The Grand Loop in a Week

I am back from a fabulous road trip to Yellowstone National Park. Ajo & I had a great time with lots of stories and memories. Here is a brief synopsis of our trip highlights:

June 4, 2010 , Friday - We left Reno in the morning and drove down I-80 to Winnemuca, then took US 95 North via Oregon state to Boise, Idaho. It was drizzly and cloudy all day but we enjoyed the drive down. We spotted a coyote crossing the road but unfortunately we couldn't capture it in our camera. Friday night we stayed at Hyatt place in Boise.

June 5, 2010, Saturday - The complimentary breakfast at Hyatt Place did not meet the standards of a Hyatt chain hotels. We drove to  Boise State University and then headed to the downtown area and  the state capital building. We left Boise and drove through I-84 E, I-86 E and then took US 20 to West Yellowstone, Montana. In Montana we witnessed "the most beautiful rainbow" and it was just splendid. We checked into One Horse Motel in Montana.

June 6, 2010, Sunday - We drove from the West entrance of the park to the North entrance at Gardiner, Montana. We saw numerous Bison, few deer, and handful of elks. The drive was beautiful and apart from the occasional cloudiness, it was a gorgeous day. We stopped at Mammoth hot springs a popular tourist attraction. We drove back to our hotel in West Yellowstone and we visited the grizzly and wolfe discovery center at West Yellowstone. We saw four grizzly bears and four wolfs. Though they weren't in the wild setting, it was good to see them up close.

June 7, 2010, Monday - Since we were speculating a long drive to Jackson, Wyoming, we started our trip at 6am in the morning. Our first stop was the famous "Old Faithful Geyser". This famous geyser is perhaps the most visited site at Yellowstone National Park. The geyser erupts every 90 minutes and the eruption is a great visual treat to the eyes and an amazing wonder. It was cloudy and rainy most of the day but we were able to see the geyser erupt. After breakfast at the Old Faithful lodge, we continued our road trip. We took a detour to see Yellowstone Lake, the largest mountain lake in North America. The day was hazy and the water looked pale gray to white. We drove to the south entrance and entered Grand Teton National Park. The worst part of the trip was not the rain but  potholes. I drove through some really bad potholes and it was so bad that I had tears by the time I departed the mile long treacherous road. We stopped at a few turns outs on the road to Jackson when we were near the Teton mountain range. It was about evening time and sun was out again. We checked into our hotel, Anglers Inn at Jackson, Wyoming.

June 8, 2010, Tuesday - The weather on Tuesday was the best weather of the entire week. Sun was out, it was warm, and most of all it was consistent all day. Weather predictions were out the door for that day. In order to take advantage of the weather, we drove to Yellowstone National Park and tried to do most of the sightseeing that day. The roads were pretty busy as Tuesday turned out to be the best weather for the week for all Yellowstone tourists. We drove through Yellowstone lake and the water was blue and pristine with the sun's rays. We spent part of our afternoon visiting the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. The view from artists point was just stunning. The roaring and the uninterrupted waterfalls at distant combined with the multi -hued rocks was simply breathtaking. We also took a short hike to the brink of the upper falls . We stopped at the Old Faithful Geyser to catch another eruption against the clear blue sky. It was worth the stop. We drove back to Jackson admiring the beauty of Grand Teton National Park.

June 9, 2010, Wednesday - We checked out from our Motel at Jackson and spend the morning in Jackson and Grand Teton National Park. We started our return back home to Reno Wednesday afternoon. We drove to Idaho Falls that night. We stopped and took some waterfall shots. We stayed at Best Western at Idaho Falls. The hotel had reasonable rates and very good breakfast.

June 10, 2010, Thursday - We drove to the Idaho Potatoe Museum at Blackfoot. The museum was small but quite informative. We visited Shoshone Falls and Twin Falls in Idaho on our way back home. Thursday night we stayed at a Motel 8 in Wells, Nevada.

June 11, 2010, Friday - We drove back to Reno  from I 80 West from Wells, NV. We stopped at Lovelock, NV which is about 90 miles from Reno. We "locked our love" which is an old Chinese tradition adopted in the year 2006 by locals in the area. When we got home at about 7PM, our odometer read about 2300 miles. God was so great during our trip. He protected us and guided us and kept us safe until the last minute. It is awesome to proclaim the greatness of his grace and mercy.