Call Of The Wild

August 15, 2026

Yellowstone was nice.

I loved Lamar Valley and the seemingly endless expanses filled with herds of bison.

The geothermal pools, terraces, resting geysers, and steam holes were interesting, but they were not my favorite. I could go the rest of my life without ever seeing them again.

Driving around the park was fun, but a lot of it felt like driving through forest roads.

And there just weren’t enough mountains.

Our drive out of Yellowstone and toward the Grand Tetons was even less inspiring.

We went for miles and miles and miles.

No mountains.

I was beginning to wonder if we had somehow missed them.

But how could we?

They’re supposed to be giant. At least according to every picture I had ever seen.

The closer we got to Jackson, the more defeated I felt.

And then we made a turn.

There they were.

Jagged peaks towering above everything in front of us.

Suddenly, Jack and I were invigorated. We stopped at nearly every turnout on the way into Jackson, getting out of the car again and again to stare at the mountains and take pictures.

This was what I had been waiting for.

We got to our hotel, I made the school board meeting, and afterward Jack and I made plans for our full day in Grand Teton National Park.

I came up with an itinerary that prioritized mountain views accessible from the road and places where we might see wildlife.

We discussed our start time.

Neither of us was quite committed enough to a pre-sunrise departure, even knowing it would improve our chances of seeing animals.

Morning came.

We rolled out of the hotel around 10:30.

Hit Wendy’s because they have a delicious honey butter chicken biscuit sandwich and amazing breakfast potatoes.

And headed out in search of mountains.

We were excited.

The sky had other plans.

Early in our drive, there were low clouds and a lot of gray. The closer we got to the Tetons, the grayer it became.

Google offered very little hope that things would clear up.

But we persevered anyway.

I am so glad we did.

The Tetons did not disappoint.

We got beautiful photos at Mormon Row with old farmhouses in the foreground and mountain peaks disappearing into the clouds behind them.

And then, as we drove, the sky started to clear.

More and more of the mountains appeared.

Jack and I had an incredible day.

We saw a giant herd of pronghorn along the side of the road and elk resting in the sunshine. We stopped at overlooks. Took pictures. Wandered. Stared at mountains.

And somewhere along the way, we both came to the same conclusion.

Yellowstone is nice.

But the Grand Tetons are much more our cup of tea.

By the end of the day, we were already talking about what we would do when we come back next time.

Tomorrow we have a nearly ten-hour drive to Colorado Springs.

We decided to leave at 6 a.m., partly because we have a very long way to go and partly because maybe, hopefully, we’ll catch some wildlife on our way out.

Apparently we’re willing to get up before sunrise now.

It seems we heard the call of the wild after all.

Here are some photos from our day: