After spending two months in Colorado visiting family and skiing, we headed north in an effort to reach The Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. It took us two days to reach the Tetons and, on our way, we spent one night in Lander (Wyoming) at a free city park campground. We were tempted to stay at this place longer because it was very beautiful and much warmer than Colorado had been…but we decided against this and continued towards the Tetons.
The jagged peaks of the snow covered Tetons were well worth the long drive. We camped inside a National Forest that had a great view of the mountains and was about 15 minutes from the entrance to the park. Part of the road that led into the forest was closed because of snow, but it did open near the end of May – a few weeks after we arrived. Because the road was not opened the entire way when we were there, many other weekend warriors and a few other full-timers camped near us too. We met several other full-timers during our two week stay in this forest outside of the Tetons. One family, in particular, joined us for a campfire one night where we shared lots of laughter over good ole full-timing stories. They call themselves wandering nation and have been traveling for over three years now.
Over our first weekend in the Tetons, we decided to take a day to visit Yellowstone. Other than the irritating traffic, we had a great time. We visited Old Faithful and took in the gorgeous sites of all the famous geysers that are constantly blowing steam into the air. One geyser, which bears the memorable name of “Old Faithful,” shot out hot water and steam every ninety minutes. The water will reach as high as one hundred feet, oftentimes.
During our stay near the Tetons, we explored a lot. Every day we kept our eyes peeled for signs of bear or moose. We did see several herds of buffalo, elk, one moose, two Canadian geese and their goslings, a mother beaver and her kit, several coyotes, and we heard wolves but did not see them. One of the great things about being near the Tetons in the Spring is seeing all of the young animals. Despite all of these wonderful animals, we did not see any more moose and, although we did find bear tracks, we did not see any bears. We would love to see some more exciting wildlife – from a safe distance, of course. Hopefully we will see something more in the following weeks as we explore further into Yellowstone and continue heading Northwest.
Lander City Park
Rating:
4 out of 5 stars
Comments:
This City park was right next to a rushing river, which was very beautiful. Although it was in “the city” it seemed very secluded because of the river and the nearby trees. It was not entirely private, however, because there was a baseball field next door that shone with bright lights until about nine in the evening.
Cell Service:
– Google Fi (combination of US cellar, T-mobile, and Sprint): 2 bars of LTE
– Verizon: 2 LTE bars
Weather:
– High was in the upper 60’s
– Low was in the 40’s
Time of Year:
Middle of May
Recommended Places to See & Things to do:
– Take a walk along the river and enjoy the beauty of the area.
– A local man told us that Lander has good restaurants, so one could explore the town and find a place to eat.
Bridger-Teton National Forest
Rating:
4 out of 5 stars
Comments:
This is a great place to go dry camping, if you want to be near the Tetons and somewhat near Yellowstone. A ranger came by almost daily to check on new-comers and make sure no one stayed longer than 16 days. We were able to fill up our water and dump for free in Colter Bay Campground inside of Yellowstone.
Cell Service:
– Google Fi (combination of US cellar, T-mobile, and Sprint): 2 bars of LTE
– Verizon: 2 LTE bars
Weather:
– High was in the lower 70’s
– Low was in the upper 20’s
Time of Year:
Middle of May
Recommended Places to See & Things to do:
– Take some time to visit The Grand Tetons National Park to go hiking and possibly see wildlife.
– Visit the town of Jackson, which is about 30 minutes from the forest and has some neat little shops.
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