If you’re following me on Facebook, you know that we just got back from an incredible roadtrip to Yellowstone via Oregon, Idaho, and Wyoming. I tried to post regular updates with pictures on the trip, but we were in and out of wifi so I was a bit inconsistent. The trip covered 16 days, 3500 miles, 11 National Park/Forest/Monuments, 11 breweries, and more wildlife sightings than I can count.
It’s just too much to write about in a single post, so I have a lot of posts coming up from this trip. I thought that starting with this quick summary would be nice (especially for my own memory!) Scheduled upcoming posts include a review of the cabins we stayed at in the National Parks, tips for visiting Yellowstone with a dog, incredible wildlife photography from my husband, and some hike reports from the Wind Rivers, Grand Teton, Gallatin National Forest, and Teton National Forest.
Our Itinerary took us through Bend (Oregon), Boise, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Jackson, Pinedale (Wyoming), and Twin Falls. And this is my favorite photo I took on the whole trip – the wildflowers were incredible!
National Lands Explored:
- Crater Lake National Park
- Newberry Volcanic National Monument
- John Day Fossil Beds National Monument (Painted Hills)
- Craters of the Moon National Monument
- Yellowstone National Park
- Shoshone National Forest
- Gallatin National Forest
- Grand Teton National Park
- National Elk Refuge
- Teton National Forest
- Bridger Wilderness
Breweries Visited:
- Dunsmuir Brewing (Dunsmuir, CA)
- Crux Fermentation Project (Bend, OR)
- Boneyard Brewing (Bend, OR)
- Silver Moon Brewing (Bend, OR)
- Bend Brewing Company (Bend, OR)
- Deschutes Public House (Bend, OR)
- 10 Barrel Brewing (Boise, ID)
- Thai Me Up (Jackson, WY)
- Snake River Brewing (Jackson, WY)
- Wind River Brewing (Pinedale, WY)
- FiftyFifty Brewing (Truckee, CA)
Wildlife Sighted:
- Bison
- Cranes
- Bald Eagles
- Osprey
- Deer
- Elk
- Wolves
- Beaver
- Grizzlies (two yearlings – the ones in this video, the day before it was taken, and we weren’t dumb enough to get out of the car)
- Coyote
- Black Bear (momma and two cubs)
- Moose (momma and two calves)
- Otter (or muskrat, we weren’t 100% sure)
- (do the Wyoming Cattle drives count?)
I’ve posted but not yet captioned my photos. For a taste of what a road trip like this looks like, head on over to these albums on SmugMug.
This looks like an awesome trip! I’m looking forward to reading about your tips on visiting Yellowstone with a dog. I’ve been to Yellowstone in the winter (without our dogs) but I want to go back in warmer weather.
Coming up soon! It went really well for us, but we definitely had some things working in our favor (like the weather).
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Hi Rachel,
We’re doing a very similar trip in just a few weeks, and were excited to stumble upon your blog! We’re leaving Berkeley, CA and heading through Nevada to Jackson Hole for some hiking in the Gros Ventre wilderness, then heading north to Roosevelt Lodge to check out Yellowstone. After that it’s west to Red Rock Lakes NWR, then onto the Owyhee Wilderness / Canyonlands in Idaho & Eastern Oregon. Rounding it out is a canoe camping trip (yes, we’re bringing our Canoe!) to Ahjumawe for 4th of July weekend. I know it’s been a while, but any chance you have plans to flesh out the rest of your trip on your blog? We’d especially love to know if you did any hiking in the Gros Ventre, where else you hiked / camped around Jackson, not-to-miss spots in Yellowstone near Roosevelt, Boise tips, and any advice/recommendations you have for western Idaho / eastern Oregon. Thanks so much!!
Oooh boy, it was such a big trip that I haven’t gotten around to documenting it all! WE didn’t hike much in Gros Ventre, but we did some in Grand Teton. I liked the Two Oceans Lake loop hike since it had some nice views of the Tetons, but it was quite buggy in June. Mostly, we used our time there for morning wildlife photography.
If you’re staying at Roosevelt in Yellowstone plan on some early mornings and late evenings in Lamar Valley. That was where we saw the most wildlife, including wolves and grizzly bears.
As far as coming into Oregon – if you come across 26 between Idaho and central Oregon the Painted Hills are really cool! If you spend any time in central oregon check out Smith rock, and if you’re bringing a boat there are a lot of lakes and rivers to enjoy!
* Oops… Rebecca! Sorry about that!