‘Life is your art. An open, aware heart is your camera. A oneness with your world is your film. Your bright eyes and easy smile is your museum.’-Ansel Adams

When planning my summer road trip 2.0, I knew I had to go to Grand Tetons National Park. I knew it was beautiful, I love national parks and mountains but, mostly, I was really tired of my brother asking me when I was going to go. It is his favorite place and he mentions it frequently. So Gus and I made the trip. I did a quick google search and read that while end of May was a bit chilly, the weather should be crisp but clear. Google was wrong.

Right before I left, the weather turned. It was going to be cold and possibly snow. I was already committed and just hoped for the best. As I drove into Wyoming, it started to get very cold with a touch of flurries. At a rest stop, I reserved a room at Shoshone Rose Casino and Hotel, which is near Grand Tetons National Park. It is on the reservation and dog friendly. The parking lot area was also well lit and I never felt unsafe walking Gus at 3 am (he does much better in a motel setting so lots of walks outside to tire him out when he started barking-he loves having conversations with you LOL). Even if you don’t stay here, I highly recommend taking the route to through Lander, Wyoming because the drive is STUNNING, a lot of the area around the Rose River reminded me of Eastern Oregon.

I entered Grand Tetons National Park from the east and did not really make any stops crossing the park. Instead, I wanted to get to my campground and get settled. I booked Gros Ventre Campground, which is on the west side of the park near Mormon Row. I really loved the campground. Everything was close and they had massive bear proof storage boxes at each campsite. First time I had seen something like that, usually just told to keep everything in my car (as was the case at Glacier National Park). Big fan and freed up a lot of space in my car for sleeping.

Because I had Gus, I did not do as many of the trails because most national parks are not super pet friendly. As there was snow on the ground and it snowed a lot the following day, not a huge deal. You can see most of the vistas from your car or just going to the lookouts. So pretty accessible and something for everyone. Not all areas required an entry pass but if you want to explore Jenny Lake and the surrounding area, you will need a to pay (or get the America the Beautiful pass). Gus and I stuck to the areas he was allowed and the views were still phenomenal. I watched the sunset at Ansel Adams Point and no one was really there, which was great!

A great thing about the campground was it was about 20 minutes from Downtown Jackson (Jackson is the town, Jackson Hole is the region). It was very dog friendly, Gus was able to go into many of the shops and was very well behaved! On our last night, it was pouring rain, so we stopped and got pizza. The town is super cute and very walkable. I also got a killer deal on a Patagonia fleece coat at a local outdoors shop and swung by the local REI, which also had a big sale.

Since it was so close, I decided to swing by Yellowstone National Park. I did not see a lot of the park, while Grand Tetons can be done in a day or two (unless you’re doing a ton of hiking), Yellowstone needs a few days. I was close enough to head up to see Old Faithful, some of the hot springs, and see some bison. The weather was also not awesome. It snowed as I was driving up there and did not stop. In fact, the day after I left, they actually closed the south entrance due to poor conditions. There were also very limited facilities. Still worth it and was really cool to watch Old Faithful in the snow.

My last night, all the rain turned to snow. I was pretty warm sleeping in my car (I have a Rav4 Hybrid) and Gus seemed non-pulsed but it was cold in the morning! The mountains were blocked by the fog. The last stop was the famed Moulton Barn, which is part of the Mormon Row section of the park. There are lots of homesteads from early settlers to the area. There were quite a few people there when I went. Gus stayed in the car why I did a quick walk around (perk of a hybrid). There was not a mountain to be seen amongst the backdrop due to the storm. It was cool and due to the weather it drove home the vastness and isolation, and that people lived like that for so long.

I had a great time. Grand Tetons were beautiful but I still think I prefer Banff and Jasper (sorry, B). I would also like to return with some warmer weather! I did embrace the cold because Gus and my next stop was one of my most favorite places on Earth and there would not be a snowflake in site!