We set out at about a little after 5am Thursday on our 4 hour and 40 min drive to Jackson (*cough more like 5-6 hours cough*). After taking a wrong turn just before Cokeville and turning about and getting back on track we started our drive through Bridger Nation forest. Beautiful place with the surprise that cattle and sheep graze freely through it and across the open highway that cuts through it. Also many great views of the mighty Snake river.
After we got to Jackson and checked into our room we rested up for a couple hours took potty breaks and had lunch then set out for Teton.
Driving through Grand Teton National Park we saw beautiful colors of Fall hanging from the trees, along the road old park signs from the 40s-50s warning us the animals crossed and that we needed to keep speeds slow. Since we wanted to enter the park through the South end we had to go up through Teton. Entering Yellowstone Park proper we where greeted by towering tree lined roads that soon gave way to sweeping views that dropped from the side of the road into a river more then 300 plus feet below (insert a very freaked out up ah inspired me). After awhile on the driver's side we came upon the largest lake we had seen! Lewis Lake is a monster of a lake, a deep and wondrous blue..... well that is NOTHING! to Yellowstone Lake (yeah lake lol). After passing through some road work we made it to Old Faithful. Unlucy for us we did not get to see it go off -_-... time and sunshine was running out o us so we pushed on to some of the other geysers in the Upper and Middle basin. After stopping for some more photos we piled back in and set off again.
While laughing and talking I just barely noticed us passing the first animal we had seen (ok I lied we had a female mule deer dart past us on the road but...). There on the side of the road in a field was a BUFFALO!!!
After many ooohs and aaahs we jumped back in and went on. After a little more we came upon a whole ton of cars pulled off and gawking at many elk grazing and drinking in a river. We pulled off and join in snapping some pics. After getting back in and pulling off in the "pull off" we took some more elk pics and then continued on up the road. As the sun was failing we came upon the most awesome sight yet. Two HUGH BUFFALO where walking along the passenger side of the road. We where going so fast that we had to double back. As we passed them the second time I had John slow down almost to a stop and with my flash got some up close and personal pics of these MASSIVE beautiful animals! (my fav pics of the whole trip ^_^). lol when the flash went off on the second one the buffalo looked over and started walking our way! Eeek this big guy was within arms length already O.O! I told John to gun it lol. The BEST WAY to end a Yellowstone visit all be it a short one (well several hours but felt short lol I guess things always do when you are doing things like this).
After a few hour drive through Idaho back to Jackson we crashed in our room and slept hard for 7 hours. (got there at 11pm-ish and got to bed around 12:30am-1am and woke up at 8:15am)
After showering and getting ready we cleaned up the room and checked out and was on our way back home by 9:45-10:30am. On the way back we passed through Afton and stopped for a bit of lunch and to let the kids look around. We also passed through a very small town called "Smoot" with a population of only 100! I kids you not... that was less then any town we passed through in Idaho last year.
At some point we took a new turn that diverged from the way we took to get to Jackson in the first place and ended up passing Bear Lake and and through Cache Forest and some much more!
So onto the pics! (..that are for some reason out of order :/)
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