To Yellowstone & Beyond . . . Snowmobile Style

This is a post that I did not finish in February 2023. I guess the trip from Jackson to Maui and the beautiful Maui photos trumped this one, but I thought I would finish it and send it out . . . just in case anyone wanted to see some beautiful winter photos from Wyoming! So, here goes!!!

Valentine's Day! We had originally scheduled our snowmobile trip for Valentine's Day, but the weather forecast was not very good. Overcast and cold. Not ideal conditions for a beautiful trip or great photos. So, we rescheduled it for the 16th, instead.

On Valentine's Day, we waited for it to warm up a little and then we went for a hike behind the house.

It was kind of grey that afternoon. We knew we had made the right choice to reschedule the trip into Yellowstone.

Found a moose resting in the pines.

And a whitetail deer, not very happy to see us.

We also saw a mama & baby moose. The baby was in the river and mama was grazing on twigs along the riverbank when we came upon them. We were delighted to see them, but the baby wasn't at all happy to see us.

In Fish Creek, we saw a single trumpeter swan.

And, above the Creek sits Moose Point Lodge, overlooking the entire valley.

After our walk, we headed home and got ready for dinner at Il Villagio Osteria in Teton Village.

The Village was all decked out in snow sculptures.

Dinner was delicious, as usual. And, when we left the restaurant, it was snowing!!!

Our drive home looked something like this . . .

Thursday morning, we set the alarm for 5:15 am to make sure we were up and ready to hit the road by 6:00. We had to meet the Scenic Safari guide at Flagg Ranch around 8:00 to join the group snowmobiling into Old Faithful. We made some bagels with cream cheese, grabbed our already-packed gear & winter-wear and headed out. We managed to leave the house prior to our scheduled departure time, which was great! It was still VERY dark (currently, the sun rises here after 7:00 am) and VERY cold ( -12 degrees according to my phone)!

As we approached the little town of Wilson, we noticed some movement on the road. It was a moose . . . moving slowly. Don slowed the car and let the moose meander across the road in front of us.

Not a great shot, I know. But, my cameras don't do very well in the dark!

As we approached Grand Teton National Park, the temperature was -22 degrees. 22 degrees BELOW zero, and that didn't include the wind chill!

As it began to get light, I snapped a few shots.

We arrived at Flagg Ranch well before 8:00 and waited for the snowmobile guide to arrive with the rest of the guests.

Once the rest of the group arrived, we eventually made our way to the snowmobiles and got our safety briefing. Then, we were on our way to Yellowstone!

Our first stop was Lewis Falls.

Next stop,Kepler Cascades.

I was already starting to warm up!

In the distance, we could see Old Faithful spewing . . .

Heading toward Old Faithful.

The worlds most famous geyser, from inside the Lodge -

After warming up a bit, we headed out to see the geyser, up close and personal!

Bison in the distance -

Old Faithful Inn . . . snowed in! The Inn is closed in the winter, so folks stay at the Snow Lodge.

Some folks opt to take a snow coach instead of snowmobiles.

We wouldn't have it any other way. There is nothing like the open road, on your own machine!

After lunch, we headed south . . . back toward the Grand Teton National Park & Flagg Ranch.

We made a brief stop at Moose Falls. As many times as we've been in Yellowstone, we have NEVER stopped to check out the Falls. They were small, but spectacular!

Back in our car, we took the road south to Grand Teton National Park -

What a day! What a trip!

As we were touring Yellowstone on our snowmobiles, this guy was checking out Moose Point Lodge!

Febdruary 17th, it was -10 degrees at 8:30 in the morning. After spending the previous day in the Park, we decided to stay close to home and keep warm.

On the 19th, we went for a drive, with no particular destination in mind.

Look familiar Anne?

In the Gros Ventre, we spotted wolf tracks in the snow.

Had to look this guy up. A member of the finch family, I've never seen a red crossbill before. But, lots of them were in the road, foraging.

What's left of the Shane Cabins. An authentic homestead in the Grand Teton National Park. These buildings were prominently featured in the 1953 motion picture Shane.

Also saw a coyote in a field.

Later that day, we went down behind the house for a little cross country skiing!

Saw a mama moose and her calf, resting in the trees.

Covering some ground & getting the heart rate up!

Heading back to Moose Point Lodge -

That night in our backyard - a fox & more snow.

More scenes from Moose Point Lodge in February 2023 coming up, if you're interested. If not, once I get caught up, I have LOTS of photos from this past Fall that I plan on sending. Stay tuned.

Love, Barbara