Bear Down Wildcats

My man!!!

I took the most interesting route to Idaho Falls from mammoth lakes through Nevada - it was incredible. Wild horses, bulls, deer all along side the road. Totally remote and a little nerve recking for a few hundred miles there with the kids in the car but what a tremendous experience.

we are heading an additional 92miles north of here first thing this morning and entering the west entrance of Yellowstone at the corner of Montana Idaho and Wyoming.

From there we drive south along the west ide of the park past Old Faithful and into and thru the Grand Teton’s and eventually ending this afternoon in Jackson Hole - we are staying till Friday.

I’ll text you again later today - thank you for checking in on me and saying hello

Beautiful area. West Yellowstone is a great area to enter the park. That whole drive between the two parks (Yellowstone and Grand Tetons) is just mesmerizing. Enjoy the views and I feel sorry for whomever is driving and has to keep their eyes on the road

Oh man! What an amazing drive one of my favorites!

What Azcat49 said!

So, any recommendations from anyone for the following trip schedule (passing through Jackson)?

Flying into Missoula Saturday night, Sunday in Missoula, drive to Bozeman Sunday night.

Monday in Bozeman, drive to Gardiner, MT Monday night.

Tuesday-Thursday in Yellowstone NP. Friday-Sunday in Grand Teton NP, driving to Salt Lake City Sunday night. Monday-Wednesday in SLC.

Friday and Saturday in Jackson. Spent your days in “The Park” (GTNP) and nights on The Square. Good times. The Cowboy Bar and Silver Dollar Bar aka “The Wort” will usually have live music on Friday and Saturday.

No trip to Jackson is complete without a stop at the community center, aka Snake River Brewing or as locals call it “The Brewpub.” Or “The Pub” if you’re really cool. Everything up there has a nickname. You’re not a true local unless you know them all!

Check out Snake River Grill for fine dining or Merry Piglets on Cache for something more casual. Both are just off The Square.

In the summer I’d take the kids and we would go The Park, catch a few trout, ride to The Pub on our bikes, I would catch up with the haps in town while having a couple of belts, then ride home and grill our catch. Good times.

The weekends in Jackson are ALWAYS a good time.

Spaceman Spiff wrote: ↑Fri Apr 29, 2022 8:31 pm So, any recommendations from anyone for the following trip schedule (passing through Jackson)?

Flying into Missoula Saturday night, Sunday in Missoula, drive to Bozeman Sunday night.

Monday in Bozeman, drive to Gardiner, MT Monday night.

Tuesday-Thursday in Yellowstone NP. Friday-Sunday in Grand Teton NP, driving to Salt Lake City Sunday night. Monday-Wednesday in SLC.

I won't make specific recommendations about Missoula because I grew up there and cannot shed my biases. But for convenience and variation I think starting at the old Hip Strip and heading north will give you a range of options for restaurants.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Berni ... 13.9990731

Bernice's Bakery was the pioneering hippie bakery that had sufficient courage to appear in Missoula of the 60s (*even Google fears the actual date of genesis). There are other options in this area. If you want more uptown options just go north over the Higgins bridge and you're in the densest concentration of bars, cafes, and restaurants the town has to offer. Say hey to, but give a wide berth to the the ghost of my checkered past if you venture near today's iteration of the Top Hat and the Mo Club.

Thank you to the people who've responded.

Any ideas for outdoor stuff? It's our general focus and I was thinking a focus on this in each place:

Missoula: cruise downtown river area, then hike to the M for a view of the valley. We only have a single day until about 4 pm, so I didn't want to get crazy.

Bozeman: not sure on city stuff. Hyalite rec area looks nice, so was thinking about hitting that in the afternoon.

Yellowstone: seems laid out in north/south loop, so with 3 days, just going to follow each. I want to see wildlife, so I've heard Lamar Valley at dawn/dusk is a good choice.

Grand Teton: this is tougher. We're staying in the park, so venturing to Jackson might be dependent on what we find in park. Seems to be a ton of lakes, rivers and hikes, so I don't know. Near Jackson, there's apparently a gondola, which might be cool to take.

Salt Lake: haven't been since I was like 11, so not sure. My sister and brother in law will be there, but not sure how free they'll be, so open to outdoors or city stuff here too.

I think hiking to the M is perfect for your time window. If the weather sucks and you're stuck indoors/car you can drive south down Highway 93 into the Bitterroot. Of course you won't be able to see the peaks if the weather's bad. Maybe you could tour the Dutton Ranch big house in Darby if you're a Yellowstone fan.

Some things to remember outside the city:

Montana is Texas with water and without Sir and Ma'am.
Everybody's packin' and lookin' for a dog to kick.
Don't bother fishing until you're in the Gallatin.

At The Vill there’s a Gondy and a Tram. Tram goes to the top and the Gondy goes up about 3,000’ ft.

We used to take the Tram up to the top of Rendezvous Bowl. The. hike down to the top of the Gondy and have a few HH beers then go back to town.

While you're cruising around Yellowstone, make special note if you see any large dead animals (elk, deer, bison) in the clearings and meadows. Go back at dawn and you'll have a good chance of seeing a grizzly on it.

Thanks everyone for the input. Makes me think hiking the M and taking a gondola/tram are definitely on the list.

Carcass, I'm all about trying to see bears, wolves, bison, etc. Already planning for dawn/dusk and the carcass is simultaneously very name appropriate and a good tip.

There are cool half day rafting trips you can take out of Jackson Hole. One is mellow(don't bother) but the other one has some fun rapids.

Carcassdragger wrote: ↑Tue May 10, 2022 10:17 am There are cool half day rafting trips you can take out of Jackson Hole. One is mellow(don't bother) but the other one has some fun rapids.

Thanks...but my wife can't swim and is already concerned I want to kill her because I want to see bears. If I suggest a rafting trip, she's 100% calling the police on me.

Look for Grizzly 399, https://www.instagram.com/grizzlybear399/?hl=en

Spaceman Spiff wrote: ↑Wed May 11, 2022 8:57 am

Carcassdragger wrote: ↑Tue May 10, 2022 10:17 am There are cool half day rafting trips you can take out of Jackson Hole. One is mellow(don't bother) but the other one has some fun rapids.

Thanks...but my wife can't swim and is already concerned I want to kill her because I want to see bears. If I suggest a rafting trip, she's 100% calling the police on me.

Spiff, ya gotta question the entire basis of going to Montana/Wyo if water and bears are off the menu. The bugs are probably just now about the size of young chickens, even if it's still raining and cold, and if it's raining and cold the scenery is compromised. Under those conditions there's not much left but racism and guns.

Is your wife into Rocky Mountain oysters? I can't remember the dates of the Testicle Festival.

dovecanyoncat wrote: ↑Wed May 11, 2022 2:25 pm

Spaceman Spiff wrote: ↑Wed May 11, 2022 8:57 am

Carcassdragger wrote: ↑Tue May 10, 2022 10:17 am There are cool half day rafting trips you can take out of Jackson Hole. One is mellow(don't bother) but the other one has some fun rapids.

Thanks...but my wife can't swim and is already concerned I want to kill her because I want to see bears. If I suggest a rafting trip, she's 100% calling the police on me.

Spiff, ya gotta question the entire basis of going to Montana/Wyo if water and bears are off the menu. The bugs are probably just now about the size of young chickens, even if it's still raining and cold, and if it's raining and cold the scenery is compromised. Under those conditions there's not much left but racism and guns.

Is your wife into Rocky Mountain oysters? I can't remember the dates of the Testicle Festival.

I didn't say bears were out. I really want to see bears, bison, wolves, etc.

My wife just thinks I might sacrifice her to a bear to save myself, but that does not deter me from wanting to see bears.

I'm uncomfortable answering about Rocky Mountain Oysters. If she doesn't hate me over the bears and water, commenting on how much she enjoys testicles should take it that last little bit.

Irish27 wrote: ↑Wed May 11, 2022 10:00 am Look for Grizzly 399, https://www.instagram.com/grizzlybear399/?hl=en

Sending that to my wife. She instagrams and maybe this will calm her down about the bears.