As promised, I'm going to start with the first national park of our trip- The Grand Teton National Park. To say it's beautiful is an understatement, but as I would soon come to figure out that goes for all of the national parks.
Sunrise at Grand Teton National Park via courtney khail
We woke up before the crack of dawn (literally- it was pitch black outside and there was absolutely no one around) ate a quick breakfast and set off for our campsite. You may be wondering why we woke up so early to drive no more than 25 minutes away. Well, long story short, the campground we wanted to stay at is super popular and is first come first serve. According to everyone, you really want to get there just as people are waking up and start asking when they are leaving. If you luck out (which we did on our first try) you politely ask if you could put your check in slip behind their slip (to reserve your spot) and then just kind of hang out to make sure no one comes in behind you and replaces your ticket with theirs (which does unfortunately happen.) We had roughly 3 hours to kill so we watched the sunrise over the Grand Tetons, ate granola bars and fruit, and explored the area- which like I said earlier-was absolutely beautiful. From canoeing on Jenny Lake, napping in hammocks on the lake shore, hiking Cascade Canyon (and getting within 10 feet of 3 moose!), climbing higher than I ever thought possible, and the most exhilarating moment- having a stampede of elk dash in front of our car just barely missing us, it was an absolutely amazing start to the trip.
Grand Tetons via courtney khail
A stormy Yellowstone via courtney khail
It started to rain on our last day (which led to a very entertaining hour of us running around trying to set up tarps so we could stay dry while cooking and eating) and continued to drizzle on and off as we drove to Yellowstone. Because it seemed like the weather wasn't on our side, we canceled our campsite reservation and just spent the rest of the day exploring the park. It was absolutely amazing to me how many different type of landscapes were in that one park. From plains to mountains, geysers to canyons, thermal pools to salt like limestone mountains, it seemed like whatever you wanted to see and experience was in this park. The best part was that thanks to the rain a lot of the crowds cleared out and we could actually see everything up close. From watching Old Faithful erupt (with hot chocolate in hand), to walking right up to the thermal pools (which are made up of the most fabulous colors I'd ever seen) to taking pictures in front of the falls, when we finally hit the open roads of Wyoming and Montana, we couldn't help but feel as though we'd had the park to ourselves almost all day.
The Falls at Yosemite via courtney khail
aren't these awesome? Mammoth Hot Springs via courtney khail
After Yellowstone we drove north to Helena, Montana. I wasn't sure just what I was expecting, but it was friendlier than I imagined. Like super friendly. Even the waitresses at the little pizza place we slide into right before closing were super sweet! Of course that could have something to do with the fact I asked them what the easiest thing for them to make was and then after ordering that item, I offered to have it to go so they could go home. Apparently they appreciated that last part the most! I can't really give much more info on Helena (except that it is indeed pronounced Helen-a as opposed to He-lane-a) because we weren't even planning on stopping there until 7 hours earlier, but I can attest that the Holiday Inn Express there is super comfortable and that they don't judge when an obviously fresh from camping couple comes in at 9p with a last minute reservation. They even gave us water and snacks.
From there we went even further north the Glacier National Park, but that will have to wait until next week. Hope you've enjoyed the recap so far!
sunset in Montana via courtney khail
A side note for anyone driving in Montana during the summer: Apparently the summer means road construction (and A LOT of it.) I would time most of your driving to occur long before the sun begins to set. (I would have said at night, but then you'd miss the beauty that is Montana and that would be really unfortunate.) Anyhow, you want to have most of your driving done BEFORE sunset because once it starts setting, the dust from the never ending construction turns into a sun filled, blinding dust shield and you pretty much end up completely relying on faith that you are a) still on the road, b) won't hit a cow, and c) won't drive into the other lane and hit another car/semi. To be honest, it was a little terrifying at times, but there aren't really many options for roads out there so you just had to go with it and assume the drivers coming the other way stayed clear.