Sierra Blogging Post Archives

Chad, Jenny, Kevin and Jack Mintner sent us this great post about their recent road trip to Wyoming. They even stopped in the Sierra Trading Post Cody outlet store on their way from Wisconsin. Thanks, Mintners! Enjoy your gift card!

"We started our trip just before midnight on Friday, and the plan included a straight drive to Sheridan, Wyoming from Wisconsin. We swung through the Badlands National Park on the drive there, and arrived in Sheridan in late afternoon. In the distance from the hotel we could see the Bighorn Mountain Range, where we would be crossing through the next day. We ate a wonderful dinner that night at the Rib & Chop Shop in Sheridan.


The next day we set out to travel to Yellowstone National Park. On the drive through Bighorn National Forest we stopped at Shell Falls for some great views.

Lunchtime had us in Cody, Wyoming where the main attraction for us was a stop at the Sierra Trading Post outlet store. So many floors and so much to see here, we ended up with some tech shirts for Chad and I and a water bottle for Zack. The kids were fascinated with the display of bear sprays, leaving them with a hint of what may be awaiting us in the National Parks.

We continued on to Yellowstone and hit a bunch of the major attractions when we got there: Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, Lower Falls, and bison watching. Our campsite for the night was in Grant Village, where on checking in we had our first bear lecture. We carefully kept our camp clean and food smells to a minimum. That evening at dusk we hiked the West Basin thermal pool area, where we saw elk hanging out.

Sunday morning we packed up camp and headed over to Old Faithful before heading south to Grand Teton National Park. The Teton Range was a beautiful backdrop for the rest of our Wyoming stay.

That first day after setting up camp, we drove a 17 mile gravel road in the Jeep to see more of the mountains and the Snake River. A storm blew in while we were out causing 3-4 foot waves on Jackson Lake and on returning to our site, found four of the six 9" tent stakes pulled out of the ground. The sunset was nice that evening due to the numerous clouds passing overhead.

While in the Tetons we hiked Hidden Falls, Inspiration Point, String and Leigh Lakes, did some wildlife searching and watching, and hit popular sites like the Chapel of the Transfiguration and Mormon Row. After two nights camping at Grand Teton we headed to Jackson.

In Jackson we stayed at the Wyoming Inn for two nights, and spent some time just relaxing. Tuesday night, we caught the evening gun fight after dinner at Snake River Brewery. The hotel had fresh baked chocolate chip cookies each night, in addition to a nice breakfast spread each morning. While staying in Jackson we slid the Alpine Slide at Snow King Resort, rode the 100 person tram at Jackson Hole Resort, and made a trip to Victor, Idaho for chunky milkshakes with huge straws. Dinner the last night in town was at Gun Barrel Steak and Game Club.

Thursday morning we picked up some sandwiches at Backcountry Provisions in Jackson for lunch on the road. We ended up spending 24 hours in the car driving home to Wisconsin stopping at Mount Rushmore and driving through Custer State Park in South Dakota on the way. The kids did real well with the long drives on our trip, and everyone enjoyed Wyoming. On our arrival back home the Jeep was emptied and gear was lined up for washing and to be repacked for storage until the next big adventure."