be our first time in Wyoming, but unlike Idaho, we had some preconceived expectations for the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone national parks waiting for us.
We will admit, the 6-hour drive from Boise to Jackson was not the most exciting, at least not until we reached the Teton Range that is technically part of the Rocky Mountains. But once we drove through into Jackson Hole and on our way to our campsite at Colter Bay, we fully realized how beautiful and special the Tetons are. On our left nearly the entire drive was a wall of spiked mountaintops that seem to shoot straight up.
Once we set-up camp, we ventured out around the park to get a lay of the land and soak up some of the views on such a beautiful day.
Not having hookups at the campsite meant we needed to go into Jackson to get a charge and use wi-fi. Thankfully, Jackson is a beautiful town with some great gems, including Anvil hotel and coffee shop.
After a few hours of computer work, we embarked on a self-guided walking tour of downtown Jackson Hole. It’s character is unlike any other we’ve encountered — it has a unique mixture of cultures as the wild west meets alpine mountain town.
Another result of not having hookups was our battery power. We learned the hard way at about 3AM that when the batteries get low, the carbon monoxide detector will beep. Loudly. And nonstop.
No pillow over our heads could cushion the shrek, and poor Noel was freaking out. After struggling for over an hour of combing through the manual without finding any helpful solution, we decided we just needed to get out of there and take Noel with us. It was like Idaho all over again, except this time there was no Starbucks we could smuggle Noel into, so we took the opportunity to show Noel the Grand Tetons at sunrise.
She was speechless, well… meowless.
As beautiful as the Tetons were, we couldn’t completely enjoy them because with just a couple days before our STATE 25: WY project, we still needed a Veteran participant. Kendra discovered the local organization, Honoring Our Veterans that hosts week-long retreats for wounded Veterans.
We met their executive director at a local coffee shop that were serving our hometown Grand Rapids-based Madcap Coffee, which was a pleasant taste of home for us. Thankfully, she was able to not only secure a great Veteran to work with, but also put us in touch with a local donor that wanted to sponsor the Wyoming project for [HAS HEART].
Over a breakfast meeting with the project sponsor, he made a local suggestion for us to drive off the main roads to a look-out spot. He gave us a few written directions how to get there and what dirt roads and two-wheel paths to take.
He did warn us that if the creek was running high, the road might have been impassable. Thankfully we had enough clearance to make it through the water and over the rocky riverbed.
There were no signs and clear paths to where we were supposed to go, but we could hear that we were getting close.
He suggested that as dawn approaches, you can see a wolf den start to come alive as the wolfpack begins to stir and prepare for an evening hunt. We didn’t know what to expect, but as we were walking up the hill that he suggested we view from, we could hear some howling in the distance.
Thankfully for us, there were a couple locals that knew what they were doing and came properly prepared with a telescopic lens, which worked just a bit better than our dinky binoculars.
In the distance we could see an area of bushes in a small valley that has been home to generations of a wolfpack, and we were lucky enough to see quite a few wolves stretching, walking around, and even some teenage pups wrestling.
It was definitely a bucket-list experience for us.
The first ever National Park was established in 1872 and is a mere 30 miles north from Grand Tetons, which was founded decades later in 1929.
Yellowstone is one of the most visited and well-known National Parks in the country that is known around the world. Yellowstone is where families would go with packed station wagons and camping trailers on their family summer road trips. It’s easily one of the most well-known natural American icons, and it’s like being on a different planet in parts of it.
Exploding geysers, toxic-colored “ponds” that looked like they’d dissolve your shoes in an instant, and gurgling mud pits makes Yellowstone seem like a foreign, violent planet.
Old Faithful ran a few minutes later than expected, but she was worth the wait. If you ever want to watch her blow, there is a live webcam on the NPS website.
After a full day of driving and hiking around Yellowstone, we made it back to the Tetons within the last few moments of the sunset to catch the last of the daylight cast on the mountains.
It was a sad feeling for us leaving the Tetons, but we took our time driving out of it by pulling off the road to take a few more glimpses of the beautiful mountain range, showing Noel one last time.
Our last great experience in Jackson Hole was being invited to the Bar J Chuckwagon dinner and show. Our veteran participant’s family has owned and operated the Bar J Ranch since 1977. Their western show is part comedy and cowboy music full of yodeling, fiddling, and more. To our surprise, Kendra and I both loved it. We were also amazed to learn that they host up to 650 guests 7 nights a week all summer long with many families coming back year after year. It’s a must-see for as much as a cowboy supper can be.
We had a great time in Wyoming, met and worked with great people, and gained a deeper level of appreciation for the land and our need to protect it.
We can’t wait to come back someday soon.