Out West Road Trip - Part 2: Idaho & Wyoming
If you missed part 1, you can read about that here!
Day 05: It's day five, and we are still recharging a bit from the last few high-energy days. Today will be another low-key day, and then driving up to Idaho Falls, Idaho. But first a trip downtown to eat breakfast and walk around. And then lunch with an old friend before getting back on the road. The drive to Idaho Falls was about 3 hours and mostly highway and potato farms. After getting to Idaho Falls, we check into our Airbnb and then head downtown (do you see a theme yet? we love walkable downtowns). We checked out a few shops, these two, Poppy & Pout / Idaho Mountain Gear, were neat, and then we headed to dinner at the Copper Rill. We had the best-smoked tuna steak as an appetizer! After dinner, it's back to the Airbnb for an early night. We're heading to our final destination tomorrow, and we are very excited.
Day 06: We wake up early, excited to start the day, and head back downtown to the Great Harvest Bread Co. One thing about me, I will always find a pastry/bread store. This place didn't disappoint. They had everything from freshly made granola, sourdough, cinnamon rolls, bagels, any cookie you could dream of, and the best breakfast sandwiches. And everything was made in-house! While enjoying your breakfast, you could watch the artisans baking goodies for the day at work.
After breakfast, we get on the road and head north to the last place on our list, Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
We were about 30 minutes outside of Jackson Hole, driving through Victor, Idaho, when we saw this cute little pizza place tucked a bit off the street in what appeared to be a shed. Neither of us was hungry, but it sounded delicious, so we turned around and had some of the best pizza we had ever had in our life.
This is not a drill, but if you ever come across a Pinky G's Pizza, please do yourself a favor and stop for a slice of heaven; you won't regret it. I promise.
Okay, back on the road, we're almost to Jackson Hole. The views of getting through the mountains to Jackson Hole were well worth the drive!
We checked into our hotel the first night, and you guessed it - we headed downtown to see what this infamous town had to offer. Luckily our hotel was right in the middle of all the action, so once we parked, we didn't have to drive unless we needed to go somewhere outside of the town square. We didn't do too much touristy stuff the first night, mostly just walked around and people-watched.
One of our favorite things to do while on vacation is to eat and to eat well. We were only going to be in Jackson Hole for a few days, so to try as many restaurants as possible, we went to several different places and shared an appetizer from each restaurant. This type of dining was a lot of fun!
Restaurants we visited on our first night in Jackson Hole:
The Bistro - located inside the Cloudveil Hotel, a Parisian style cafe with a fresh oyster bar and craft-made cocktails
Bin 22 - a bar & tapas-style menu items found in the back of a liquor store - immaculate vibes
Glorietta - upscale Italian restaurant with a cozy hometown feel
After dinner at Gloriettas, we walk back to our hotel to get some rest; another early morning tomorrow!
Day 07: 5 am, and the alarm goes off. It's easy to jump out of bed today because we are heading to Yellowstone! Since we are not familiar with this area of the country, we booked a private guided tour for Yellowstone in hopes that we would get as much exposure to all the best places as possible in a single day. Our tour guide picked us up from our hotel at 6a. He had the suburban loaded down with plenty of snacks, drinks, binoculars, spotting scopes, bear spray -- anything you would need to capture moments and stay safe at a National park.
He drove us up to West Yellowstone, Montana, and we entered through the west gate. The south entrance, much closer to Jackson Hole, was still closed for the winter season. Before entering Yellowstone, we stopped at a local diner for coffee, breakfast, and our lunches for that afternoon.
Like our guide at Canyonlands, our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the parks; he is also a Geologist and highly trained on Yellowstone's hydrothermal and geologic features. He took us to all notable sites, plus some that aren't as popular.
It was a very long day at Yellowstone, but I will never forget it. One of the most incredible experiences I've ever had is witnessing a grizzly bear and her two baby cubs in their habitat -- not behind bars in a zoo but in their natural environment. Honestly, I'm still reeling over that moment.
Fun fact: Did you know that Yellowstone is the world's first Nationally recognized park?
After arriving back in Jackson Hole, our tour guide drops us off at our hotel, and we walk down the street to Hatch for dinner. It's going to be an early night for us.
Day 08: We decided that since we were already up in the area, we might as well check Grand Teton National Park off of our list. But first, we head to the local post office to ship back most of our dirty clothes, so there is room in our carry-ons for anything we bought. And then a delicious breakfast at Cafe Genevieve, a drive through the National Elk Refuge before grabbing another cup of coffee at Persephone Bakery and then heading into the Tetons.
A quiet and leisurely drive through Grand Teton National Park was precisely what we needed to end this jampacked-action-filled trip.
We got to see lots of beautiful lakes, mountain ranges, and wildlife and visited Mormon Row Historic District. It was a wonderful day.
After returning to Jackson Hole, we were a bit hungry, so we stopped by the world-renowned Million Dollar Cowboy Bar for a bite to eat, drink, and people-watch. Then we stopped by Local (right next door) for a drink and dessert. We call it an early night so we can pack; we fly back home tomorrow.
Day 09: On the way to the airport, we recalled all of the wildlife we had gotten to see:
Big-horned sheep
Elk
Antelope
Bison
Mule deer
Whitetail deer
Black bear
Ground squirrel
Coyotes
Bald eagle
Grizzly bears
The only thing we hadn't gotten to see yet was Moose. We really wanted to see Moose and Grizzlies, but we were happy that we had gotten to at least witness the grizzlies. We weren't too discouraged.
Suddenly, we come around the mountain on the way out of Jackson Hole, and there's a momma moose and her calf vegging out on the side of the hill. We were so dang excited! After that, we were nothing but grins back to the airport in Idaho Falls. Back to Oklahoma, we go.
Our favorite bits:
- The wildlife - this was one of the things we were looking forward to most
- The mountain ranges/geological features/landscaping - It's unlike anything you can experience in the Midwest
- The lifestyle seemed a lot slower and more laid back
- We honestly didn't have a single bad meal - and we ate A LOT
That’s a wrap on our road trip out West. This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime trip and would recommend it to anyone who loves adventure, sightseeing, and the wilderness. If you’ve been to any of these places, I would love to hear about your experience!
Where should we go next?
xx, Riss
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