[This is part of my vanlife series. I've spent 7 months and 25kmiles on the road in 2 years, exploring and rock climbing around the US]
We hit unseasonably warm weather in the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone—missed fall colors, but had both parks to ourselves! Most of the park including visitor centers were already closed except for a couple gas stations and first-come, first-served campgrounds. We still saw highs into the 60s that made for awesome hikes.
Sunrise on our way out of City of Rocks:
The Tetons from Jackson Lake:
7.7mi hike around Jenny Lake, looking back at the Tetons. Very highly recommended flat walk.
Deer taking a break not even 20ft from the trail:
In Yellowstone, there was a herd of bison camping out in front of Old Faithful. The lead male made his way over to secure the area right as the geyser went off, then the rest of the herd followed through the parking lot and on to the fields.
Toasted marshmallow!
Poor guy had a few more miles to go to get off the pass. By this point we had seen more bison than people!
The rest of the trip has been great. The van’s running fine (crossing fingers), we’ve got a routine down, and have for the most part forgotten about what day it is.