National Parks, Here we come!

Once again we are on the road again to visit our nation's National Parks.  This time we are visiting three of our favorite parks, Glacier, the Grand Tetons and my all-time favorite, Yellowstone.   The first time we visited Yellowstone, I fell in love with the bizarre geothermal features, the diversity of the landscapes and the wildlife.  We visited there two years ago, but this time I will have my monster lens, so all the wildlife will look much closer.  I can hardly wait to try it out! 

We start our trip flying into Jackson Hole and then immediately drive for a couple days to Kalispell to pick up our Florida friends, Connie and Bill Wagner.  We decided to take the scenic route, driving through both the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone for a quick glance of things to come. 

We started the first morning out, driving through the National Elk Refuge, just outside of Jackson, WY.  While we saw loads of ground squirrels, we did see a single elk.  However, on the highway side of the refuge we spotted a pair of Trumpeter Swans with 3 chicks, known as cynets,  swimming in the wetlands just outside of town.  Once on the endangered species list, the Trumpeter Swans have made a comeback and can be seen numerous places throughout Wyoming and Montana.  This is the first time I have seen them outside of Alaska. 

We took a little side trip in the Tetons to look for moose at the Jackson Lake Lodge.  I love the view from the windows and patio of the lodge.  I was disappointed to see that there was a haze over the valley and the Tetons themselves were shrouded in a haze.  Smoke from the Washington State fires had drifted over the Tetons.  We arrived too late in the morning to see any moose, they were sleeping amongst the willows in the acres between the lodge and the lake.  On our return trip we need to stop by at dusk to check them out.  However, I still found a photo moment to document our trip.

Next stop, Old Faithful Inn.  How great is this that we can just drop by for lunch, and at the same time take in an Old Faithful eruption too! 

Old Faithful is the flagship geyser of the park, a magnificent geyser and reliable as it can be counted on to erupt every 60 to 110 minutes.  Old Faithful eruptions are between 105 and 184 feet high.  Watching the crowds gather for the eruptions, it reminds me of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”!  Every 60 minutes there are tons of people sitting around the geyser waiting for it to blow.

Old Faithful erupting

Next stop, Butte, Montana.  The countryside on the way to Butte was nice.  Butte itself is a large town for the area, comparatively speaking.  We arrived on Sunday night and the place seemed devoid of people,  We found a place for dinner and then tomorrow we will do it all again on our way to Kalispell, Montana.