Ahhhhh…Wyoming…my favorite state. Here’s the first of the “Exploring the National Parks” entries, although it was not the first national park we visited. We made this trip back in 1999. We started planning it with the sole intention of traveling to Wyoming just to visit Yellowstone National Park. In the process, we learned there were other nearby sites which were too interesting to pass up. Like Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, and Devil’s Tower and Grand Teton National Park, also in Wyoming. From its broad high plains to its soaring mountains, Wyoming is a state like no other.
Yellowstone National Park:
Old Faithful Aerial view of Grand Prismatic Pool Bison
Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872, as the first national park in the United States. It is located mostly in Wyoming, with parts of it extending into Montana and Idaho. Yellowstone is known for the variety of wildlife living in the park, but mostly for the 300 geysers and 10,000 geothermal features found there. Like Old Faithful, the most famous geyser in the world, errupting every and Grand Prismatic Spring, the largest hot spring in the U.S. There are also many hiking and horseback trails. This national park is an amazing place!
General Info.: http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/index.htm
http://www.wyomingtourism.org/cms/d/discover_wyoming.php
Accommodations:
Inside the Park – Old Faithful Inn
http://www.travelyellowstone.com/old-faithful-inn-96.html
Other:
http://www.nationalparkreservations.com/yellowstone.htm
Grand Teton National Park:
Teton Range as viewed from Jackson Hole
Grand Teton National Park is home to one of the most recognizable mountain landscapes in the world, and it is
located only a few miles south of Yellowstone National Park. It is named after the Grand Teton, at 13,770 feet, the tallest mountain in the Teton Range, a fault-block jagged mountain front about 40 miles long. This mountain range rises from the valley floor of Jackson Hole. Jackson Hole is one of the biggest skiing destinations in the U.S. and one of the most visited summer playgrounds. It is the cutest western town you’re ever going to see, complete with board sidewalks and chic stores.General Info.: http://www.wyomingtourism.org/
http://www.nps.gov/grte/planyourvisit/index.htm
Jackson Hole – http://www.jacksonhole.com/?issue=iss05&pg=25&seq=k
Accommodations:
Teton Village – Hotel Terra: http://www.hotelterrajacksonhole.com/
Jackson Hole – http://www.jacksonholeaccommodations.net/
Other – http://www.nationalparkreservations.com/grandteton.htm
[This entry is still under construction. Check back again soon for complete post].