Arriving and the Hotel
Just flying into the Jackson Hole, Wyoming airport was one of the most incredible sights to see. It's considered the most beautiful place to fly into in the entire country. I didn't know that until I arrived and overheard people saying that. It was picturesque...like a movie scene.
The hotel was adorable. It's called "The Lodge at Jackson Hole" and it's decorated just as you'd expect. Our room had a weird, musty smell and I felt like the place desperately needed new carpeting but the kids didn't notice so it was all good. Food and customer service was good but of course like everywhere right now, they were short-staffed. We heard from other guests that Bill O'Reilly was staying there. Random fact.
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Yellowstone National Park & Prismatic Spring
If you haven't seen the Grand Prismatic Spring at Yellowstone, DO IT IMMEDIATELY. Yes, we saw the Old Faithful Geyser which was super cool, trust me! Worth the visit. BUT, the prismatic spring to me, was surreal. It was the most amazing thing I've ever experienced in my life. I don't know the details but it came about from a super volcano that erupted a gazillion years ago and created this crater and all these little geysers that bubble up. They say that no one can ever know when it will erupt again so I'm not gonna lie, that was kind of a rush walking around thinking about that. Yikes.
The water is hot so steam is blowing off the water and bacterial mats are what make the beautiful colors in the prismatic spring. Yes, bacteria called cyanobacteria that evolved to live in hot water are what makes those colors. It's crazy! It's really windy up there too! You could see dozens of hats strewn about that were blown off heads.
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There were thousands of people there waiting to see Old Faithful which erupts every hour and a half...24/7.
Here's the entire eruption in my video below but you can never get the full experience without being there in person:
Grand Tetons, Bison & Rodeo
One of the days we did a 'rodeo' class in true 'Old West' style. The company name was 'Introduction to Rodeo' and I highly recommend them! It was a private thing with just our family and it was incredible with the Grand Tetons as the backdrop. We also saw bison that day while driving! Unreal.
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A must see for any family with kids older than 5!
The one caveat I would say is that most activities like white-water rafting etc is much better for kids 6 and older. Most places like fishing expeditions or archery places would only allow 6 and up and we had Nash who is 5 still so that held us back.
Plus, if my kids were older, we could have done some hiking or more walking around Yellowstone than we were able to. We only got to see Old Faithful and Prismatic Spring but there are at least 3 or 4 other amazing sights to see at Yellowstone which spans across several states like Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.
So, my overall summary is Jackson Hole, Wyoming is AH-MAZING (although the town square with the antler arches is extremely touristy and jam packed kind of like I-Drive in Orlando). Once you get out of the main tourist square area, you're in a mountain paradise. The Grand Teton National Park LITERALLY took my breath away every time I looked at the mountain range. It's just so beautiful.
Also, the oxygen is definitely scarce being at 7,000 feet elevation so that is an issue if you have lung issues or asthma.
It was a trip I can only hope and pray my kids (5 and 8) will be able to remember for the rest of their lives because I know Mike and I will!