Top Takeaways - #9

Alex and I spent the last week or so in Mountain Time exploring Denver, the Rockies and Wyoming. The change of scenery has been amazing; here are some of our top takeaways.

Posing in front of the beautiful Phelps Lake in Grand Teton National Park.

1. Scenery and weather really impact driving conditions. Since we started on the east coast we have seen fields, mountains and forests as well as rain, clouds, fog and sunshine - each of which really changes the way we feel about driving for many hours at a time. Downpours are the worst and mountains are the best.

2. Advance planning for restrooms is a smart idea. Looking for a place to stop in the middle of nowhere Kansas or Wyoming without cell service is no fun for anyone. That said…

3. Google Maps still works if you lose cell service (if the route was activated when you had service). A critical discovery while driving through unknown (and non-Verizon covered) territory!

4. AirBNB is wonderful and also terrible. We successfully used the website to book a stay in Jackson Hole with a lovely woman named Teri and everything worked out perfectly. However we simultaneously tried to book New Year’s Eve accommodations in Sydney with much poorer results: listings did not state minimum stays or special rates and owners often rejected our booking requests without any reason whatsoever. Not ideal when trying to book something ASAP.

5. Speaking of Sydney, it's really hard to book affordable accommodations for New Year's Eve! If you ever go during the holidays, book way in advance!

6. In addition to booking a hotel in Sydney on New Year’s, we spent a few hours sorting out the visas we will need now that our Around-the-World Ticket is officially booked. What. A. Pain. Thankfully we can get a few while we’re abroad, but it turned out to be a lot to coordinate!

7. Ski slopes are beautiful in the summer / fall season too. In both Colorado and Wyoming we had spectacular views of the mountains that are typically snow-covered during ski season.

8. Books on tape are a great way to kill time during long, boring drives, but you really can't multitask! Any time I turned to check my phone or look out the window to snap a picture I lost track of the story!

9. Grizzly bears can ruin your day...seriously. The road we wanted to take in Grand Teton National Park was actually closed due to a roaming grizzly bear that "dislikes crowds."

10. The Avalon can officially handle “4x4 Only” roads, at least according to the National Park Service’s definition of “4x4 Only.” It wasn’t the most relaxing part of our drive through Rocky Mountain or Grand Tenon National Parks but we made it!

Peak: Hiking around Phelps Lake at Grand Teton

Pit: Missing part of a beautiful day in Denver to coordinate future travel (annoying but necessary!)

Next Stop: San Francisco, CA

Salt Lake City

Miles: 310

Route: Island Park, ID - Salt Lake City, UT

As Alex and I planned our trip, we were excited to make a familiar West Coast stop: In-N-Out Burger. We expected to enjoy this meal once we arrived in California so we were thrilled when we realized there were a ton of locations throughout Utah (perhaps the religious connection has something to do with it?). After a quick and easy drive from Idaho we had a delicious (and cheap!) lunch that was just as good as we remembered.

Obligatory shot of our animal-style double-double burgers. For my own health I am somewhat happy we don't have access to this everywhere we go.

Once we arrived in Salt Lake City (SLC as it was referenced everywhere we went) we headed to Big Cottonwood Canyon to check out the mountains and ski resort views. We had a beautiful day and enjoyed taking in the fall scenery.

First look of Big Cottonwood Canyon.

More beautiful fall views.

Looking out into the Wasatch National Forest.

After driving through the Wasatch National Forest and exploring some of Utah's famous ski resorts - still beautiful without the snow - we decided to take a hike to continue enjoying the nice weather.

We headed to Millcreek Canyon to take the Desolation Trail to an overlook of the entire city.

You can barely tell, but behind me is Salt Lake City!

The hike was hard but the views of downtown Salt Lake City were worth it.

What we had planned as a leisurely afternoon hike was actually a tough uphill trek - two miles each way - so we were pretty tired afterward.

Since we only had the day, we headed to SLC's famous Temple Square to walk around for a bit before sundown. The entire area is exceptionally well manicured: clean pathways, lush lawns, bright flowers and impressive buildings. As we checked out some of the historical signage, we were aware of a number of conservatively clad women walking around the square. Upon closer inspection we realized these women were all "sisters" of the Mormon faith and were looking to provide advice to tourists (Alex is sure they were also trying to convert everyone though).

Assembly Hall at Temple Square.

Salt Lake Temple at Temple Square.

"Sisters" walking in the square.

Next, we grabbed a drink nearby to cool off and rest a bit after a day of intense hiking / walking. To our surprise, it was pretty easy to find a number of bars in the area, and we had no problem locating beer of standard strength (vs. the lower alcohol content type we had heard about).

Feeling a little tired, we opted to grab takeout on the way to our hotel for the night. Luckily, Oh Mai was located very close to our hotel so we stopped there to pick up dinner. The Vietnamese restaurant was featured on the Food Network and deserves every accolade! For $20 we got two banh mi sandwhiches, a noodle entrée and a thai iced tea. We had more than enough for dinner and every bite was full of flavor. Definitely make it a point to stop here if you are ever in SLC!

The Salt Lake Temple at night.

SLC definitely has a different feel as compared to some of the other large cities we have been to but we really enjoyed our brief time here.

Yellowstone

Miles: 215

Route: Jackson Hole, WY - Yellowstone National Park - Island Park, ID

I woke up inexplicably at 5:30am on Wednesday morning so Alex and I got a pretty early start on our drive to Yellowstone. At 7:01am we were the first customers at Jackson Whole so we quickly grabbed some coffee and sandwiches to go before heading out of town.

The drive to Yellowstone National Park from Jackson Hole is beautiful, winding past the Teton Mountains and through Grand Teton National Park, and Alex and I couldn’t help but stop numerous times along the way to take in the views.

Such a nice drive through the mountains.

View of Grand Teton in the morning sun.

Another stop to check out Grand Teton.

Morning sun reflecting off of the mountains.

Since there were so few other visitors at the early hour I had a hard time finding someone to take our picture. The first man I asked - using my patented method of offering to take his picture first so that he would then offer to take ours - actually responded “No thanks, trying to stay out of trouble today.” Huh? Feeling rejected and confused we finally found someone else - no negotiation required - after a massive bus filled with tourists stopped alongside us.

Posing with my mountain man.

After a very leisurely drive to the park entrance we were informed by a brusque ranger that the normal road to Old Faithful (15 miles, 30 minutes) was closed so we would have to drive around the entire park (79 miles, 3 hours) instead if we wanted to reach the famous geyser. Thankful that we had a full day to explore, we resigned ourselves to the fact that we would be doing more driving than hiking in order to experience Yellowstone.

Our first stop in the park was an overlook next to Yellowstone Lake, which was extremely serene and quiet, except for a few ducks searching for the warmest water.

Our first view of Yellowstone Lake.

Crystal clear water and skies.

We then headed to the West Thumb Geyser Basin where we got to walk around an “active geothermal area” and check out turquoise pools and underground geysers. There were numerous signs instructing visitors to stay on marked paths given the extreme heat of the boiling lava just beneath the earth’s surface, which made us a little nervous!

While we walked around the steaming springs we both had two observations about Yellowstone: 1. Geysers are definitely the primary attraction and 2. The park is geared toward mass tourism. Every "attraction" was very accessible (mostly by car) and almost all paths were paved - a very different feel from the more outdoors-y parks we have been exploring over the last few days.

Looking out onto the West Thumb Geyser Basin.

Hot steam rising from the geysers.

Pretty colorful pools..

On our way to see the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone we stopped at a more secluded spot to check out the lake again. It was pretty peaceful and also nice to briefly escape the hustle of all the other tourists buzzing about.

Another view of Yellowstone Lake.

Standing in front of Yellowstone Lake.

We drove to the vista along the Canyon and hoped for some nice paths we could hike to better explore the area; unfortunately, in keeping with the theme of making the park accessible to all tourists, the “hiking paths” were also almost entirely flat and paved. While the trails weren’t exactly what we expected, the views were still pretty great.

Looking down at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

I took this shot of Alex after I slipped trying to walk toward the overlook and decided I'd just stay put.

Another view of the canyon. We could actually see across to the opposite rim where other tourists were.

After checking out the Canyon we were off to Old Faithful. Alex had mentioned that the geyser erupts approximately every 90 minutes so I expected to wait (along with the massive crowd) for a while before seeing the “money shot.” The park actually advertises the next eruption time, accurate within 10 minutes, and luckily we were there just in time! We only had to wait about five minutes before experiencing the main event.

A lot of iPads also captured this shot - we were surrounded by other tourists!

While seeing Old Faithful was pretty cool, there isn’t much else to see once the geyser stops shooting water into the sky. We walked a bit off the beaten path to eat our packed lunch and then headed to our last stop within the park: Mid-Basin Geyser.

We thought this was one of the more beautiful parts of the park - so many different colors!

After a long day of driving around the park we were ready to head to our hotel for the evening - but not before being interrupted by a massive bison!

We wondered why cars were pulled over...until we saw the huge bison right next to the road!

We made our way to Island Park, ID - home for the night - and settled in to our rustic wood cabin. We hadn't realized how remote the hotel location was but it was a 15 mile drive to the closest restaurant! We ended up going to Trouthunter, a lodge / store / restaurant. The food was pretty good but the real attraction was the sunset view from the deck.

Sunset over Henry's Fork on the Snake River.

Another sunset shot.

After dinner we made it back to catch the season premier of Law & Order: SVU, which was the perfect way to end the day (at least for me!). Tomorrow we have a pretty manageable drive to Salt Lake City so hopefully we have some time to explore!

Jackson Hole

Miles: 470

Route: Grand Lake, CO - Jackson Hole, WY

After a restful night in our hunting lodge of a hotel, Sarah and I got up early to go to the gym before a full day of driving to Jackson Hole. Unfortunately, like pretty much everything in the very small town of Grand Lake, CO, the gym did not open before 9am. So we got an even earlier start than we expected!

Our first stop on Monday morning was Grand Lake’s namesake: since it was getting dark when we got in on Sunday we wanted to actually see the lake before leaving town. We were glad we took the time for this brief detour - the lake was very quiet and calm, a great way to kick off a long day of driving.

Sarah’s take-away from this picture: “Look at those boat garages!”

We spent the rest of the day driving to Jackson Hole. The scenery was beautiful - my favorite drive by far! - but the weather was unpredictable. We drove through three different thunderstorms with heavy rain, but after we passed through each we were greeted with sunny skies and beautiful open plains.

We passed over the Continental Divide a couple times but it was never as well marked as it was here.

The first third and last third of the drive yesterday were on roads like this - a welcome change from the monotonous interstate through Kansas.

Hard to complain about driving through countryside like this.

We were almost to Jackson but we had to stop at a pull-off to take in this view.

Despite the beautiful scenery on the drive, we were ready to get out of the car by the time we arrived at 5:30pm. We booked a room through AirBNB and our host, Teri, was waiting to greet us at her house. She gave us some good recommendations and we headed to downtown Jackson to explore. It’s a very charming, small mountain town that has a bunch of local restaurants, bars, shops, etc. We grabbed a local beer at the Snake River Brewery then walked over to MacPhails for a burger - the prefect end to the day.

This morning we started the day with coffee and a pastry at Persephone then grabbed a few sandwiches for lunch later at Jackson Whole, which is modeled exactly after Whole Foods (so much so that I’m half convinced there is an official affiliation...).

With our lunches packed we drove about half an hour outside Jackson to Teton Village, where the Jackson Hole Tram is based. This massive tram can take 600 visitors (and skiers during the season) an hour to the top of Rendezvous Mountain. Our plan was to do the tram in the morning then explore Grand Teton National Park in the afternoon, but the top of the mountain was still covered in clouds when we arrived at 10am - so we decided to switch up the plan.

On the road to Grand Teton National Park.

Fall is in full swing in Jackson!

When we arrived at the Grand Teton National Park entrance we were told we couldn’t drive more than four miles into the park on our road because a large section is closed due to a roaming Grizzly Bear that “doesn’t like crowds.” Didn’t matter to us since the trail we wanted to hike was still accessible, but it put us a little on edge about running into this Grizzly or some of his relatives. Fortunately we had no bear sightings on our hike - just beautiful views.

Trail up to Phelps Lake.

Phelps Lake overlook. Definitely worth the uphill hike!

After eating lunch at the overlook, we walked over to Death Canyon. All of the canyon walls were formed with jagged rock like this - easy to see how it got its name.

Another view of the lake on our way back.

Looking down the other side of the mountain. No lake view, but still gorgeous!

With the clouds clear, we drove back to the Tram and took a ride to the "Top of the World." The views from the top were breathtaking - very glad we waited for the clouds to clear!

Grand Teton National Park.

Cheesin' at the Top of the World.

Looking back toward Jackson.

After taking the tram down we headed back to Snake River Brewing for dinner - Sarah did some research and found out that in addition to making award-winning beer, they also make award-winning chili. We had a hearty dinner then came home to Teri’s house to get some rest. Tomorrow we’re getting up super early to get in as much time at Yellowstone as possible. Fingers crossed for good weather!

Rocky Mountain High

Miles: 115

Route: Denver, CO - Boulder, CO - Rocky Mountain National Park - Grand Lake, CO

Sarah and I spent the last two days exploring the area northwest of Denver - first Boulder, then Rocky Mountain National Park. Denver was a great stop along our journey but we were excited to get outside and see the beautiful mountains that Colorado is famous for!

We arrived in Boulder around 10am - it's not far at all from Denver - but the drive took us a bit longer than expected because there was a CU football game that afternoon and fans were already flooding the city. We even had guards at our hotel to make sure we had a reservation because so many fans had tried to park illegally! We checked in quickly and headed over to Boulder Mountain Park for a hike. The park was beautiful but more crowded than I expected, though this is the locals' version of Central Park so I suppose I shouldn't have been that surprised!

Setting off on the hike - couldn't have asked for better weather!

On our way up what turned out to be the most popular trail.

Looking down on campus (the red roofed buildings).

View from the top of the trail. It required a bit of on-all-fours climbing to get up here so Sarah decided to pass. I still think it was worth it for the view!

After our hike we headed into town to grab a bite at Fall Fest 2014 - a street fair featuring local artists, brewers and chefs. We ate a delicious meal and tried some local beers then headed back to our hotel for some rest in anticipation of a long day today...

We work up early this morning to drive up to Estes Park, the town outside the main entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park. The drive was traffic-free and very picturesque - so we got pretty excited for our hike!

Stopped (along with every other tourist!) to get our picture on the way into town.

We stopped at a grocery store in "town" - if you can even call it a town - then headed to the park's visitor center to map out a hike with one of the very friendly, very helpful Rangers. We drove about half an hour into the park and left the car at Bear Lake, then headed out for a 7-mile hike. The weather started off very clear, but as the day went on clouds rolled in and there was an occasional (light) shower. Regardless, we still loved the hike and have some great pictures to show for it!

First stop for water about half a mile in: Nymph Lake.

After a while longer we stopped to eat lunch on a huge rock that had a great view of the mountains.

The clouds started to roll in as we got to Dream Lake but the views were still great!

The trail was almost deserted so we were happy to find a nice couple to take our picture at this overlook.

Though the leaves on the East Coast haven't started to turn yet, autumn colors are abundant out here.

We finished the hike by late-afternoon and began the drive to Grand Lake, CO, where our hotel for the night is located. On our way, though, we were treated to several more fantastic views of the park and even an Elk!

Apparently it's mating season because the males were "bugling" to nearby females.

Almost out of the park, but we had to pull over to look at the view! 

At the top of the last mountain we drove over the clouds parted and we had a rainbow (briefly)!

Our hotel tonight in Grand Lake is more like a hunting lodge - there are taxidermied animals EVERYWHERE - but we're both so tired it doesn't matter. Tomorrow we have a full day of driving to Jackson Hole, WY but I expect the scenery will be a little nicer than our last full day of driving (Kansas City - Denver).