Last year, the Hitts and the Martins decided to take a joint family bucket list trip! Both of our families had pretty significant damage from Hurricane Ida and we all lived in campers for a while, so by the time our trip rolled around we were all ready for some fun and a change of scenery.
We woke up before sunrise on May 26, 2022 and headed to the airport for an early morning flight!
We flew into Bozeman, Montana and it was gorgeous!
We rented a Toyota 4Runner from Turo and I highly recommend doing that! It was much cheaper than using a car rental company. It's basically an Airbnb type site for vehicles.
Declan didn't sleep at all on either flight, so it didn't take him long to crash once we got on the road.
We were all super exhausted so we spent a couple of hours walking around downtown Bozeman and had dinner at Montana Ale Works before heading back to our hotel room for an early bedtime.
Jameson swells up big time when he gets bit by a mosquito so of course he would get two bites on his face before we left. He was not happy about having to take pictures with a swollen face
The downtown area of Bozeman is very clean and is a really nice place to spend some time just walking around.
Montana is BEAUTIFUL! The views never got old and this was just the beginning.
Jameson was not amused when he woke up to his eye swollen shut and what looked like a horn in the middle of this forehead. The rest of us were most certainly amused haha!
He insisted on wearing his sunglasses until the swelling went down.
We finally met up with the Martins for breakfast at Jam on Main. It was so good!
Time to get going!
We picked up our grocery order at Walmart and then got our ice chests and bear spray from Explore Rental. Our husbands rolled their eyes when they saw how much we had ordered from Walmart lol. In our defense we wanted to get everything we needed so we didn't have to spend time making multiple trips to the store. It was like a puzzle trying to fit everything!
Jameson was even holding a couple of bags and we had groceries under their feet.
We started making our way to our rental property in Idaho and of course made the most of the travel day by stopping at a few places along the way. The first stop was the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center. I wouldn't make a special trip here, but it was worth a stop if it's on the way and you need to stretch your legs.
Silly boys!
Firehole BBQ was right down the road and it was 100% worth the stop at the discovery center just to go here for lunch.
Cell service in some areas is nonexistent so we had walkie talkies to talk to each other. We had a little too much fun with that!
Our next stop was Mesa Falls in Ashton, ID. It was the first of many miles hiked!
We took the boardwalk to view the upper falls.
The falls pour over remnants of an ancient volcanic super eruption that spewed over much of the current US.
This visitor's center at Mesa Falls has lots of exhibits to look at and is worth a quick stop in while you're there. We couldn't take these guys serious with their bear spray and baby carrier!
After checking out the visitor's center we hiked the nature trail down to the lower falls.
When we plan a trip of this magnitude, you can guarantee there will be spreadsheets and binders involved!
Just know that there are no railings and if you have a brain like me, you'll have anxiety for days imagining your kids falling over the cliff.
It was a great first day!
The next morning we headed out to Jenny Lake!
We opted for the boat ride across the lake instead of the extra 4-mile round trip hike around.
Once we crossed the lake, we made our way to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point.
It was the first of many gloomy, rainy days, but we made the most of it. The hike was beautiful!
Snow and huge trees!
Hidden Falls is most definitely hidden. You can't see it from the main trail and if you miss the little sign pointing you in its direction, you'll pass right by it.
Snack break with a view!
This yellow-bellied marmot snuck up on us while we were taking a break.
This section before reaching Inspiration Point was slightly terrifying to climb.
But it was worth it!
Just as terrifying to go back down.
Wyoming is incredible!
Time to head back across the lake.
The best huckleberry ice cream we had during our whole trip came from Moo's in Jackson Hole. Hands down. Declan continued to ask for huckleberry ice cream well after we came back home haha!
Of course we took an obligatory stagecoach ride around the square.
We hung out in the square for a couple of hours because we were waiting for the town shootout to happen. This was supposed to be its opening night. After waiting for a while even after it was supposed to start, these guys came out and said it had been cancelled. We were all disappointed.
The opening night of the Jackson Hole Rodeo was happening though, so that's where we headed next! Thankfully we bought tickets under the covered area because the weather wasn't great. We did get a glimpse of the brightest rainbow I think I've ever seen!
Another fun, but exhausting day!
Stopped for a Grand Teton sign pic!
Other than on our first day on the drive in, we had yet to get a good look at the Teton mountains. The weather was cold, rainy, and gloomy every day. This day was especially annoying because we had planned to go to some of the iconic picture spots, but all we got were clouds.
We were really hoping to spot a moose here at Schwabacher Landing, but...no moose to be found. It was the beginning of our search for an elusive moose!
Beaver Dam Viewpoint
The first of many, many skipped rocks.
The mountains were trying to peek through!
I wasn't sure how Declan would do on a trip like this. Unlike Connor and Jameson, he hasn't traveled much. Let me just say...he was a champ!
The clouds would clear a little every now and then for us to get a somewhat decent picture.
Snake River Overlook and so cloudy :(
One of the Moulton Barns on Mormon Row.
We stopped for lunch at the Sawmill Ponds Overlook to look for moose. No moose, but we did get to watch osprey fly around and try to snag a fish!
Hike to Phelps Lake.
We planned to visit String Lake and Colter Bay the next day, but the weather had other plans for us. It was cold and snowing so we decided to have a chill day at the cabin. We enjoyed a day of relaxing and the kids had a blast playing in the game room.
We ventured out for dinner at the local Thai restaurant.
It might have been 30 something degrees, but that didn't stop us from getting huckleberry ice cream!
We stayed in Victor, Idaho so we had to cross the Teton Pass every day to get into Wyoming. It's pretty wild to cross it even on a clear day for someone that isn't used to driving through the mountains, but it's really nerve wracking to cross it after it's been raining and snowing.
Totally different scenery once you get back down the mountain.
Our plan for this day was to drive up to Signal Mountain. Of course we didn't know the road was closed until we got almost all the way there so we had to change plans.
Willow Flats Overlook
Jackson Lake
We headed back to Jackson where we dropped Declan off at the daycare and grabbed brunch at The Bunnery. Then it was time for some whitewater rafting!
We all got suited up in wetsuits, gloves, and booties and prepared ourselves for 40-degree air and water temperatures.
On the bus and ready for adventure!
Here we go!!
Jameson's face shows instant regret. It was cold!
Liv gets to row!
It was so cold, but so worth it!
Group shot after having a blast!
The lady that took the picture told us to turn a little so she could get a picture without the white van in the background. Jameson was frozen in place and never moved haha! I crack up every time I see this picture because he looks like the little old man from the movie Up! LOL
We had no idea we'd have to go on a freezing hike to get back to the bus, but there we were.
After getting back to Jackson we went straight to the coffee shop for some warm drinks!
We stopped at a pull off on the Teton Pass for a few pictures before settling in for the night.
Our Airbnb had a beautiful back yard with great views.
We were really hoping that we would wake up the next day to clear skies so that we could go back to some of the must-see places to get better pictures. Unfortunately, it was still cloudy. Maybe even worse than it had been the days before.
We did stop at the Chapel of Transfiguration to at least see the inside and the famous window.
We had to use our imitations to picture the view from this window. If we didn't know better, we'd never even know there's a whole mountain range behind those clouds. So sad.
We drove up on a large crowd of people pulled over on the side of the road and knew something cool was there. It was a mama bear with cubs! We couldn't see them without binoculars, but it was our first bear sighting!
One last stop at Oxbow Bend before leaving Grand Teton and moving on to Yellowstone!
