Grand Teton National Park is a relatively overlooked treasure. On a whim I decided it was time for another family trip. The danger with traveling is that once you start, you won’t be able to stop. So it is with us.
Flipping through photos on Instagram, a road trip was in the back of my mind. You know how it goes from there. A single picture caught my attention and the next thing I knew, I was on the phone. It was a long shot because our available dates were less than 4 weeks away and this particular place always books out way in advance. Imagine the whoop I gave as the lady said they had only one cabin left to rent and it was right during our dates.
Heading into the park we stopped before we got to Jackson Hole to watch the river rafters coming down. We heard screams and laughter as one boat ultimately flipped over. It is definitely on our to-do list on our next trip this way.
I did very little research on the park. My dad grew up in Driggs so I grew up hearing all the stories of what a beautiful place the Tetons are. I learned that my dad helped his grandpa herd sheep from time he was 6 years old until about 16 years old. He carried his first gun on his hip at a young 6 years old. When he was a bit older, he would ride up the canyon on his horse when other sheep herders lost their sheep and bring them home. I was sharing this story of my dad with my boys as we drove into the park. My jaw literally hit the floor at the beauty surrounding me. It was AMAzing! How had we lived so close and never spent any amount of time here?
So our adventure began. We checked into our cabin on the lake, got the run down on the bear danger, wished I had bought bear spray and headed out. We went on a beautiful hike around 2 lakes and up a canyon to celebrate the 4th of July. Luckily we did not run into any bears.
Some kids fill their pockets with rocks as they hike and others decide to bring home logs 🙂 My motto? If he wants to carry it, he can keep it. Do your kids like to bring home treasures?
As the storm clouds approached we decided to head back to camp to get some food in our boys. While we were there my husband insisted we load up the kayaks and head out for the lake. Against my better judgement we went. Arriving at the lake everyone else was just leaving because of the rain. The once busy lake was left with only a few stragglers. And then the sun came out. Onto the lake we floated and enjoyed the evening all to ourselves…that is until the kids started to tip each other into the water 🙂
We have not taken many spontaneous road trips, but it is something I want to do more of. I loved the free feeling of not having everything planned and simply discovering the area as we went.
My tips for travelling to Grand Teton National Park?
- Buy bear spray. My husband was laughing at me because I wanted to get bear spray. After we got home there were two news stories on individuals being hurt or killed in bear attacks. One child was saved because his parents had bear spray they were able to deploy.
- Take something to play on the water with. Kayaks, canoes, blow up toys. The lakes are amazing and so relaxing.
- Get up early and beat the crowds. Unless it is raining it is the only way to beat the crowds.
- Pull off at the pullouts and look at the view. You won’t be sorry.
- If all the cars are stopped by the side of the road, grab the binoculars. Chances are you are about to see some pretty cool wildlife.
