A Fantastic Trip to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone --August, 2015

George and I had a fantastic trip to Wyoming from August 17-28,  2015.   We visited the Grand Tetons National Park and also Yellowstone National Park... We had been in those areas in 2012 ---and decided to go back this year to see more...

This is my absolute favorite place that we have visited in our country.  There is so much to do there ---and each time we go,  we see many new and different things ---along with some of the things we want to see over and over....

In 2012,  we put an emphasis on waterfalls and geysers...  SO---this year,  we did visit a couple of waterfalls which we didn't see in 2012,  but we only saw ONE geyser this year.  In 2012,  we visited the Tetons in September...  At that time, the boat across Jenny Lake wasn't running (which was a disappointment).  SO---this year,  we decided to fight the summer crowds (which we hate) and go there in summer/August.

Right now,  we are talking about going back in 2018.   AND---since we did the Jenny Lake boat ride this year,  we will either visit the area in late Spring or early Fall.   I love September because of the Fall Colors ---but Spring might be nice also...

I could talk and talk and talk about this trip (and will have many more posts I'm sure) ---but decided just to pick out 15 pictures to share today.  Hope you enjoy this first batch of pictures ---and be sure to click on them for enlargements.

Above is a picture of one of our favorite places in Yellowstone,  the Canyons area.  We will continue to visit that area over and over ---each time we go.  When I can see mountains, canyons and waterfalls all together,  I am definitely in my 'happy place'.  The picture above is of LOWER FALLS of Yellowstone ---as taken from one of our favorite overlooks,  Artists Point.

Here we go ---riding the boat across Jenny Lake, in the Tetons.   We got out on the other side of the lake, and hiked to a new waterfall for us,  HIDDEN FALLS.  We also did some hiking on one of the lake trails while there.

We took this picture on the trail to Hidden Falls.   Our weather while there was PERFECT---the entire time..  It was cool in the mornings and at nights --but warmed up into the 70's during the daytime.

And OH the WILDLIFE.... I could do an entire blog on the wildlife we saw.  We saw BISON/Buffaloes,  Elk,  Pronghorn Antelopes,  and another very special one --which I will show you later in this post... Can you see the little 'hitchhiker' on top of the Bison in this photo?????  ha

One of our favorite hikes in the Tetons was to TAGGART LAKE.  The mountain views are terrific on that hike ---and then sitting there next to that lake just gazing at the mountains just made chills run all over me... SO NEAT!

Besides Hidden Falls in the Tetons,  we took another hike in Yellowstone to a waterfall which we had not seen in 2012.  This is FAIRY FALLS.

This is CLIFF GEYSER in the Black Sand Basin,  and was the only geyser we saw this trip.  BUT--walking around that basin was special since the colors were gorgeous.  We also walked around the Midway Geyser Basin ---and enjoyed seeing the Grand Prismatic Spring.

One thing that George and I love is to eat special foods in places different from our home area  in Tennessee... In 2012,  we ate alot of wild-game (bison, elk, etc.) ----and we wanted to do the same thing this year.   The above picture was probably our favorite dinner of our visit--although we liked all of the different foods each night we were there.  This dinner was at the Canyons Lodge area restaurant and consisted of Bacon-wrapped Wild-game Meatloaf,  asparagus,  fresh bread and mashed potatoes (with skins included).  EXCELLENT meal ---and we had bison as our meat for FOUR of the nights we were there... YUM.

Some of the gorgeous Thermal Areas in Yellowstone;  The colors were awesome!!!!!

One of our favorite hikes in Yellowstone  (in the Canyons area) was the RED ROCK TRAIL ---leading down to a great view of LOWER FALLS.   We hiked this trail both in 2012 and 2015.

One day we drove to Mammoth Hot Springs and walked up and down their intricate stair system build in and around the thermal areas.  This is ORANGE SPRING MOUND at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone.

Another wonderful hike in the Tetons is in the SCHWABACHER'S LANDING area.  This picture was taken in that area with the mountains in the background --and the Snake River nearby.

While at one restaurant  (in Lake Jackson Lodge Hotel),  we just HAD to try some HUCKLEBERRY CHEESECAKE.... I don't think I had ever had huckleberries before ---but I loved them.  They grow wild in this area. The huckleberries  taste a lot like blueberries --but may be a little more tart.  Anyhow--the berries really balanced out that sweet and rich cheesecake...  (Believe it or not,  both George and I lost weight during our vacation...  We did eat very small breakfasts and lunches ---so that we could enjoy dinners out each night.)

Here is my SURPRISE... I saw my FIRST MOOSE along the Snake River this year.  I didn't see a moose in 2012---so was ecstatic to see one (actually we saw TWO before the week was up) while there... SUCH EXCITEMENT....  They are HUGE creatures.   AND---I can't wait to show you that adorable Moose T-shirt George bought me this year.

I'll close with my favorite picture I took on this entire trip (I think).  Someone on Facebook told me that it may be the best one I have ever shown..  I don't think it was the photographer,  but in this case,  it was being at the right place, at the right time.  This was taken at Schwabacher's Landing in the Tetons showing the reflections  of the mountains and the puffy clouds...

I could go on and on showing you many of the other places we visited while in Wyoming,  but I'll stop and let you enjoy these today!!!!  Don't forget to click on the photos for enlargements ---especially that last one.

Hope you have a fantastic September.  There are two more gorgeous photos from our trip on my Photo Blog ---so don't miss seeing them.  Click HERE to visit that blog post.

Hugs,

Emoticons