Summer is always our favorite time to spend at home. The weather is finally warm, there’s lake life, the 4th of July, birthdays and BBQs. But come September we’re ready to chase the Fall weather across the country. This trip (combined with Banff) was my dream trip. I had planned it several times and it always came out way too expensive. It had turned my focus to Costa Rica and other international destinations that were cheaper. But with our ability to leave the country limited in 2020, I focused on just the US portion. Prices were cheaper than they had been, it seemed like the perfect time.
Covid and the National Parks made planning a bit difficult because this trip I wanted to find places to stay inside the parks proper. They’re much more remote and logistically it can add hours of driving to stay in a city where there are Airbnbs and hotels. Many facilities were still closed (why open just before the end of the season) and seasonal closures were going to start soon. I was hoping going in shoulder season, while chilly, would present less crowds. That wasn’t necessarily the case, but still not the numbers the parks would see in the summer of 2021.
This has hands down been one of my favorite trips. The first week was a rush and exhausting but I don’t think I would have done it any other way. The second week was a slower pace and more relaxed atmosphere. A vacation from the vacation.
The Journey
Our first stop after landing in Salt Lake City was to get our rental car. A hack for saving money on car rentals is to reserve at an off airport location. Not sure I can remember the last time we picked up our car at an airport, actually. Sometimes this involves public transit and sometimes we’ll get a ride share (all factored into the price difference of course). While Salt Lake City has a light rail that will take you from the airport to downtown, covid was still effecting the schedule so we opted for a Lyft. We grabbed the very last rental car they had and thankfully Adam fit.
We headed straight out of town to stay in Pocatello, ID for the night. I picked this area based on our later arrival time and splitting up the drive time to Grand Teton National Park. There was also an abundance of cheap basement Airbnb suites available in this area. Our next night would be spent in a camping cabin and we did not fly with linens and pillows in our carry on. We made a trip to Walmart to grab cheap ones we could leave behind at the end of the trip. Even with that added cost, it was cheaper than staying in Yellowstone 2 nights and logistically better than leaving the park and driving back.
Grand Teton
The first half of the drive in was pretty boring but near the end you start catching glimpses of the Snake River and gaining elevation. I found the valleys and towns in them fascinating. Especially because you could see the growth and migration of wealth from the coast building new homes and home developments.
Our first stop in Grand Teton was at String Lake, Jenny Lake and Leigh Lake. We took a wonderful and scenic hike to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. There are two options to reach this side of Jenny Lake: Hike or pay for a boat ride. This means that there are often many people disembarking from the dock and taking a much shorter hike to the falls and lookout. This was our first run in with large swaths of people. Probably ever. I can’t think of another experience we’ve had in nature with this many people, and it would only get worse. It was PACKED and the slow go to Inspiration Point was miserable. I was so excited to see hikers of all ages and fitness levels getting out there, but it was a narrow one way trail in sections and I was impatient. The view was worth it, but it might be worth going earlier in the morning when others may not be up yet.
We then headed back and decided to continue the full loop around String Lake and, since we were so close, make it just to the water on Leigh Lake. I. Was. Exhausted. We were somewhere very close to our typical 10 mile max. Since we were, as usual, still on eastern time we pulled up to the only food vendor in between meals. Luckily we could still order a pizza. Eating the food in the park with such limited options due to covid was a sore spot for me on this trip. It’s my responsibility with food issue to have things on hand I can eat, but traveling out of a rental car, without a cooler, and in such a remote area made me feel pretty helpless in finding meals that wouldn’t make me feel like complete crap.
We arrived at our camping cabin and got ready for a night of “roughing it”. I think we got some sleep but I just remember shaking and wearing every layer I had brought with me. Windbreaker hood up, hands velcroed shut.
It was 100% worth it.
Yellowstone
We started the day with the sun. The temps had dropped to about freezing that night and we woke up to fog. As we meandered into Yellowstone from the south, all the low vegetation was covered in frost. It was so quiet, peaceful and magical.
The fog mixed with steam and coated the West Thumb Geyser Basin. We fought to maintain footing on an icy board walk (over hot pools no less). This was my first exposure to geothermal activity. I thought entering the park from this direction was perfect. We headed to the main visitor center where Old Faithful resides and where we would be staying later that night. I don’t think I realized how old faithful got its name. Not until I saw a showtime schedule for this natural wonder. They could predict when it was going to erupt! While not 100% accurate, it was pretty close each time. Crowds would gather 15 minutes before the next scheduled show. It was the most people I had seen at once in months and it was definitely a bit strange. We waited on the next explosion of water and then decided on a jam packed afternoon of taking on Lower Geyser Basin, Norris Geyser Basin, Artist Paint Pots, Midway Geyser Basin and finally Upper Geyser Basin.
The volume of thermal activity is overwhelming. I was just amazed at what the earth is capable of. All the concepts you learn in middle school science suddenly feel very real. It’s something you really just have to experience! This section of the park is a lot of boardwalks and getting in and out of the car. It was definitely getting busier as the day wore on, but still plenty of room to walk at our own pace and see the features. No difficult hiking, but we put in some serious mileage walking this area. We also had our first buffalo sighting! He was just ambling down the road blocking traffic before making his way into the river.
We finished the day with some pretty terrible food (options were even worse at Old Faithful than the night before) followed by checking into our cabin that felt LUXURIOUS compared to the night before. It had heat, our own bathroom, blankets. Again worth every penny (but not twice that). AND we were just a parking lot away from Old Faithful. We got to watch the crowds disperse for the day and the last eruption before/at sunset. It was a really special experience.
Day 2 in the park we started early again. We made our way back south to get better views of Yellowstone lake (it’s a lake..) and head up towards Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. I was surprised after the pervious days adventures to find more thermal activity on the way to the canyon. We passed through a lot of fog again that revealed a coyote standing in the road at one point! We were a little more cautious taking to the boardwalks on our own in the fog after that.
At the canyon we started on the south side at Artist Point and worked our way back and then across to the north side. There are so many great viewpoints and I think they are all worth it! Brink of the lower falls trail is a lot of steep switchbacks and was tough in the heat, so take your time. This area was especially busy for us which meant hiking at others’ pace and making sure we were out of the way when we took breaks.
Of course there was no way our day was over yet. My body, however, it was done. All we had left to do was Mammoth Hot Springs. But little did I know there was still so much to see! We cruised down a mountainside with amazing views. How did I get up this mountain? Coming in from the south it felt like we were in the plains or something my midwest head could understand; I had no idea! I do so much research on Google before a trip, but elevation is something that often takes me by surprise.
Mammoth Hot Spring is not one that you swim in (although there is a spot in the river where you CAN do this if not damaged by flooding). It is comprised of these white ledges made of calcium carbonate deposits. Upper Terrace Loop is a great place to drive through the sights and save your legs some miles. We saw lots of moose in this area, even in the hot springs! We then continued north through Gardiner and paradise valley (where Yellowstone is fictionally set) heading to Bozeman.
This time we opted for a very nice Airbnb to recover from more rustic accommodations. I fell in love with this neighborhood. And after watching the craziest storm blow through the backyard, we took a walk to admire all the brand new craftsman style houses. My dream would be to own one of these houses like where we stayed with an apartment over the detached second garage.
Glacier
After another night of blissful warm sleep we had a full day of driving ahead. I found a place in Butte, MT to stop for pasties, where I tried gravy on them for the first time. I’m still partial to ones in Michigan and I’ll take ketchup every day over gravy. After hoping off the interstate in the middle of nowhere it’s a gorgeous drive along Flathead Lake to get to Kalispell, MT. We grabbed groceries on the way in with no intentions of leaving that evening. The view from our airbnb is still a place I dream about. Nestled in the valley with near 360 views of mountain peaks. The peaceful oasis I needed after 5 jam packed days. That’s right it had been only 5 days since we left Michigan and we had driven 864 miles in 4 states.
Our weather in Glacier was not that great. And in the end I think that made the rest of the trip great. We slowed it down and took some time to regroup, which is what I’d hoped when we planned 4 nights in one place. Due to Covid the East side of the park, which is on the Blackfeet Reservation, was closed. While we could drive the entire length of Going to the Sun Road, we couldn’t access St. Marys (which was on my original itinerary) or see any glaciers at Many Glacier. Day one we were still exhausted. It was drizzling. It was foggy. “Let’s just get up early still and go see the park,” I pressed. Going to the Sun road was closed due to visibility. We walked the short boardwalk Trail of the Cedars, deciding against making the trek to Avalanche Lake with the inconsistent weather. Just following the river in the rain turned out to be a lot of fun. I felt guilty when we retired for the day at noon and didn’t venture out again until after dinner to get ice cream and check out the ski town of Whitefish. We end up in a lot of ski town, never with any snow.
Day two in the park brought us less wet weather and some visibility! With the weather forecast looking bleak this was our chance. Going to the Sun road is no joke and we got to do it just as the sun was rising. Pure. Magic. We made our way as far East as we could to check out Lake Mary and test the bear spray our host had graciously left for us. We first hiked 3 miles to a couple waterfalls, then decided we had it in us to do the “million” stairs in the wild wind to the Hidden Lake Overlook. There had been bear sightings near the lake so the full trail down was closed. Even without hiking (which I would encourage too!) the drive is 100% worth it. I can’t wait to go back to explore Many Glaciers and hikes we missed.
Our last day in Montana we choose to take it easy. Staying in and reading, enjoying the views, shopping some Walmart clearance and going to see our second movie post pandemic. Our trip would keep this slower rhythm.
Sawtooth Wilderness
We took our sweet time leaving our valley paradise, stopping to do laundry at the most high tech laundry mat I’d ever seen with all phone activated machines. I left with a couple hours of research done on how to open my own laundry mat. Another thing I learned as we drove through Montana is EVERYTHING is a casino. Getting gas? Casino. Want Subway? Casino. At the Chinese buffet? Casino. I still regret that we never stopped at one.
Once we made it into into Idaho we got to do some of my favorite type of drive; gorge and valley driving. I planned to break things up by stopping half way to our destination in the Sawtooth Wilderness. This led us to a 100 year old cabin on the hosts’ homestead. What a unique place to stay! We watched kittens and bunnies play, walked the property and played with the wood burning stove (and eventually the space heater) as things had still been chilly at night even after leaving Grand Teton.
The next morning we had one of our more memorable travel experiences. We stopped to hike to a natural hot spring! Goldbug Hot Spring is a 3.6 mile out and back hike with 900 ft of elevation most in the last 1/4 mile. Hard work that had us more ready for a cold pool than a hot spring by the time we reached the top. Luckily it was only 50 degrees out, can’t imagine doing this in the heat of summer. Like many hot springs, suits are optional and we weren’t shocked to see people taking advantage of that. We brought our towel and a change of clothes. What amazing views and many different pools and temperatures to choose from. We finished our drive to the hotel in Stanley where I had my heart set on the highly rated burger joint across the street. It was closed. Pizza place: closed. The only spot that seemed to be serving dinner was the Stanley Supper Club. It sounded entirely too fancy for us but it was our only option. Wow did we luck out. It had been almost a year since we had been out for a really good meal. We sat on their beautiful patio and splurged on some of the best food I’ve ever had. Fresh bread with different dips, pasta salad, butternut sage soup, pierogi and an ice cream cookie sandwich. What a surprise and delight in what felt like the middle of nowhere.
The main event came the next morning. We would hike 10 miles into the woods, up 1,800 feet and pass 3 alpine lakes. This is still one of my favorites. Nothing makes steep switchbacks more enjoyable than having new views of an alpine lake at each turn. Now Tuesday, the burger restaurant remained closed, but pizza was open and boy was I impressed again. Great pizza, fantastic cheese bread. How did this tiny town have better food than most? Stanley, ID is a must stop.
Craters of the Moon
Winding our way out of the gorges and valleys, our drive to Twin Falls was incredibly scenic. Always at the top of my list on any trip is the drives we get to make. We got to see an antelope jumping in the fields! You know, like the song “where the deer and the antelope play”. Why did I not think antelope lived in the US?
We made a pit stop to a unique National Monument: Craters of the Moon. It is truly otherworldly. Our original plan during this fall time period, was to use our Southwest Companion Pass to fly to Hawaii. And although that didn’t end up being possible, these lava flows almost made if feel like we made it after all. You can know so many things, like how the theory of plate tectonics and fault lines work, and still not understand how there was a volcano zone in the middle of Idaho. It just feels so unnatural compared to what is experienced every day.
Twin Falls
You know we stopped at that Smiths (Kroger) on the way into our Airbnb just after 4p check in and made a quick dinner and cozied up early to recharge. Our only full day in Twin Falls we visited the two major tourist destinations before noon. Shoshone Falls (frequently referred to as the Niagara of the the west) was impressive, but is not much more than a trickle in the falls. Fortunately I knew that heading in or else I would have been sorely disappointed. You can also hike to see where Evel Knievel attempted to jump the river in 1974.
The other stop was the visitor center and Perrine Coulee Falls and bridge. These are the iconic views of Twin Falls. You can even walk behind the waterfall! Went spent at least half an hour waiting for and watching people base jump off the bridge. Not something I’m itching to try. We kept things chill with our second movie theater of the trip (the sound and picture were TERRIBLE) and some relaxation.
Our last stop before heading out of Twin Falls, and Idaho overall, was the Minidoka National Historic Site. This is the site of one of the 10 US Japanese internment camps during WWII. What a sad and infuriating part of our history. It was a very powerful place to experience and had one of the most beautiful visitor centers we’ve been to.
The Great Salt Lake
We talk about the great salt lake a lot. We have been here exactly 2 times 1 year apart and both times had something happen where we knew we were in this exact spot. With some extra time to kill before checking into our Hyatt outside Salt Lake City, we decided what was a trip to Salt Lake without seeing THE salt lake. There is a $15 fee to enter what is officially called Antelope Island State Park. The only entrance is north of the city in Syracuse. And despite the name, what you see aren’t mostly antelope, they’re BUFFALO! It was really cool to see a few in Yellowstone, but all that searching for them couldn’t compare to the hundreds we saw on this island.
One thing we learned really quickly was that the Great Salt Lake stinks. It’s awful. We took several steps towards the water on the beach and I had to bail back to the car immediately. So we spent most of our time there driving slowly looking for buffalo.
We finished our trip with a stay at the Hyatt Farmington Station Park which was at the time a category 1 (now 2). It is one of the nicest cat 1 locations we’ve stayed at and a great proximity to food, shopping and entertainment.
Final Thoughts
The beginning portion of our trip was jam packed and I remember being stressed and irritated for some of it. Sleeping in the cold without blankets wasn’t ideal and paying a lot of money to eat food that made me sick is never fun. I think overall that section went better than previous trips because I knew how to plan sandwiches I can eat and looked into the options ahead of time, but it still wasn’t optimal.
Experiencing this part of the country first hand has done so much to change how I view many things. Humbled yet again by nature. So sparse, large and beautiful. The elements out there are harsh and there were no shortage of signs in the Idaho valleys letting your know you were stuck in certain areas if it snowed. How did they make money there? Where and how often did they get food or supplies? What about services we take for granted like internet, water, electricity or Amazon Prime? My experience in the suburbs was as different from theirs as it was from someone living in a big city. I think more people should experience our country this way.
Cost Breakdown
15 Days, 14 Nights
Chase Pay Yourself Back was again the big contributor. It erased over half of our Airbnb cost. For a round trip car rental this one was pretty high and one of the biggest costs of the trip but obviously very necessary.
