Day 5 started with an early alarm, but not Crack of Don alarm. We got coffee and breakfast again and checked out of the hotel. It was fun walking into the bakery and the ladies knew us and talked with us some more.
The quickest way to get back to the hotel might be back through Yellowstone, and we wanted a new adventure, so we decided to cross Yellowstone...say goodbye to our Bison friends and exit the West Entrance into West Yellowstone, Montana and then head south through Idaho, across the Teton Pass and back to Teton Village for 5 more nights.
Our bison friends were waiting for us in the road as we approached Lamar Valley.
They were definitely causing a Yellowstone traffic jam. We had pulled off in a pullout to watch them for a few minutes.
Back on the road and being very cautious...not knowing which way they were going to turn and when they might decide to cross the road again.
Yep...literally right in front of our car! No zooming, just right out the front window! He was huge!!
Still think the little babies are so cute!! He's just waiting for the signal from the elders to cross the street!
We approached Mammoth again and did a quick stop before proceeding out through West Yellowstone.
Been there, done that! The girls decided to tune out for a while. :)
As we exited the west entrance at around 10:30, there was quite the line to get into the park!
We decided to stop in West Yellowstone. We had been to this town before. We were here for one of Katie's birthdays and had spent one night. Her choice for birthday fun that year, was just down the road - a shooting range! She wanted to learn how to shoot a gun, so that was our evening adventure a few years ago.
This year, just a quick stretch break and shopping stop.
It didn't take long before we were entering into Idaho!
Part of the fun I have when planning these trips is finding new routes and new places to stop. I do lots of research and read lots of other traveler blogs to get ideas. This stop, Mesa Falls, had been recommended numerous times as a stop on the route back to the Tetons through Idaho.
So...we stopped and our timing was perfect! It wasn't too crowded and (as recommended) we just took the walkway to the upper falls for a quick view of the waterfall.
As we approached, we started to see this brilliant rainbow off of the falls. The pictures definitely don't do it justice. Our timing was perfect because the sun was at exactly the right angle with the water to form the rainbow. Another 30/45 minutes in either direction and we probably wouldn't have seen it.
Mesa falls was a nice stop and beautiful! We were also very close to Ashton, Idaho and upon researching on TripAdvisor we found a cute soda/fountain diner to stop at for lunch.
511 on Main in Ashton had great food and it was a nice lunch break.
The milkshakes were what was highly recommended on TripAdvisor, so Carleigh and I had to try them. We looked around the town for a few minutes and then were on our way to our next stop.
About another hour down the road was Victor, Idaho and everything I read said you HAD to stop at the Victor Emporium...so we did and so did the rest of the traveling tourists! We didn't get any of the world famous milkshakes, just the obligatory stickers, and magnets and then we were on the road again.
Only 30 minutes to the hotel and it was now time to cross the Teton Pass. I had heard about this drive and we had never done it. The Teton Pass literally takes you up and over the mountains from Idaho into Wyoming and on the other side you are basically at the entrance to Grand Teton park.
We arrived back at Teton Mountain Lodge and rested for a bit and then got ready for our Anniversary dinner! We were trying out new restaurant in Teton Village, the Continuum Bar and Grill.
Dinner was nice and then we headed back to relax. There were supposed to be two nights of fireworks to celebrate the 4th and both nights had been canceled due to very high fire threat. So, more time to just be in our one bedroom suite where we all had a little bit more space than the past 5 nights.
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| Relaxing after the past 72 hours of driving through Wyoming, Montana and Idaho |
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| Our large balcony was the perfect spot to appreciate the mountain air and unwind from the past few days. |
22 years married and the adventures are still happening! Having a summer anniversary has allowed us to spend it in lots of different places including Hawaii, Belize, Banff, Canada, Moab, Utah and Park City, Utah to name just a few.
Tomorrow is July 4th...fireworks have been canceled and our activities for the day are not yet determined. All we do know is that we will be visiting our favorite breakfast place in downtown Jackson for an early breakfast.
Stay tuned to see how the Rahns will spend their FIRST 4th of July in Jackson Hole and what the universe has planned. Sometimes things happen that are the most unexpected and turn out to be totally awesome! :)
As always, it's Seldom A Dull Moment with the Rahns!!
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