Grinding Into Grand Teton National Park
We are no strangers to a good road trip. This one has a much different feel. Words like Freedom, Flexibility, Ease, Curiosity and Adventure are smeared across this road trip in ways we have never experienced in our adult lives. We find ourselves staring out the windows as if we have the eyes of a young child. Grab your jacket, get the keys and let’s hit the road!
Mile - 574
Quote of the Blog - “Life is either a daring adventure, or it is nothing.” - Helen Keller
Song of the Blog - Johnny Cash & June Carter, “Jackson”
The morning alarm on our final day in Whitefish hit us like a ton of bricks, as neither of us gotten much sleep. The goal today was to get ourselves on the road as early as possible. With the goal of getting to Jackson, Wyoming. After a quick goodbye to our friends, we made sure we had everything buttoned down and hit the road (6:45am to be exact). The sun did not rise for a couple of hours. Driving past Flathead Lake seemed like a blur. With a low cloud layer, the Mission Mountains hid themselves from our view. As we pass by the National Bison Range, a heard of Elk graced us with their presence.
We Love The Coffee Pot Bakery!!!
The trip from Whitefish, MT to Jackson, WY would typically take about 9 hours. To break up the day and to stay active, we would stop every few hours to do body weight exercises (cue Amity Sparks, Physical Therapist). Any time we can get outside of a car packed to the brim is much needed!
We had two goals before we got out of Montana. First was to get the best Salted Carmel Brownie in the entire state! The second was to get some of the best Montana Whiskey we could find. Great thing is, both of these items are found in Southwestern Montana. Our first stop took us to a tiny little shop in Gallatin Valley called The Coffee Pot Bakery. My mouth drools just typing their name! We found this place while traveling to Big Sky Resort, and have made it a mandatory stop if we ever find ourselves in the general area. This stop may have been 45 minutes out of our way, but you better believe we enjoyed it for the entire day!
You Know You Want Some
Next we drove along the Madison River, which is fed by the springs of Yellowstone National Park. If fly fishing is your game, this place must be on your list! The most notable town in the county is Ennis, MT. This is where we found ourselves stopping for some spirits. It is my opinion that if you want to find the best whiskey made in Montana, you must be drinking whiskey from Willie’s Distillery in Ennis, MT. Knowing we still have a significant day left in the car, we decided to share a tasting flight. So good! But as Radness used to say, DTRMF! Back in the car, and away we go!
A few more hours and a few more lunges/squats later, we found ourselves on the edge of leaving Montana. Salted Carmel Brownie in hand, we passed through amazing areas outside of West Yellowstone. We were blown away by the beauty of the Madison River, Quake Lake and West Yellowstone. Just before passing into Idaho a large Moose scurries off the side of the road and into the woods. As if all the wooded creature friends we have made in our time in Montana wanted to say one last goodbye. And just like that Montana is in the rearview mirror.
Focused on the push forward, we continue our day in the car. We pass town after town. The winding of the road brings us through farm land and past herds of Pronghorn Antelope and never ending masses of cattle. Even as we drive through the endless expanses of farm land we have excitement brewing, knowing that we are getting closer and closer to the Grand Teton National Park and Jackson, WY. They looked as if they are jumping straight up out of the rolling farm land. We now know that phase one of our drive is about to come to an end.
Grand Tetons From Outside Tetonia Idaho
Pulling into Jackson, Wyoming for our first time was very exciting. Even though it was not for skiing purposes, we were still stoked to get here! As we mentioned before, we wanted absolute freedom in our journey and we did not book a hotel in advance. Our first stop was the Road House Brewery in downtown Jackson. We have a beer and quickly realized that a lot of things are closed, and that we are now there in the “off season”. When it comes to lodging, this was the best thing to discover! We found some of Jackson’s best lodging options at their lowest rates! JACKPOT!!! Our luck landed us in a suite at The Lodge at Jackson Hole, at very cheap rates.
Buffalo Tenderloin Welington @
Local Restaurant & Bar
Although there were many seasonal restaurant closures, we still found amazing food at the Local Restaurant & Bar on the first night. The second night, we were treated to one of the last nights of operations at Thai Me Up; a spot that was referred to us by nearly everyone who we talked to about going to Jackson. The off-season played well for us in a lot of different ways. With our dinners, the restaurants were quiet and had a private dining feel to them. We certainly can appreciate an off-season in a busy ski/tourist town.
Finally, we needed to spend a full day out of the car doing something radical! With the light snow in the mountains, we thought a nice valley hike in Grand Teton National Park would be a great idea. Unfortunately, Grand Teton National Park had closed their main roads the day before we arrived. We quickly found a trailhead just on the outskirts of the park and walked ourselves to the head of Taggart Lake. Placed just at the bast of the Tetons, we were spoiled with amazing views. The temps were cool and there was some necessary navigation around ice and snow required, but there was no one around! Following a nice hot tub session back at the hotel, it was time for us to figure out the next leg of the trip.
Taggart Lake - Grand Teton National Park
Our original plan was to head from Jackson, WY to Crested Butte, CO. Billy was born in Crested Butte and he wanted to go back and visit his parent’s old stomping grounds. Colorado was forecasted to get a significant amount of snow, and driving 12 hours into a place like Crested Butte was not looking like the right decision. As we remapped our journey, the idea of going skiing was on the forefront of our conversation. Ski areas around Summit County have started to open for some early season skiing! Summit county was still a bit far for us to drive in inclement weather. Thankfully an amazing mountain town, Steamboat Springs Colorado, was right on the route. We stuffed everything back into the car and off we went We like to think that at this point we are getting good with our ability to repack the car… little did we know!!!
Packed Like A Can Of Sardines