Brits on Tour Sept 2017

[Scruffygirl]

As we made our way deeper into the park heading towards Cabin Lodge and Cabins within the Canyon Village, we made several stops to admire the Yellowstone Lake and some of the scenic points along the way. We knew that where we were going to be staying was close to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and the Lower Yellowstone Falls but we hadn't realised or anticipated the scale of this place. Its massive and the drive through took far longer than we had expected, which meant it was quite late, (7ish) by the time we arrived at check in. Once all the paperwork was done and check in complete, we emerged from the lodge into total darkness. It was quite a task to locate our cabin which was another considerable drive and we felt very accomplished indeed by the time we found it, and got all the bags in from the car and settled in. We were initially surprised that the room had no TV, no Wifi..........."eek does this mean we have to talk to each other?" but then we relaxed and felt a kind of giddy pleasure at being totally offline and unreachable. The lack of TV wasn't an issue, we both wanted to eat and sleep, so after a quick and easy make do meal in our room, i took a super long soak in the huge bath,while Suzy (my cousin) repacked her case and generally re-organised our stuff ready for an early start the next day.

[glc]

You are seeing bison. There are no buffalo in North America.

What’s the Difference Between Buffalo and Bison?

https://www.britannica.com/demystifi...on-and-buffalo

[Scruffygirl]

Thanks - the link is good made it clear.

[Scruffygirl]

Fri 8th Sept

After a really good nights sleep we were woken around dawn by a herd of wild animals in the cabin next door to ours which was out in the woods away from the main lodge. Once we were fully up and dressed we realised it wasn’t a herd at all but 3 children under 6 whose parents were very apologetic but seemingly unable to prevent the kids from bouncing off the walls of the cabin. Around 7.30am the dad took all 3 of them off for a walk and we shared a coffee on the porch with the mum who was clearly relieved to have a half hour to herself.

We were actually glad of the early wake up call as it meant that for once we were out nice and early and we managed to avoid the crowds when we reached the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone which really was a wonderful sight to behold. We hiked a little down to the foot of the falls and then found our way to Artists Inspiration before getting the car and heading out towards Old Faithful. Lots of Bison sightings en route. Fabulous day which will remain with me forever.

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[Scruffygirl]

That afternoon we headed up the Beartooth Highway stopping in Silvergate Montana for a late lunch and then enjoying the views from the summit before backtracking down to our cabin just before night was falling. This was the first day we had some rainy weather and although we still loved the experience and the scenery we did feel a little disappointed that we didn’t have the lovely blue skies and warm weather that we were beginning to become accustomed too. Rain and wind felt like we were back in London but the hairpin bends reminded us that we were a long way from home. We went to the Canyon Village for our evening meal and enjoyed the buffet style dinner of pasta with meat sauce, salad and a drink for €14 each. The food was good and we enjoyed watching the sunset from the big picture windows in the dining room. We had a second night at the cabin and were in our big comfy beds by 9pm which was a first for me in many years. im a night owl used to wandering off to bed usually around midnight so this was a really refreshing change.

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[Scruffygirl]

Sat 8th Sept

Saturday morning and we were back on the road but only a short trip down to The Grand Tetons and our next cabin in the woods at Coulter Bay. The drive was scenic the entire way although we did experience some heavy traffic leaving Yellowstone which was a first for us on this trip. At one point we were stuck in a queue for almost 30 mins which turned out to be caused by some Bison on the road who were totally unconcerned that we were on a tight schedule. We enjoyed the opportunity to observe them for a longer period and as we had loads of time to get to our next destination we just sat patiently and took shedloads of photo’s.

Prior to planning this trip neither of us had been very aware of the Tetons and so we didn’t have big expectations about the area but wow we were blown away when we realised how beautiful it is. I had read a little about the Mormon settlers and the famous Barn on Mormon Row but wasn’t sure if we would be anywhere near where it’s located - so had it marked down as a maybe. We were delighted with Coulter Bay which is truly a little haven situated beside a lake and our Cabin was again set away from the main camp and in a peaceful wooded area. We settled in and then went for a wander down to Jenny Lake for some pics and to check out the gift shops and restaurants. Tee shirts and magnets safely bought we treated ourselves to a nice late afternoon hike through the woods and then spent some quiet time just sitting on our porch and chatting whilst watching all the little chipmunks running around scavenging for their dinner. That evening we drove down to Jackson Lodge which was about 4 miles away from our lodge and we had a nice meal and a couple of drinks before spending an hour or two just enjoying the ambiance and the wonderful views of the mountains from the rear patio of the lodge. It was perfect, plus I discovered that Mormon Row was very close and I would be able to visit it the next day so that was very pleasing.

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[Southwest Dave]

UK roads are so congested and snarled up with cars that to have the pleasure of an open road, with beautiful scenery and the luxury of time is the most freeing of emotions.

I know that feeling well !!

The drive was scenic the entire way although we did experience some heavy traffic leaving Yellowstone which was a first for us on this trip. At one point we were stuck in a queue for almost 30 mins which turned out to be caused by some Bison on the road who were totally unconcerned that we were on a tight schedule.

This is a frequent occurrence and if you only experienced one 'Wildlife jam' you were quite fortunate, or unfortunate depending on your point of view. ;-)

Enjoying your Tale.

[Scruffygirl]

Sun 10th Sept

We woke reasonably early and enjoyed morning coffee on the porch of our little cabin which was just lovely. The chipmunks were in full swing right by our feet and although we had a lot to do we did take our time just relaxing and enjoying the peace. Then we went for buffet breakfast at John Coulter ranch house which was a little pricey at €18 each but the food was good and plentiful.

We decided to drive the scenic loop around the area as recommended by someone we had met the previous evening at Jackson Lodge and we found Mormon Row which was pretty much deserted so we had ample photo opportunities and even managed to spy a herd of Elk just grazing nearby.

Into the afternoon we drove to Moose where there is an overlook down into a watering hole which is popular for spotting - yeah you guessed it Moose. However although we stayed for about 2 hours we didn’t see any that day. It was lovely and sunny and we met a lot of really nice people who were more than happy to chat with us and share stories of their travels.

We returned to our cabin for a nap. We had been on the go pretty much non stop for the previous 8 days and we felt so calm and relaxed at Coulter Bay that both of us just allowed ourselves to sink into a kind of sleepy dreamy but still walking around state. The cabin was so cosy and welcoming that despite all the beauty around us we were happy to spend time there and didn’t feel we had to rush to squeeze in additional sightseeing. In the evening we left the car parked up and strolled back to the Ranchouse for dinner and a couple of cocktails before bed. I loved walking back home through the woods and keeping an eye out for bears as the rangers had warned us that there had been a few sightings that day. I think we both wanted to see one although I know it would have scared us to bits if we did suddenly find ourselves facing one.


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[Scruffygirl]

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[Scruffygirl]

Mon 11th Sept

Time to move on again and whilst we were reluctant to leave our cosy little home we were feeling happy about the days adventures ahead as we packed up the car and said cheerio to our little chipmunk friends who had become a part of our morning routine. We headed into Jackson which was a short drive comparatively.

In Jackson we bumped into a few of the people we had first met back in Yellowstone and we whiled away our day just shopping and wandering around this lovely town. Ideally we would have liked to ride up the free ski gondola and get the view from the top but on that particular day it wasn’t running (maintenance) so we settled for retail therapy and walked our shoes to the bone trying to ensure we visited pretty much every store. It’s a great place to visit with a lovely atmosphere and plenty of bars and restaurants to choose from. A lot of the stores were way out of our price league but we enjoyed looking all the same.

En route we had stopped to see the Two Ocean Lake within Grand Teton National Park which is gorgeous and although we didn’t hike the entire trail we were feeling pretty exhausted by the time we finished our days walking. We had our evening meal in the million dollar cowboy bar which was packed and we felt glad of the chance to be able to sit and relax and just enjoy the surroundings.

Despite being really busy we were served quickly and didn’t feel under any pressure to vacate the table. The staff were lovely and friendly and the decor was interesting to say the least. The bar stools were make believe saddles and a few authentic looking cowboys were perched on them. As an added bonus we finally found our Moose although sadly he wasn’t entirely wild.

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