Tag: National Park to Park Highway

Yellowstone National Park Photo Journal

Yellowstone was the second park on our National Park to Park Highway tour, but the first National Park ever created. On this Independence Day I wanted to share some of our favorite photos from this large and beautiful park. For daily updates follow @mountainmomtots on Instagram.

Getting on a trail and away from crowds.

Little G loves hiking about as much as I love listening to her complain.

This hot spring was visible from our hike. So cool.

Mammoth Hot Springs

Falls in the Firehole River

Enjoying a soak down stream from a hot spring.

Ojo Caliente

Firehole River

Firehole Lake

I thought these globby things looked like Ursula’s garden.

Big E on the boardwalk

Grand Prismatic Springs

10 Things to Do with Kids in Grand Teton National Park

There is so much to do at Grand Teton National Park. Here are our top picks for kids. Make sure to check our instagram for daily updates from our National Park to Park Highway trip.

Bike to Jenny Lake The paved bike path from Jackson to Grand Teton is a 26 mile scenic trail through some of the prettiest scenery on earth. Obviously 26 miles is way more than me and my tots can handle but the path joins the multi use path at the Moose Entrance inside Grand Teton National Park. There it crosses several pullouts and parking areas, allowing for an adjustable length adventure. We took a ranger’s advice and drove to Windy Lakes pullout just past the Moose Entrance to avoid the steepest hill.
Boat on Jenny Lake A shuttle boat takes hikers across Jenny Lake to Inspiration Point trailhead every 10-15 minutes in the summer for $15.00 per adult round trip. In addition you can rent canoes, kayaks or take a 1 hour scenic boat ride to explore this beautiful glacier lake.
Swim in String Lake Just north of Jenny Lake is a great picnic area surrounded by tall pines. Enjoy your meal then head to the water to splash. The shallow water is great for swimming, paddle boards, or canoes. Keep all your food locked up to be Bear Aware.
Visit the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve This modern style museum is beautifully situated at the base of the Tetons. Parking is limited so it’s best to plan your visit to arrive before 10 am or after 3 pm. Several beautiful hikes start from here including my favorite the Woodland Trail to Phelps Lake.

Hike to Phelps Lake This 3 mile round trip hike walks along a river to Phelps Lake. We loved swimming in the clear water, but especially loved the scenery. It’s hard to beat the pine trees and mountains around the lake.

Enjoy Inspiration Point Take the ferry across Jenny Lake and then enjoy the less than a mile long hike up to Inspiration Point. The views are amazing, but so are the crowds. This is one of the most popular hikes in Grand Teton National Park so don’t go expecting solitude. You can also explore hidden falls, the trails connect.
Check out a Naturalist Backpack At the Craig Thomas Discovery Center and Laurence S Rockefeller Preserve you can check out a naturalist backpack complete with nature journal, drawing materials and everything you need to make a plaster cast of an animal track.
Take a Scenic Drive Teton Park road passes alpine lakes and offers great views of the Teton mountain range. For another good scenic drive try the Moose-Wilson road toward the south of the park. Parts of this road is not appropriate for RV, Truck or Trailer use.

Travel Back in Time The Historic District at Grand Teton National Park has several wild west buildings still in use. A chapel built in the early 1900s, Menors Ferry and General Store and a little further on Murie Ranch. If you’re a history buff you won’t want to miss this.
Watch for Wildlife You drive through the Elk Refuge when you approach Grand Tetons from Jackson. Watch for wildlife including bison and elk especially in the mornings and evenings. Be aware that the speed limit is 55 during the day and 45 at night.
Raft the Snake River Okay so this one might be easier just outside of Grand Teton National Park but the Snake River has some great whitewater rapids and makes for a fun day trip or leisurely float. Several rafting companies are based in nearby Jackson Hole, WY.

Grand Teton National Park Photo Journal

Stage 2 of our National Park to Park Highway has begun! Our first stop? Grand Teton National Park. I loved this alpine wonderland. The wildflowers, mountains, alpine lakes and animals were so beautiful.  Here are our favorite photos from Grand Tetons.
Larkspur at the base of the Teton Range.
This is the land of cool waters.

Phelps Lake

Little G 
Sky, land and water.

The whole Mountain Fam swimming in an alpine lake.
Rivers, lakes and streams. Grand Teton has them all.

Little G at Jenny Lake.

Big E was an awesome biker on the Grand Teton multi-use trail.

This may be the most beautiful bike ride I’ve ever been on.

Wildflowers

What to Pack on a Seven Week Road Trip – Part 2

Today is the day – June 27, 2016! We take off on Stage 2 of our National Park to Park Highway Tour as soon as the Ultimate Adventure Vehicle has all our bags and supplies safely strapped inside.

Anyone who has moved or packed for a long road trip knows how many times you ask yourself “Do we have everything?” That’s been my mantra over the last few days as I’ve made lists, washed clothes, found gear and put everything in its place. I talked about what clothes we’ll have on the trip in a previous post, but now it’s time to talk about the gear we’ll bring. Here are a few of our essentials.

Shelter

The plan is to sleep inside the Ultimate Adventure Vehicle. We’ve converted the back of our truck into a storage/sleeping haven with a Decked Truck Bed Organizer to hold all of our gear and a Sam T Evans truck cap for protection.

Sleeping pads include a Lightspeed Air Mattress and Foam Topper. The tots each have a Klymit Static V Junior Sleeping Pad that Big E and Little G will use on the bench seats of the truck or in their Lucky Bums Pop-Up Tent. Baby L will sleep with her Klymit Static V Junior Sleeping Pad and KidCo PeaPod on the tailgate, or in bear country inside the truck cap with us.

In addition to the truck for sleeping we brought a Tripod Quick Canopy shade shelter to set up at the campsite.

Food Prep

Since Big E has food allergies, we can’t rely on eating out all the time on this trip. For cooking we’ll be using a BioLite Wood Burning Campstove that has the capacity to charge electronics while you use it. It’s pretty cool. 

We’ll also have an Innobaby Aquaheat Food Warmer for quick, flameless heating. I had never something like this before –  you have to check it out. Just set a heat pack in the bottom, add water and a reaction puts off so much heat through the stainless steel container that you can boil pasta. Seriously, I made macaroni and cheese at a park picnic table. It’s awesome for heating up leftovers and great for Big E since he can’t have the kid’s picnic staple PB&J. If you can’t have sandwiches what do you eat? With the Innobaby Aquaheat Food Warmer we can make him anything.

For dishes we’ll break out the Sea to Summit X-Pot, Pan & Kettle, Mugs and Bowls. These are the cool collapsibles pack down tight to save room in packing. Our pantry is tucked inside our Decked Bed Organizer and the cooler will ride on top.

First Aid

On our Stage 1 Dry Run Campout we got out our LifelineTrail Light 5 First Aid Kit every single day. Between getting medicine for a headache and bandaids for the many scrapes my kids got, I’m glad we had a good kit. I’m glad to have the Lifeline Emergency Truck Kit for emergencies too.

Fun

The point of this road trip is not just to visit the National Parks along the National Park to Park Highway route. It’s also to enjoy them. We’re excited to get our kids on their Woom Bikes and ride with Baby L in the Burley D’Lite while we explore the National Parks. The Burley D’Lite Bike Trailer is one tough trailer, doubling as a stroller that was capable of doing some off-roading back in Zion.

Woom Bikes with their lightweight, well designed frame have been perfect for our kids learning to ride. Big E loves his WOOM 4 with the eight gear twist shifter. He’s taken off as a riding pro now. Little G is a little more tentative on her WOOM 3.

We’ll also have our old model Kelty Pathfinder Child Carrier hiking pack to make exploring off the pavement possible. Try walking more than ten minutes while holding an almost toddler and your arm muscles will explain just how essential a good kid pack is on outdoor adventures.

With all of the planning, packing and preparing I really hope we haven’t forgotten anything. I’m ready to get on the road and see the National Parks in this Centennial year. I hope you all have a chance to get out and have an adventure this year too. If you do, tell me about it on instagram, facebook or twitter.

This post includes affiliate links. I receive a small commission if you purchase something by clicking through these links. Thank you to Yakima, Burley, Woom Bikes and all of our 2016 National 

Park to Park Highway Tour Sponsors.