k**********e
发帖数: 35 | 1 8/11-8/14 行程总结：
In my opinion, Yellowstone park is the best national park for family with
small kids because there are a varieties of features: geysers, canyon&
waterfalls, wild animals. And there is no need of long hikes to get great
view. Facilities (food and lodge) are all reasonable. And you can add a
visit to Teton national park (if you drive from south entrance) and the
nearby cities to the trip as well.
Tip: if you want to stay in the hotels inside Yellowstone, book early,
really early. The Old Faithful Inn is usually booked a year before.
Reservation can be cancelled 48 hours prior.
8/11 Saturday arrived at Jackson hole around noon.
We took the white water rafting trip on snake rive at 4:30pm. It's class2-3
at the time. In May, the water is at class3-4 level and would be a bit
challenging for little kid to join the trip. It's quite fun in a couple of
spots that have big splashes and the guide is very 风趣 with good stories.
We saw bald eagles on our way and heard others see moose crossing the river.
Tip: remember to ask for splash jacket as it's a bit chilly when the sun
goes down by the end of the trip. Little kid can sit in the middle of the
boat, 100% safe. Overall, A+.
We got back around 8pm and head to our next 活动项目 - Rodeo. My daughter
was very excited about the cowboy-cowgirl thing. And for anybody who haven't
been to one, I would recommend it.
8/12 Leave Jackson and head to Teton and Yellowstone
I would recommend that before leaving Jackson, stopping by the Albertsons to
pick up snacks, water and fruit for the trip. You may also want to stop at
the town center to take a picture under the elk horns. We chose the Jenny
lake route to drive through the Teton national park. The lake is nice and we
took the shuttle boat and the short hike to the hidden fall. But I think
you can safely skip it as the view of Yellowstone lake and the falls is far
better. I would suggest you go with the highway 89/191 route instead. We
took that route on our way back. There are a couple of lookouts (Snake
River Overlook, Glacier View Turnout) along the road that have good view of
the Teton mountains.
But no matter what route you take, the Jackson Lake lodge is a must-see
inside the Teton National park. On the outside the hotel seems that quite 不
起眼. But go upstair to the lobby, you will be rewarded with the grand view.
You can also buy your lunch there.
Continue driving north, we entered the Yellowstone through the south gate
and stopped by the West Thumb geyser basin as our first trip inside the
Yellowstone. It's a good introduction to the geysers as once you visited
other basins, you'll probably skip this one. Just near the entrance there
was a big traffic jam. The reason: an big male elk in the wood right next to
the road.
On the way, we passed the Grant village. You can buy your lunch there too if
you arrive Yellowstone earlier than us.
I would suggest stay at the Lake hotel or the Canyon hotel as they are more
inside the park and close to all the actions. We stayed at the Lake hotel
and because the check-in time is 4:30, we drove pass it on our way and
further up north into the Canyon. There are bisons everywhere at the Hayden
Valley and the view of the valley is like a classic oil painting. A++.
We visited the Mud Volcano and Dragon Mouth along the way. Be warned that
the smell is not that great if you have sensitive nose. But a bison was
relaxing right next to the mud geyser.
Further north, we took a look at the Lower Falls at the artist point along
the south rim drive. We spotted a lonely coyote on our way back to the hotel
, which LD mistaken as a wolf.
We had dinner reservation at the Lake hotel. Bison meat ;-)
8/13 Circling the park through north
As the daytime during in the summer is quite long, we circled the entire
park with just a day. Before leaving the hotel, we stopped by the lake and
saw a beaver family having their breakfast on the rocks.
We drove again pass the Hayden valley and this time along the river bank we
saw a grizzly bear working on a bison carcass. A big crowd with cameras and
binoculars were there.
At the next traffic jam, we had a glimpse of the canyon wolf pack. If we
were there earlier in the morning, we would have seen the wolves playing in
the grass.
Tip: whenever and wherever there is a traffic jam, it's time for you to take
out the camera. Also, look for the ranger. He has the binocular and
information you need.
We next stopped at the lower fall trail at the north rim drive. It's a 3/8
mile one-way easy trail down to the edge of waterfall. Well worth the effort
as the view is spectacular.
We drove further north to tower-roosevelt. I would suggest skip it as the
Tower fall is much less grand than the lower falls. And in the entire Lamar
valley we only spotted one deer. Although, maybe it's just us. We met a
ranger on the way who told us that the previous day he spotted a large group
, maybe a hundred of, deers.
The reason we had drove all the way north is to visit the mammoth hot spring
. In my opinion, if you are tight on time, you can probably skip this one.
The day we visited the spring, it's pretty much dry on all sites. The view
of the terrace is interesting, but I wouldn't say it's a must for a
Yellowstone visit. Similarly, the Norris geyser basin is a big geyser area,
but lacks really interesting feature. Steamboat is the world's tallest
geyser, but you are unlikely to see its eruption.
We arrived at the Old Faithful Inn in the early evening and right before an
eruption of the geyser (The hotel and the visit center has eruption time
table). A chipmunk enjoyed the show with us.
We were really lucky that we booked a night at the Old Faithful Inn. There
are several reasons. First, the inn is really impressive. My daughter really
likes the "Hogwarts" atmosphere. Second, it's convenient as it's right next
to the geyser basin. You can see the Old Faithful simply on the hotel
balcony. It's also more enjoyable when it's dawn or dusk when there isn't
much of a crowd. Finally, it's actually cheap. We stayed at the Motel 6 at
Jackson hole for $125/night. The Old Faithful Inn with one bed & shared
bathroom is only $100/night. It's very cozy and clean. But good luck at
getting a room. We booked in April and it is the only room and the day
available when we checked.
8/14 Upper and Midway geyser basin.
I wish we hadn't spent so much time in the north the other day as there was
so much to see at the upper geyser basin. Each geyser/pool has its own
unique feature, whether it's color or sound. We walked the 1.4 mile trail
to the morning glory pool. It took quite some time along the way, but well
worth it.
Finally, in the Midway Geyser Basin we visited the Grand Prismatic Spring,
which is another must-do at Yellowstone.
For pictures and map, check my blog post.
http://junxiaotravel.blogspot.com/2012/08/yellowstone-family-tr |
|
