Grand Teton and Yellowstone in September

[LOL!]

We spent 2 nights in Jackson south of GTNP, 3 nights in Colter Bay in GTNP, and 5 nights (5 full days) in Yellowstone. We had round-trip airfare into Jackson, WY with FF miles.

The accommodation in YNP that we used is not available to the public and not mentioned at trip advisor.com nor anywhere on the web.

 

[Teacher Terry]

We were there last year in the beginning of June when it was not as busy as later on. It still was plenty busy. We did a lot of hiking and walking. You are right that many of the geysers/pools, etc required a lot of walking but we love to walk. We never saw wolves which was disappointing. We saw enough Bison to sink a battleship. We had one charge our motorhome and had to come to a complete stop. Once we stopped it lost interest. WE spent 4 night in YS and 2 in GT and could have stayed longer there was so much to see and do in YS. 2 days in GT was perfect. Enjoyed the pics!

 

[LOL!]

Re wolves: We did not see wolves, but came across a stand of folks following a wolf pack at a far far distance with viewing scopes. They said the wolves had gone "off scope" about 10 minutes before we arrived on the viewing party. To the naked eye, the wolves would have been small moving black dots far away. At least one of the wolves had a radio collar, so park biologists can track them.

In YNP, wolf management is a sore point between the government and locals. The annual elk harvest by hunters is over 180,000 in 11 western states:
Elk Harvest Comparison of Western States

In contrast, wolves in YNP probably kill less than 3,000 elk a year and probably some young cattle as well:

Gray Wolves Impact Elk

While we were in YNP a car hit and killed a bull elk.

 

[Teacher Terry]

When we were there a man was gored because he got too close to a Bison while trying to take his photo. People are so stupid.

 

[PawPrint53]

We recently camped in Yellowstone (tent) and did a couple of hikes and also did the Inspiration Point hike. I think I'm a jinx because the people in front of us saw a moose, and the people behind us saw a bear. We didn't even see a single bison at YNP, which my sister said must be a record because they are everywhere. The only pronghorn we saw were when we were driving through Wyoming to Colorado.

We did get to see the elk and hear them bugling at RMNP, one of my favorite things to do when we lived in Colorado. i could spend hours watching them.

 

[Teacher Terry]

We saw Bison by the thousand. They were literally everywhere. when we were at Old Faithful a few walked right up to some people. The rangers came and got everyone away from them. I can't believe you did not see any.

 

[DrRoy]

We learned that less than 5% of YNP visitors really get out of their cars and hike. About 95% will drive from spot to spot and just look from the car window or get out to view an overlook.

As for geyser viewing, I think most park visitors miss most of the spectacular geysers because they don't run on schedule like Old Faithful and require walking or more driving to get to.

I think it is a shame and a loss when people won't go beyond the car. You are so close but you miss so much.

Also see a couple photos from post #4 in this thread.
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[Teacher Terry]

We love to walk/hike so did a lot of that which was fun. I did not realize how close we were to Glacier park so we didn't go there. That was a mistake.

 

[LOL!]

I think it is a shame and a loss when people won't go beyond the car. You are so close but you miss so much.

Yes, but that just means go to these parks before you are disabled. At least folks who are disabled can still see from the car a lot of wildlife and geysers.

I saw numerous folks with canes, walkers, wheelchairs, and oxygen bottles. It was not that they didn't want to go beyond their vehicle, but that it was exceedingly difficult for them to do so.

PS: My Morning Glory photo is filled with Chinese tourists. I'll have to go again. Great pic!