By Jenny Ellis, Magical Moments Vacations agent
Jenny Ellis with her family and her brother at Yellowstone.
A couple of weeks ago my family and I traveled to Montana (including Yellowstone National Park) and Wyoming to take in the sights and enjoy the beautiful weather, and to travel somewhere to take our minds off the pandemic.
Wearing masks and practicing social distancing as much as possible, my kids and I flew into Bozeman, Montana where we met my husband, who had spent a previous week there with two buddies fly fishing and seeing the area's sights.
On our arrival day we had lunch at Ted Turner's Montana Grill in Bozeman.
We sampled bison short ribs, bison meatloaf, bison burgers, and
the onion rings… which were to die for!
And for dessert, we had huckleberry ice cream. Yum!
Huckleberries are well known to this area.
Here I am near the river with my family after we had been fly fishing.
Then, we were off to West Yellowstone for three nights.
West Yellowstone is a busy tourist town on the edge of Yellowstone Park. Be sure to get up early to beat the traffic and crowds so you can get into the park to see the sights and wildlife.
We even saw wildlife right by the edge of the road!
On our first day, we explored the Geyser areas of the park including
Grand Prismatic Springs and Old Faithful.
The second day out of West Yellowstone, we headed North into the park to see
Mammoth Hot Springs and Lamar Valley.
Mammoth Hot Springs is the location of a huge hot springs mineral deposit formation and the site of a US Army fort used to house soldiers to guard the park from Wild West robbers and park artifact looters.
My kids had fun along the banks of the Lamar River in Lamar Valley at Yellowstone.
We also got to see the Hayden Valley, which is the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.
The views of the upper and lower falls were incredibly rugged and beautiful.
The Lamar Valley is a plains area hosting bears, bison, elk, pronghorn, coyote, wolves, fox and other animals. You never know what animals you will see!
Make sure to look for the resident elk herd if you go here.
The third day we headed to Jackson, Wyoming to hike Jenny Lake/Cascade Canyon
in the Grand Tetons National Park, whitewater raft the Snake River, and
explore the adventure park at Snow King Mountain Resort.
It was fun to visit “my” lake!
My girls enjoyed hiking here too.
Here we are rafting on the Snake River! This is an amazing experience!
The waves we rode were class 2 and 3 and the scenery during the raft ride was just incredible.
We did have one person on our raft go overboard during the trip--but she was recovered and back in the boat quickly. Can you see me in the middle of the raft?
At Snow King Mountain in Wyoming we did a variety of activities including the
zip-line, riding the alpine coaster down the mountain, taking
the scenic chair lift, playing putt putt and more.
Here’s a photo of my husband and me at Jackson Hole downtown square.
We had a great three night stay in Jackson Hole! We saw beautiful scenery, ate good food,
and participated in a variety of fun activities. My family really enjoyed this trip!
The Yellowstone-Grand Teton area is a popular destination in July and August and would normally be much more crowded. This year, attendance is being managed for social distancing. I can see why so many people love to visit this place….the views, wildlife experiences, wide variety of outdoor activities and especially the pleasant weather makes traveling here an absolute treat!
Here I am relaxing with my feet in the Madison River West Yellowstone while my family was fly-fishing.
This wonderful trip can be done in a variety of ways, including with Adventures by Disney, who offers a journey to Montana and Yellowstone National Park, a 7 day, six-night adventure which I have booked for clients.
Jenny Ellis is a Top 5 Agent for Magical Moments Vacations and a member of the agency’s Advisory Board. She specializes in the following destinations: Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, Disney’s Aulani Resort and Spa in Hawaii, and Adventures by Disney, plus Universal Orlando, Royal Caribbean cruises and Sandals/Beaches Resorts in the Caribbean.
Email: Jennyellis@mmvagent.com
Facebook: MagicalMomentsVacations-Jenny Ellis
Phone: 501-328-7921