Our 2018 Return Trip to Yellowstone NP & Grand Teton NP & Visits to Seattle & Vancouver Island

[suei]

Our holiday in August/September 2018 was wonderful from start to finish! It was a trip of Highs almost all the way!
After a short but wonderful time in Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks in 2015, we’d promised ourselves that we’d go back one day & spend more time in both Parks. We’d also loved watching Black Bears in the Parks, but hadn’t managed to see any Grizzlies in either Park. In early 2017, I’d only just started planning a return trip when I came across the perfect place to see Grizzlies - Knight Inlet Lodge in British Columbia. So, what had started out as a 3-week holiday got stretched to 4 weeks so we could fit in a visit to Knight Inlet Lodge & spend some time exploring Vancouver Island too!
Our trip included 8 flights:
• Gatwick to Seattle (Norwegian)
• Seattle to Victoria, Vancouver Island (Alaskan Airlines)
• Campbell River to Knight Inlet Lodge (Vancouver Island Air Float Plane)
• Knight Inlet Lodge to Campbell River (Vancouver Island Air Float Plane)
• Victoria to Seattle (Alaskan Airlines)
• Seattle to Bozeman (Alaskan Airlines)
• Bozeman to Seattle (Alaskan Airlines)
• Seattle to Gatwick (Norwegian)
All were very good & on-time, but the float plane flights were absolutely amazing - especially as I got to sit in the co-pilot’s seat on the return flight!

LOTS & LOTS OF HIGHS!

NORWEGIAN FLIGHTS
• Lounge access being included at both Gatwick & Seattle – we’ve never been in an airport lounge before!
• Our Dreamliner seats being really comfortable, with great legroom

SEATTLE
• The Moore Hotel was great value for a city-centre hotel, & our room was clean & airy
• BBQ Pulled Pork pizza at nearby Rocco’s was de-l-ish - my favourite pizza ever!
• Coming across free-styling skateboarders at a Block Party in the nearby Belltown suburb
• Seeing the “Fish Throwing” at Pike Place Market, but we weren’t so sure about the nearby Gum Wall!
• Spending a really interesting 2 hours on a “Seattle 101” walking tour with Jake, the owner of Seattle Free Walking Tours
• 360⁰ city views from the Sky View Observatory (despite the smoky haze) looking west towards Vancouver Island, north to the Space Needle, south to Century Link Field & Safeco Field, & east across Lake Washington towards Bellevue (home of Microsoft & Amazon)
• Interesting film & museum exhibits at the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park (Seattle Unit) museum
• Dropping into both Walgreens & Bed Bath & Beyond on our 1st night back in the US!

VANCOUVER ISLAND
SIDNEY
• Clearing Canadian Immigration & collecting our bags in just 5 minutes - Victoria’s airport is tiny!
• Following a pod of 8 transient Orcas for over an hour on our whale-watching trip
• Delicious cakes from Sidney Bakery!

VICTORIA
• Helm’s Inn Hotel, just a 5-minute walk from central Victoria & right across the road from Beacon Hill Park
• A superb breakfast at Cora which included 10 different fresh fruits. Wish we’d gone back on our 2nd morning too!
• Seeing the wonderful wildlife art at the Robert Bateman Gallery, having seen a stunning picture called “Chief, an American Bison” by Robert Bateman in Jackson in 2015
• Smoke in the air clearing before we reached Campbell River. Hooray!

KNIGHT INLET LODGE
• Fantastic float plane flights, especially the amazing views & the water landings
• 48 hours of unforgettable wildlife viewing
• Being out in a boat looking for Grizzly Bears within 30 minutes of arriving at the Lodge, & seeing 2 bears straight away!
• Stunning scenery & great wildlife viewing on an Inlet Cruise, including seeing about 20 White-Sided Dolphins, a Harbour Porpoise, Harbour Seals, a Stellar Seal Lion, Loons, Belted Kingfishers, Canada Geese, Ospreys & Bald Eagles
• Seeing more Bears on other Inlet boat trips
• The friendly & very knowledgeable guides, who were all incredibly good at spotting wildlife, which might only be an ear poking above the grass!
• Delicious meals, which included prawn & crab appetisers freshly-caught in the Inlet earlier in the day; & freshly-baked cookies & cakes & hot drinks available all day long
• Getting to sit next to the pilot on our return float plane flight
• Loving every single minute of our stay - which wasn’t nearly long enough!

UCLUELET
• The warm welcome at Liohona Guest House (& the use of their own washer & dryer in the nick of time before we ran out of clean clothes!)

DUNCAN
• The fabulous Hillcrest B&B, where every last thing you could possibly think of had been provided!
• A really good evening meal at The Dog House
• Walking the Totem Pole Walking Trail

• Seeing the stunningly vibrant floral displays at Butchart Gardens
• Chuckling at the Alaska Airlines cabin attendant’s patter on our flight back to Seattle from Victoria ,for example: “Ladies & Gentlemen, a wallet’s been found on the floor……& now that I have your attention……”, “Now, if you have an infant with you, or someone who acts like one…..”, & “There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 4 ways to leave this aircraft…..”!

SEATTLE
• Delicious food at Sharp’s Roaster & Ale House, right next door to our hotel (the Coast Gateway) at Sea-Tac airport

YELLOWSTONE NP – PART 1
• Being back in YNP again felt wonderful, especially when we got caught up in a Bison jam almost immediately!
• Grand Prismatic Spring Overlook being our first stop in the Park. A very good decision as only a handful of people were about, & the view of GPS was stunning in the early evening sunshine
• Arriving back at Old Faithful Inn, knowing we had 3 whole days ahead of us just to explore that part of the Park. Plenty of time to watch Old Faithful‘s eruptions!
• Reaching Grand Geyser in glorious sunshine just as it erupted, & what a spectacle it was too, lasting for well over 10 minutes!
• A lovely walk up to Morning Glory Spring enjoying the Upper Geyser Basin’s geysers, hot springs & pools, then on to Biscuit Basin, & back to OFI past Castle Geyser
• Catching the culprit red-handed beside an unzipped motorbike pannier with the evidence strewn across the ground beside the bike – a very guilty-looking Raven who was sitting on the bike seat!
• OFI’s Huckleberry ice cream still tasting soooo good &, even better, enjoying it from OFI’s outside balcony watching Old Faithful erupting
• Watching Castle Geyser erupt super-heated water for about 35 minutes, followed by another 20 minutes of “roaring” steam
• On our final morning walk up on Geyser Hill, first watching Anemone Geyser erupting, then seeing a beautiful rainbow in the morning sunshine as Lion Geyser erupted & then, as we made our way back to OFI to check-out, seeing Old Faithful erupt again. What a send-off!

GRAND TETON NP
• Stunning views across Jackson Lake to the Tetons in brilliant sunshine, firstly from Jackson Lake Overlook, & then again from Jackson Lake Lodge’s lobby & outside balcony
• Oxbow Bend (one of my favourite places) at sunset with a golden glow as the sun disappeared behind Mount Moran. So good that we went there each evening of our 3-night stay! One evening watching as a group of Elk appeared out of nearby woodland to graze, & on another seeing Sandhill Cranes flying overhead as the sun went down
• Making an excellent last-minute decision to drive back again to Oxbow Bend late one afternoon in the hope of seeing River Otters, & being lucky enough to see a group of 3 Otters feasting on fish, watched closely by a Bald Eagle on the river bank. Then watching as they taunted the Eagle, before diving quickly away with their fish when the Eagle tried to steal it!
• Our cosy Signal Mountain Lodge cabin close to Jackson Lake, with fabulous views as we walked to breakfast each morning. We both appreciated the bathroom ceiling heater/light, which was most welcome on the chilly mornings!
• Enjoying delicious meals again at SML’s Trapper Grill including 2 breakfasts & 3 dinners, & usually being seated by the windows looking out across Jackson Lake. Their Sunset Sangria is also worth a mention!
• Our super-cute speedy chipmunk neighbour at SML. It was actually a joint resident, as it appeared to be living under our cabin!
• Our sunny morning Float Trip (booked through SML) was so peaceful, although pretty chilly at 7am! The views of the Tetons were fabulous against the cloudless blue sky, & we saw plenty of wildlife including Bald Eagles, Mule Deer & a Racoon, but sadly no Moose
• Enjoying sunny walks & great views along Colter Bay ‘s Lakeshore Loop Trail & also along the shores of String Lake & Leigh Lake, both with plenty of small animal & bird-spotting along the way
• The stunning view of the Tetons from inside the Chapel of the Transfiguration. Well worth a return visit!
• The gorgeous reflections of the Tetons in the quiet pools & ponds at a return visit to Schwabacher’s Landing
• A volunteer in one of GTNP’s Visitor Centres, on hearing our British accents, whispering “Please tell your Queen we apologise”; & when asked why, replying “For our wonderful President…”!

JACKSON
• Watching a cute Belted Kingfisher fishing while enjoying our DQ Blizzards in a park near the Visitor Centre
• A return visit to see the superb wildlife photography at Mangelson’s Gallery. Don’t miss this place!
• A major highlight of our trip (as it had been in 2015) was our day tour with J H Eco Tour Adventures. This time our guide was Mark & again we were lucky that only 4 of us were in the van. Only ½ hour from being picked up from the Ranch Inn, we spent 40 spellbound minutes watching as a Moose mother & her 2 calves wandered slowly through the undergrowth beside the Gros Ventre River. Then just 20 minutes afterwards at Schwabacher’s Landing, standing looking out of the van’s opened roof flaps as another mother Moose with her calf casually strolled across the roadway right in front of us before disappearing through trees towards the Snake River. An absolutely magical couple of hours! After enjoying delicious breakfast snacks & freshly-brewed coffee we then headed into the hills looking for wolves. Sadly none were around but Mark told us lots about wolves & other local wildlife, plants & butterflies. Next we drove along Pilgrims Creek Road looking for Grizzly Bear #399 (again, sadly without success) before driving to the shores of Jackson Lake at Colter Bay to enjoy a delicious picnic lunch. It tasted all the better in glorious sunshine gazing across the water to the spectacular Tetons. Another amazing J H Eco Tour Adventures!
• Breakfast at The Bunnery (another return visit) – yum, & especially their cinnamon-raisin toast!
• Managing to squeeze in a final visit to Oxbow Bend before heading north-east away from GTNP

THERMOPOLIS
• Enjoying a short but interesting visit to the Wyoming Dinosaur Centre in Thermopolis (1 of the top 10 dinosaur museums in the world) with real & replica dinosaur skeletons displayed, some of them found locally, as well as a superb Archaeopteryx fossil. We still wish we’d been able to find time to join a “Dig For A Day” there

LEGEND ROCK ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
• Interesting petroglyphs, a bit off the beaten track, & the site volunteer made us chuckle when she asked if “we (the Brits) still liked them (the Americans)”, apologised “for our present politics”, then said “hopefully it’ll change next time”!

CODY
• Spotting the fantastically-shaped rock hoodoos along Highway 20 (Yellowstone’s East Entrance road)
• Our cute cabin at Creekside Lodge at Yellowstone, & watching Cedar Waxwings & an osprey in the trees across the creek in the late afternoon

YELLOWSTONE NP – PART 2
• Going back into Yellowstone - again!
• The great view across Yellowstone Lake from Lake Butte Overlook
• Bison strolling past right next to our car in Hayden Valley. They are soooo b-i-g!
• Parking up in Hayden Valley to watch as a large herd of Bison wandered past, & hearing them breathing & “grunting” as a few stopped to graze right beside my car door!
• Enjoying the fabulous view of the Lower Falls from Artist’s Point in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
• Watching from the loading bay as a huge Bison strolled along the service road behind the Canyon Soda Fountain where we’d been eating dinner
• Seeing clouds of steam rising from Steamboat Geyser in Back Basin at Norris Geyser Basin. Steamboat erupted a total of 33 times in 2018, having not erupted at all since 2014!
• Strolling along Porcelain Basin’s boardwalks at Norris, & watching how the colours changed due to passing clouds
• Seeing the huge herds of Bison in Lamar Valley that had gathered for the rut
• Spotting Mountain Goats on Barronette Peak (a first for us) & seeing them again later on in the day
• Enjoying the stunning views along the Beartooth Scenic Byway up to Beartooth Pass Summit (even if the howling wind did take your breath away when you got out of the car to take photos!). There were lots of patches of snow on the hillsides, remnants of the snowfall that had closed the road the previous week - in August!
• Seeing the car in front of us in Lamar Valley slow down as it approached a “Caution Wildlife On Roadway” sign just as a huge male Bison stepped out from behind a small hill to walk across the road - right next to the sign!
• Watching 6 Elk & calves on the grass outside Mammoth Hot Springs Dining Room while we ate dinner; & seeing a “law-abiding” Stag cross the road twice, using the pedestrian crossing both times!
• Walking the boardwalks at Mammoth Hot Springs to see the gorgeous travertine terraces sparkling in the sunshine

BOZEMAN
• Spending nearly 3 hours at the fantastic Museum of the Rockies, which has one of the largest collections of North American dinosaur fossils. Many of the superb exhibits were found in Montana & included 13 Tyrannosaurus Rex skeletons, Big Al the Allosaurus, & many Triceratops skulls (I never knew Triceratops skulls could be so different!), dinosaur eggs & babies. Volunteers were also working on fossils in a laboratory. Brilliant!
• Lots of nice shops in Main Street. Very good for last-minute souvenirs!
• Enjoying a delicious meal at The Olive Garden. I don’t know why we’d never been to one before, but we’ll definitely be going again!

OTHERS
• The Weather Channel – I admit I’m an addict!
• Being reminded that watching baseball is a great way to wind down at the end of a busy day!
• Going back to Famous Footwear, having decided I did want the pair of Skechers I’d tried on the previous evening, to find they’d been reduced by $10 overnight!
• “Payday” (a delicious combo of sweet fudge & salted peanuts) is my new favourite American snack!
• Cold Stone Creamery ice creams & DQ Blizzards – yummy! What more do I need to say?!
• Not losing my unbroken record of always having my suitcase opened by the TSA!


JUST A FEW LITTLE NIGGLES / DISAPPOINTMENTS

• Being surprised that Starbucks’ coffee tasted better at home than in Seattle – the home of the 1st Starbucks!
• Having poor visibility in Seattle, Sidney & Victoria due to smoke in the air from wildfires in British Columbia & Oregon
• Not managing to fit in a baseball game during our trip
• On Vancouver Island having to make a 4½-hour 125-mile diversion via Port Renfrew (very sadly due to a fatal accident that had closed BC-1, VI’s N-S road), & being only 32 miles further north when we eventually re-joined the BC-1!
• Someone sitting on & snapping my favourite sunglasses only a few days into our trip
• Not seeing any bears from the viewing stands at Knight Inlet Lodge (although other people did later in the day). Perhaps a week or two later would have given us a better chance of seeing more bears?
• After a long drive across VI, sea fog obscuring all sea views in Ucluelet. A bit unlucky in August surely?!
• Not getting to see Steamboat Geyser actually erupting. It had been going off roughly every 4-5 days while we were in the area
• People (“Tour-ons”) still ignoring Park rules & getting far too close to wildlife (this was a Niggle in 2015 as well), including some Chinese tourists getting mock-charged outside Mammoth Hot Springs Dining Room after approaching a female elk & her 2 calves
• Looooong waits at roadworks. Aaargh! The longest we were stationary was 25 minutes waiting for the pilot car to lead us through a 3-4 mile 1-way section on the Beartooth Scenic Byway
• Missing seeing a Grizzly Bear in Lamar Valley by just 5 minutes
• Having to leave the YNP/GTNP area after such a wonderful few days
• US TV adverts being worse than ever – you can take this medication to prevent this disease, but be aware of all these possible side-effects……oh, & just to let you know, it could kill you!
• And, as always, REALLY not wanting to have to come home!

[CrispyA]

Wow, that sounds like an amazing trip! I'm not surprised you didn't want to come home.

[Cutiepie]

What an amazing trip no wonder you didn’t want to come home!

[anji]

Omg that sounds the perfect trip! I'd so love to do it one day. We had a great time in Seattle (agree free walking tour was fab) and would love to go back. Hoping to see moose in May on our New England road trip. One of our accommodation has beavers - very exciting!

[suei]

Thank you, yes it was a fantastic holiday. I'm still struggling to sort out all our photos - we took so many! Hope you get to see moose on your trip, Anji.