3-Week National Park Tour (w/ pics)

[MPMB]

Hard to believe the Colorado pics and Utah pics were taken just a few hours drive away from each other. And the temperature difference was 40 degrees between them.

Next stop -> Grand Tetons NP. Cell reception will probably be spotty at best.

Yup. Gotta be in town for reception. Same for Yellowstone.

Make sure you visit Mormon Row & the Moulton Barn(s).

In Yellowstone, travel the northern part (Lamar Valley in the NE part, Madison Valley in W part) at dusk. It makes for more difficult pictures, but you'll see more active animals. I have a great shot (imo) of elk at dawn in Madison Valley.

Always keep your eyes peeled.

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[Alans17]

Yup. Gotta be in town for reception. Same for Yellowstone.

Make sure you visit Mormon Row & the Moulton Barn(s).

In Yellowstone, travel the northern part (Lamar Valley in the NE part, Madison Valley in W part) at dusk. It makes for more difficult pictures, but you'll see more active animals. I have a great shot (imo) of elk at dawn in Madison Valley.

Always keep your eyes peeled.

We’ve actually hired a photographer for a family portrait sessions in Grand Tetons. I believe Moulton barn is on the site list.

BTW, beautiful eagle. What equipment did you use?

 

[MPMB]

We’ve actually hired a photographer for a family portrait sessions in Grand Tetons. I believe Moulton barn is on the site list.

BTW, beautiful eagle. What equipment did you use?

Canon SL1 w/ rented 100-400mm f/4L. I was messing around putting the smallest DSLR on the biggest lens.

This pic was from 2017. Days later we were back in Jackson for the eclipse. So glad I changed our vacation plans for the eclipse.

 

[awraynor]

So we’re one week into a national park tour and general outdoors vacation, starting from Texas and looking like this:

New Mexico:
Hyatt Regency Tamaya (Albuquerque)

Colorado:
Mesa Verde National Park
Imogene Pass (Ouray)

Utah:
Arches National Park
Fins and Things (Moab)

Wyoming:
Grand Tetons National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Wild mustang tour (Cody)

South Dakota:
Mount Rushmore
Black Hills
Badlands National Park

Pics to follow

Surely watching this thread and thanks for making it. We're taking 3 weeks next year and starting in S.C. Looking to go through Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, ? Banff, back through the Dakotas and to home. Also trying to convince my Wife the Gladiator would be so fun versus her more plush Pilot.

 

[gouacats]

Great trip! We’re pulling our camper up to the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone and Glacier next week. Also…thanks for sharing how you did on Fins and Things. I was wondering how much I would drag.

 

[LJ_Viking]

Great photos! I used to live in Rapid. Be sure to take a trip through a cave or two, drive through Bear County ( I can't! I got a 2020 Gobi Soft top!), drive needles highway, Custer State Park, Spearfish Canyon....and I could go on. Miss that place!!

 

[Alans17]

So this just happened…

 

[KHam]

Thanks! This is our first big family road trip (and first trip of any kind since COVID started), but we’ve been documenting our family travels for many years. Our favorite souvenirs are photos and stories. We try to impress it on our kids as much as we can.

Oh I'm quite familiar with it. As a photographer (when I'm not an engineer) I photograph a lot of places and keep notes, mostly for myself though. Since you're going to the Badlands of South Dakota, I'll leave you with one of my shots from the last time I was there. Get there early or late, and you can get some nice skies, and the wild sheep are out in the evenings on the ridges a lot.

 

[Tanners Owner]

great trip; recommend hitting Custer State Park (especially the "Needles" area) when in SD- right next to Rushmore. Also Wind cave and Jewel Caves are cool- both temp and visually.

Had I seen this earlier- would also have recommended seeing Canyon Lands when in Moab- beautiful vistas

Enjoy Going to the Sun road when at Glacier- recommend Many Glacier area if only there for a short time- best hikes IMHO.

 

[Alans17]

This is our last night at Grand Teton and we head to Yellowstone tomorrow. GPS says it’s just an hour from campsite to campsite. It’ll take us longer to tear down and set back up than it will to actually travel. We didn’t see as much wildlife as we’d hoped - just bison and elk. But we’re hoping for moose and bears at Yellowstone. But the views were awesome!

We only had a half day yesterday, but spent it driving the loop inside the park. That’s when we encountered the bison. The king of trampled the fence and walked right up to the road. I was closer to them than I should have been, but shielded myself with another vehicle. My wife was half-heartedly chased back to the truck by a bison that wanted more space.

Day 2 started taking the boat across Jenny Lake where we saw Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. I warned my wife and daughter they’d be hot in sweatpants, but they said they were cold when they first woke up and I couldn’t convince them out of it. They believed me somewhere around 11 am as we were hiking. Living and learning. We spent the evening crisscrossing the park, fruitlessly looking for wildlife.

 

[Alans17]

Surely watching this thread and thanks for making it. We're taking 3 weeks next year and starting in S.C. Looking to go through Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, ? Banff, back through the Dakotas and to home. Also trying to convince my Wife the Gladiator would be so fun versus her more plush Pilot.

That sounds like an awesome trip! We’ve discovered that while your totally traverse the parks in just about any vehicle, some roads are rougher and require something a it more geared to the job. These are typically optional roads, buts it’s nice to have options.

 

[Alans17]

great trip; recommend hitting Custer State Park (especially the "Needles" area) when in SD- right next to Rushmore. Also Wind cave and Jewel Caves are cool- both temp and visually.

Had I seen this earlier- would also have recommended seeing Canyon Lands when in Moab- beautiful vistas

Enjoy Going to the Sun road when at Glacier- recommend Many Glacier area if only there for a short time- best hikes IMHO.

Canyonlands was part of our original itinerary but we ran out of time. The afternoons get so hot so it reduced the number of usable hours we had each day. But Arches was amazing.

We’re still sorting out the SD itinerary. I’ll research Custer. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Alans17]

Great trip! We’re pulling our camper up to the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone and Glacier next week. Also…thanks for sharing how you did on Fins and Things. I was wondering how much I would drag.

My wife was asking if we could try a camper some time. My dad keeps talking about maybe getting an Airstream so I’m trying to nudge him into it so we can borrow it.

 

[DankjeeP]

My wife was asking if we could try a camper some time. My dad keeps talking about maybe getting an Airstream so I’m trying to nudge him into it so we can borrow it.

Awesome trip, following. We are planning ~2wks in Oct to Utah doing the "mighty 5" with Moab and Kanab mixed in. Initial plans were a TT but but things change, so will be doing AirBnB mostly. Your pics are great, thanks for sharing.

 

[MPMB]

After going to Jackson/Grand Tetons a dozen times, wildlife is pretty lacking in the summer. Moose are hiding and I've never seen a bear in GT. We camped at Jenny Lake once where the ranger ran through the campground saying a mama with cubs is nearby, but we never saw them.

Yellowstone is more friendly for wildlife. Bear, wolf, elk, eagle, heron, deer, and of course bison. I don't think I've seen bighorn sheep there.

We have much more luck seeing wildlife in the afternoon/dusk hours. Sucks for pictures (too dark unless you have an f/1.8). I've seen a bear foraging in Lamar Valley and one protecting its food in Hayden Valley.

One night we went out to get shots of the Milky Way and found a few elk hiding in the grass in Madison Valley.

Crowds to see Old Faithful are big, so show up early to get a close viewing. If it's windy, find a spot downwind of the geyser.

Avoid the "towns" of Yellowstone unless you have to use a decent bathroom or need to buy something (best souvenir shops are at Old Faithful and Grant Villlage; most have the exact same stuff).

There's usually an osprey nest or two you can see.

I forgot about the Blacktail Plateau Road - take it. Go slow and quiet and you'll probably have a good chance of wildlife spotting.

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