Grinnell Glacier

 

Grinnell Glacier Trail is located within Glacier National Park in Montana. It is located at the West side of Glacier National Park. The trail to Grinnell Glacier is about 11 miles round trip with come elevation gains. It is also one of the most popular hiking trail in the area and the parking area gets full very quickly even at 7AM in the morning. This trail is also known to have a lot of bear sightings, thus hiker need to be extra cautious when hiking this trail.

We got to Grinnell Glacier Trail head by 7AM and the parking lot was already full. We had to park the car on the side of the road and there was a ranger arranging the cars. We were surprised by how early people get here.

The first part of the trail goes through thick woods and we were quite nervous. We could see berry bushes along the side of the trail and there were thick vegetation on the side. It was a place where bear could show up at any time. We were paying attention to our surrounding and had our bear spray ready. Luckily nothing happened and we moved forward. As we got to Lake Josephine, there was a boat docking there. Lake Josephine was beautiful in early morning. The lake surface was so calm. We stayed there for a bit just to enjoy the moment.

The trail then started to climb a bit at the top of the hill. We could see the lake beneath us and we also caught up to many groups of hikers. This made us more relaxed since we were in a larger pack of people.

Although the weather was hazy, we could still see the beautiful mountains along the trail. We also saw Grinnell Lake beneath us with beautiful emerald color. We really loved it. Then the trail moved forward and there was a stream of water flowing cross the rocky trail. The rocks were soaked by water and the trail was very slippery. This was the part where every hiker needs to be very cautious and make sure not to slip. There were hikers even taking a bath here to cool down the body temperature.

The last part of the trail was climbing on man made rocky stairs. This was the worst part. We hated walking on these stairs because each step was quite high. After about 0.4 miles of walking on the stairs we finally made it to Grinnell Glacier. There were large chunks of ice in the lake and the color of the lake was beautiful emerald color. The area around the glacier was quite cold. We could feel the cold breeze blowing across the glacier. Although the day was hot, it was still cold there.

As we drove back, we saw a big grizzly bear just on the side of the road. It was using its paws to collect the berries from the bush and put it in its mouth. It was our first time seeing a real grizzly bear and we were quite excited.

Overall, Grinnelle Glacier Trail is an amazing trail. It has great scenery and a path to be right by the real glacier. The glacier is shrinking however, but we could still see its beautiful landscape.

Wyoming Road Trip

 

Wyoming is known to have beautiful scenarios and full of wildlife roaming around. Both Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park are located in the state of Wyoming. Both national parks are known to be popular wildlife viewing place for people to spot bisons, wolves, and even bears. People often fly to Jackson Hole airport since that is the closest airport to these national parks. However, we decided to do a road trip to Wyoming from Portland.

The drive time from Portland to Wyoming is about 13 hours. It is quite a drive but we did this in a single day. We left Portland early in the morning around 5AM. When we got to Idaho, it was around noon. We decided to have brunch at Griddle and we really enjoyed the food there. Once we were recharged, we drove 6 more hours to Yellowstone National Park.

We went to bed early when we got to Old Faithful Inn since it was a long drive. On the second day morning, we went to Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. After that, we went to Hayden Valley to check out wildlife. Then we went to Mud Volcano and West Thumb Geyser Basin to check out various thermal features. In the afternoon, we watched the eruption at Old Faithful. Then we walked around Upper Geyser Basin area to check out each individual unique geyser. In the late afternoon, we went to Grand Prismatic Spring to check out this largest hot spring in the world.

On the third day, we went to Lamar Valley to check out wildlife. Then we drove even further to Beartooth Highway which is said to be the most beautiful highway in United States.

On the fourthly, we went to Mammoth Hot Spring in the early morning. After that, we went to Norris Geyser Basin to checkout the largest Steamboat Geyser. Then we went to Artist Paintpot to check out the mud jumping thermal feature.

On day five, we went to Black Sand Basin to check out the super clear Sapphire Pool. Then we went to Fountain Paintpot which has similar feature as Artist Paintpot.

On day six, we went to Grand Teton National Park. We first rented a bike there a biked to Jenny Lake. When we returned the bike, we had lunch at Dornans Chuckwagon Grill while enjoying the view of Grand Teton mountain range.

On day seven, we enjoyed the sunrise at Schwabacher Landing. Then we did a 7.5 miles loop hike around Jenny Lake. In the afternoon, we went to Oxbow Bend to see the sunset.

On day eight, we drove 4 hours to Kemmerer to do fossil digging at American Fossils Quarry. It was an amazing experience. When we drove back, we had dinner at Jackson Drug Co.

On day nine, we decided to do more hikes to enjoy the nature. We first went to Taggart Lake, and then continued down the trail to Bradley Lake. Since it was still early in the day, we went further to Amphitheater Lake. It was a great experience and we enjoyed every minute of it.

On day ten, we made our way back to Portland. Although the drive was long, but we really liked this road trip. We saw many things that we have never seen before. We would definitely do it again.

Grand Teton National Park

 

Grand Teton National Park is located in the state of Wyoming. It is just south of Yellowstone National Park. Compared to Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park is less well known and not as popular. However, although it may not be as well known, it still attracted lots of visitors every year. Its famous Grand Teton mountain range is still a beautiful sight to see for everyone. All the alpine lakes are perfect places for people to relax and enjoy.

We drove to Grand Teton National Park after visiting Yellowstone National Park. It was just about 1.5 hours south of Yellowstone National Park. The drive from Yellowstone National Park to Grand Teton National Park was quite scenic, especially  when driving by Jackson Lake. The Grand Teton mountain range and the lake was just perfect in a picture frame.

We first drove to Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center down at the South first. While we were on the way there, there was a lot of bisons on the road side. The visitor center was quite large with a lot of information. We decided to rent bikes at Dornans and do some biking.

There is a dedicated biking trail from Dornans to Jenny Lake, and that was where we went. When we got to Jenny Lake after about 40 minutes of biking, there was so many people. Jenny Lake also has a visitor center there with a lot of information for visitors. The lake was beautiful. We did some walk around the lake and enjoyed the time there. When we got back to Dornans to return the bike, we had lunch at Dornans Chuckwagon Grill.

In the later afternoon, we checked in to Jackson Lake Lodge. From the patio of Jackson Lake Lodge, we could see Grand Teton mountain. It was a great place to enjoy this view at sunset. We also got some milkshake from the cafeteria and just sat there to enjoy our relaxing time.

On the second day early morning, we went to Schwabacher Landing to see the sunrise. The sunlight shone on the mountain was beautiful and the reflection on Snake River was so clear. We then went to Jenny Lake to hike around the lake. The hike was about 7 miles but we enjoyed it quite a lot. In the evening, we went to Oxbow Bend to see the sun set. There was a lot of people there hoping to see some wild animals.

On the third day, we went to Taggart Lake hiking trail. The trail was short and thus we went to Bradley Lake as well. Then we decided to do a longer hike and went to Amphitheater Lake. We really enjoyed the time there.

In the afternoon, we drove to Colter Bay to have lunch at the cafeteria. We also walked around the harbor area. After gaining some strength, we drove to the top of Signal Mountain. From the top of Signal Mountain, we had a panorama view over Grand Teton National Park. It was quite amazing. At night, we took our last opportunity to head out at night to do some astrophotography at Grand Teton National Park.

Overall, we loved Grand Teton National Park. Grand Teton has everything to offer such as mountain, lake, biking, and wild animal. It is a perfect place for a family to enjoy.

Amphitheater Lake

 

Amphitheater Lake is a lake formed by glaciers in Grand Teton National Park. It can be reached from Lupine Meadows trailhead or Taggart Lake trail head. The hike to Amphitheater Lake is considered to be strenuous due to the 10 miles round trip distance and the elevation gain. However, Amphitheater is still one of the most popular lake that visitors go to.

We hiked to Amphitheater Lake from Taggart Lake. We were not planning to go to Amphitheater Lake originally. But since we visited both Taggart Lake and Bradley Lake already and still have a lot of time left, we figured that we might as well go visit Amphitheater Lake. When we got to the junction of Lupine Meadow trail and Taggart Lake trail, we were still 3 miles away from Amphitheater Lake. We had a look at the amount of water that we still got and figured that we should still be good to go.

The hike started to climb rapidly from the junction. The good thing was that it was still early in the morning and the temperature was not hot yet. We kept our pace and did quite well for the first 1.5 miles. We passed many other hikers who were taking rest for a long time.

We then got to another junction where the trail branches off to the other canyon. We stayed on the trail and knew that there was only 1.5 miles left. There was a lot of switch backs. Since we were so high up, we could see Taggart Lake and Bradley Lake far below us.

After about an hour, we got to Surprise Lake. Now we know we were only 0.2 miles away from Amphitheater Lake. We were tired due to the hot weather. The last 0.2 miles seemed to take longer than ever. The trail was still climbing and we finally got to Amphitheater Lake.

The temperature at Amphitheater Lake was amazing due to the glaciers and the ice cold water. It had really cooled us off. When we got there, there wasn't that many people around as we were the first few to get here. The lake has mountains surrounding it with patches of snow here and there. We sat down to really enjoy this beautiful view while having some snacks.

While we were resting, more people started to come up to the lake. We also noticed that there was another path that goes up to the mountain. This trail was not on the map but we figured that it probably leads to the top of the mountain. We were thinking of doing that next time.

Over all, we really enjoyed the hike to Amphitheater Lake. The lake was really different from the other lakes that we have seen so far. The temperature was perfect there and we almost fell asleep.

Bradley Lake

 

Bradley Lake is another famous lake located within Grand Teton National Park. The lake is in the same area as Taggart Lake and shares the same trail head. Bradley Lake is a little bit further however. Bradley Lake is about 2.5 miles from the trail head. People usually just go to Taggart Lake because it is more easily accessible. People can also do a loop that passes by Bradley Lake.

We hiked to Bradley Lake after had some fun at Taggart Lake. It was just about 1 mile North of Taggart Lake. The hike to Bradley Lake was essentially flat and not much hurdle on the way. We got to Bradley Lake quite early around 8AM in the morning. The surface of Bradley Lake was just as clam as Taggart Lake. It also had beautiful reflection on the lake surface. The water was ice cold of course.

We walked around Bradley Lake and found few people fishing on the far side. They seemed to be here quite early. They had chairs all set up on the side and was just having a relax time on the lake side. The breeze of the wind felt so good too.

As we continued down the hiking trail, we came to this wooden bridge the crosses the lake on the narrow side. This trail continues down and intersects with other trails. Most people don't head down this way since the hiking trail gets more difficult and wonders into the wild.

We were thinking of whether to continue down the trail or not, but was also worried about running into bears since we did not carry bear spray. We then saw 2 people hiking by and continue down the trail. So we decided to follow their foot steps and followed closely behind them.

Bradley Lake was no doubt a beautiful lake. However, we still think Taggart Lake was a much better lake to enjoy.

Jackson Drug Co

 

Jackson Co is a classic and well known restaurant located at Jackson. From its name, you may think it is a pharmacy store, but it is actually a restaurant serving various type of food such as burgers and milkshakes. Jackson Drug started back in 1919 and it has been serving as soda fountain and as a pharmacy. Then it pivoted to start the restaurant business and has been rather successful. Many visitors to Jackson come here to dine and the line up for its ice cream has always been quite long.

We came to visit Jackson after finishing off fossil digging at American Fossils. We got to Jackson around 4:30PM and thought that we might as well get early dinner. There was a lot of people on the street and we weren't quite sure where to go for dinner. Then we spotted a long line at Jackson Drug and figured that we should try the restaurant that has a long line.

The only thing that we were worried about is the wait time. Luckily most of the people in the line were getting ice cream, thus we did not have to wait for the table to be ready.

We ordered an Elk Burger and a Bison Burger since these are quite rare for us to see on the menu. We also chose to have waffle fries and tots as the side. We also ordered huckleberry ice cream because we were told huckleberry ice cream or milkshake is a must try when visiting Jackson.

It took a while for the burger to arrive, but the burgers look good nonetheless. The vegetable includes lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles. They looked rather fresh. We tried the bison burger first. The bison burger meat tastes just like beef, but it was quite firm and less juicy. We were wondering if it was because the bisons are always running around. The elk burger on the other hand was a bit dry as well. We weren't sure if it is always like this or due to the way how it was cooked. Overall, both elk burger and bison burger were not as good as we were expecting. It was just something new to try. Regular burger with beef would taste a lot better.

The huckleberry ice cream came after we finished off the burger. The ice cream seemed handmade and look quite good. The ice cream looked quite soft. The color of the ice cream was light purple color. When we tasted it, the flavor of huckleberry was quite faint. If we did not know it was huckleberry, we wouldn't be able to tell.

Overall, it was an interesting experience to try elk burger and bison burger. However, the beef burger would be more juicy and tasty.

Taggart Lake

 

Taggart Lake is one of the most popular lake with hiking trail. The lake itself is so calm that it essentially reflects anything on its lake surface. The trail itself is about 3 miles long round trip with opportunities to extend the hike to other trails. Since it is a very popular trail, the parking lot often gets full very quickly early in the morning, thus it is recommended to get to the trail head as early as possible.

We have driven by Taggart Lake trail the day before and did see lots of cars with many other cars parking on the road side. Thus we got to Taggart Lake really early in the morning at 7AM. There were only about 5 cars when we got here. The sun has just rose above the horizon and the air was fresh.

The trail itself was quite easy with limited elevation. From the start of the trail, we passed by a rushing stream of water and we crossed it on a wooden bridge. We then passed through a bamboo like forest area and then came to a wide opening. From here we could see Grand Teton mountain range on the far side. It was a beautiful morning and the day was amazing.

From here the trail split into 2 different directions. Both directions can get to Taggart Lake. 1 is 1 mile long and the other is 1.5 mile long. We were thinking of doing a loop so we took the 1.5 mile long path first. The path led us through a pine forest. Once we got out, we arrived at the lake.

When we arrived at the lake, we could not believe how calm the water surface was. It was like a mirror reflecting everything that surrounds it. It was so beautiful. There was a big rock near the shore and we sat on it for a while to enjoy the view. We even saw little fish swimming in the lake.

Overall, Taggart Lake was amazing. The hike was quite short and the trail was nearly flat and quite wide. We highly recommend visiting Taggart Lake. This was definitely one of the highlight of the trip.

Dornans Chuckwagon Grill

 

Dornans Chuckwagon Grill is located on the South side of Grand Teton National Park. It is a very popular outdoor dining place due to having a magnificent view of Grand Teton Mountain Range. Dornans Chuckwagon Grill offers various sandwiches, burgers, and fries. It also offers some alcoholic drinks as well. Other than that, it has some fun toys for kids to play at its play yard. The restaurant is often full of people but it always has enough seat to accommodate everyone.

We went to Dornans Chuckwagon Grill after we returned the bikes at Dornans. When we got there, there was already a lot of people. The line was long but we still lined up. While we were lining up, we saw another Italian restaurant on the other side and has a second floor patio. The Italian restaurant looked quite nice too, but we decided to stay to try out Dornans Chuckwagon Grill.

We ordered pulled pork sandwich and a vegetarian burger. We took the number card and picked a table to wait for our food to arrive. It actually took a while for the food to be ready, probably around 15 minutes. The vegetarian has a veggie patty with cheese on it. It wasn't outstanding or anything, but worth a try. The pulled port sandwich looked more appetizing. It had grilled onion in it which made the sandwich quite flavorful. The fries was perfectly fried and was still quite juicy. We really enjoyed having a relaxed time here to enjoy both the food and the view.

Overall, the food at Dornans Chuckwagon Grill was not spectacular. However, it is one of the few choices in Grand Teton National Park and it is always great to have food while having a magnificent view of the mountains.