Montana and Wyoming Summer Vacation- Grand Teton National Park (Part 7)

 We started out the morning at Jenny Lake. This is the busiest section of the park and we came right when the boat ride opened. However, it was still so crowded. We waited about 45 minutes for the boat. We decided to take the boat ride over to cut off a couple of miles of hiking. After riding the boat, we hiked up to Hidden Falls. It was really pretty. 

After Hidden Falls we hiked up to Inspiration Point. It's not a long hike, but it does gain a lot of elevation. 

The chipmunks were not shy!

We tried to hike a portion of the Cascade Canyon trail after Inspiration Point. However, we started on the trail and then had to turn around because a bear and her two cubs were blocking the path. There were a lot of people and some got way too close to the bear. She charged at them and people started running towards our direction since we were farther back from the bear. It was a little scary and the children were pretty nervous afterwards. 

After the eventful morning at Jenny Lake we went to Jackson Lake Lodge to eat lunch. It was really good and had the most gorgeous views. 

After lunch we went on a rafting trip. This was more of a float without rapids. It was really relaxing and we just enjoyed the scenery around us. 

We saw SO many bald eagles on the float. Too many to count! It was really fun to see them in person.

After an eventful day we headed back towards our airbnb and ate at the Mangy Moose. It was such a fun day exploring the park. 

Montana and Wyoming Summer Vacation- Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (Part 6)

 We woke up bright and early to head to Teton Mountain Resort. We took the Aerial Tram up to the top of the mountain to eat at Corbet's Cabin. They only sell waffles at this restaurant but they are absolutely delicious. We shared different varieties of waffles and hot chocolate. It was pretty cold and windy at the top of the mountain so the hot chocolate and waffles were a really fun and warm treat!

Then we took the short skywalk to look out over the mountain. There were gorgeous views. 

We took the Aerial tram back down the mountain. Patrick wasn't feeling great, so Michael took him back to the airbnb and the rest of us hopped on the Sweetwater Gondola to the mountain playground.

It was such a fun playground and the kids played here for a while. 

After the playground we hopped back on the sweetwater gondola up one more stop and then jumped off to hike the wildflower trail. It is an extremely challenging trail with a lot of elevation, so we decided to hike it down to the bottom of the mountain instead of up like most of the visitors do. 

The wildflower trail is an absolutely beautiful trail through tons of flowers with mountain views all around. 

We both felt like were were in the movie the Sound of Music while hiking this trail. It was very peaceful without crowds. 

There is a really fun swing on this hike and we had it to ourselves. We stopped and rested and enjoyed the mountain air and views all around. 

After the hike, we took the Bridger Gondola up to the Deck for more views and snacks and drinks. 

After our long day of hiking, we swam in the pool at the airbnb and went to Sidewinders for dinner. They had a great play area for the kids to play outside and it was delicious. It was a really great day out in nature just enjoying all of the views. We were all a little sore from our full day of hiking the next day.

Montana and Wyoming Summer Vacation- Grand Teton National Park (Part 5)

On Saturday, we woke up bright and early and headed out for Grand Teton National Park. This will be our 20th National Park as a family.

We stopped at the first viewpoint and were in such awe of this view. Just gorgeous everywhere.

We stopped at Mormon Row, which is an iconic viewpoint in the park. 

We also stopped at the Snake River overlook, which gorgeous view of the river and the mountains. 

We drove about 30 minutes to the most northern portion of the park. It was a Saturday on a holiday weekend, so we were trying to avoid the crowds. 

We hiked the Lakeshore Trail, which is a 2.6 miles hike around the lake.

We stopped multiple times to enjoy the views. 

After the hike, we went to Leeks Pizzeria. It has delicious pizza with gorgeous views. Then we headed to Colter Bay to swim. It was really cold, but the kids still had a blast!

We stayed a long time at a picnic table enjoying the views and swimming. 

On the way back to Jackson, we took the drive to Signal Mountain.  It's a short hike with gorgeous views of the valley below. 

After a really fun day exploring Grand Teton National Park, we headed to the Snake River Brewery for dinner. It was such a fun day!