Comments on our recent trip to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone
 

We just returned from a trip to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. This is mid Sept. School is in session so there are fewer tourists on the road. We started in Jackson. This is a town that has been ruined by wall to wall T-shirt shops selling the most amazing junk, passing for souviners I've ever seen. Think of the town as a cross between Las Vegas and towns in Alaska when the cruise ships dock and all the thousands of passengers hit the streets. We stayed in the north part of Jackson in a beautiful hotel called The Rustic Inn. Our cabin was on the river. It has a small deck with chairs for reading. The room was spacious and clean. Free wi-fi and a big flat screen TV. Great free breakfast.
Travel into the Grand Tetons was easy from this hotel. We saw several Moose, and two bears fattening themselves up for the winter. You drive through these lovely parks, and all of a sudden you'll see people on the road and cars stopped. That usually means "ANIMAL".

Next we went into Yellowstone. There are not enough words to tell you how lovely and special this National park is. Its so well explained and so easy to visit. We stayed at the Lake Lodge, which is down the road from the Lake Hotel on Yellowstone Lake. The cabins were clean, basic. There is no TV, cell phone or internet service in the park...except in a few areas where you can pick up a signal. Since we also run a small business, it was a bit of a challenge to keep in touch with home base and take care of problems as they arose. There are a few areas in the park where you can find a cell phone signal.
The worst thing about the entire park is the quality of the food. Its really so bad, and that's not necessary. We had two dinners and a breakfast at the beautiful Yellowstone Lake Hotel. The food was very good. Not that much more expensive than what the other restaurants in the park charge, but so much better. If Xantera (who have a monopoly on National park services, from room reservations to restaurant control) can run a quality hotel and restaurant in one location, they should be able to run it in all locations. Its really a shame that tourists, and foreign tourists, have to eat such poor quality food. Canned string beans in steam trays when fresh veggies are easily available. No salad bar, few fresh fruits, and yet beautiful peaches were easily available outside the park. What they serve in all the restaurants in the park is the cheapest food they can throw out there, and the prices are not any bargain. Coffee is weak and tasteless. Once again, the cheapest quality they can find. If one hotel dining room has a "daily special" of chili, they will all have the same "special".......from a can!! I don't know what anyone can do about it, except pass the word on to others, and write the hotels and Xantera, and even possibly the White House to express how "old fashion" this food is, what poor quality it is and how it reflects badly on American cooking as a whole. If I seem to go on about the food, its because one has to eat, and there are NO CHOICES for something healthy and good, except for the restaurant at the Yellowstone Lake Hotel.....and that requires reservations and is for obvious reasons packed.
But if you want to see animals be prepared......we saw Elk, Buffalo, Bears, Moose, Wolves, Prong Horned Antelope, deer, and bears........all without having to leave our car. It was tryly amazing. There were so many European and Asian tourists that we saw who were thrilled to see these animals and geological sites......as were we, and all those around us. This beautiful National Park is a gem, and makes us proud as American's to have preserved it.

Just outside the East entrance to the park is the town of Cody. There is an amazing complex of museums here... one on the plains Indians, a fire arms museum, a Buffalo Bill museum, a natural history museum and a fantastic art museum. Don't miss it. You can easily spend a day here, and kids will love it too.

GTNP and Yellowstone are truly amazing! We had never been to YS until summer 2009, and what I found most amazing were the geothermal features. I've never seen anything else like it anywhere!

Regarding the food in YS, as you say, it is not the best. It's a good idea, imo, to let Xanterra know your opinion of it. OTOH, I don't mind mediocre food but I do mind no-frills lodging. So..we usually stay outside the parks as close by as we can get. We rented a house at YS with a fully-equipped kitchen. We still ate out mostly, the lodging was more expensive, and it wasn't very convenient, but we all set our own priorities. Since I know what to expect at NPs, I don't get disappointed, but I am often pleasantly surprised.

I'm glad you enjoyed your trip!

That is really sad about the food situation. I agree that you should send a copy of your letter above to Xanterra.

Seeing the wild animals would be wonderful!

Well, it is interesting that the NPs can do good food as in the Lake Hotel and Metate Room at Mesa Verde, but yes it is sort of like eating high school cafeteria food at many of the places.

Fortunately, we don't go there for the food, it's the fantastic everything else. We'll stay in park to allow for maximum time there and have found lodging basic but acceptable.

Love the animals, thermal features, etc. thanks for reporting and bringing back memories of the wonderful park.

Overall, I agree with you about the food. However, I had a really lovely main course salad at Mammoth with fresh greens, goat cheese, smoked trout, etc. Another night, Mr. Pickle and I both had the salad bar at the Canyon dining room and were pleased with its variety and freshness.

Lee Ann

I had a great meal at OFI, Lake Hotel, Roosevelt Lodge, Mammoth Hotel, and even the little General Store right by Old Faithful Inn. I thought some of the other places were just ok. I think we did eat a breakfast at Lake Lodge that was somewhat like the op's description. We always eat a picnic lunch(almost daily) at all NP's. I have had many many good meals, at NP's. I think it's all what you expect from some of the lower $ places. I do think towards the end of the season that places seem to get that "tired don't care attitude" at times.

I am glad you enjoyed the animals, thermal features, and at least a couple of good meals.

Did you see a lot of fall folliage? What about elk bugling at this time of year? I would like to return to Yellowstone at a different seasons of the year.

I've been to towns that appear to have been "ruined by wall to wall T-shirt shops selling the most amazing junk, passing for souviners I've ever seen. Think of the town as a cross between Las Vegas and towns in Alaska when the cruise ships dock and all the thousands of passengers hit the streets." But Jackson didn't strike me as one of them. Sure, there are a few t-shirt and souvenir shops like in many towns that rely on tourism -- but there are also several decent eateries and bars, a number of clothing stores of diverse kinds (especially outdoor type stuff), and a whole slew of art galleries, among other things. Plus there are some historic sites (including a small historic museum) and a very good wildlife art museum.

The food is one reason we chose to stay outside Yellowstone when we were there a few years ago - and Yellowstone is one park for which this works well, since there are towns with hotels right at the entrances (unlike a place like Grand Canyon where it is quite a drive from outlying town to actual Canyon). Packing a lunch and heading out for the day worked for us. We have been to a number of National Parks and find that the food at Yellowstone is especially nasty.

The animals are truly amazing - I especially remember sitting in an animal jam while a herd of bison wandered, talking their own time, past our car on both sides. They were no more than 4 feet away.

With the exception of lunch / dinner at OFI I agree the food in the park was a disappointment especially so since we were comparing it to the wonderful food we had enjoyed at Signal Mt. Lodge (a Xantera free property). We were there early September--I still haven't found the proper words to describe the beauty there.

Thanks for all the support on my posting. I have already filled out a survey from Xantera, and plan to write them, and Mrs. Obama. She is passionate about all of us eating better. I don't like paying a lot of money for poor quality food. They could have much better quality food and fresh food, for the same price.
We were there in mid Sept. several of the places one of the posters mentioned were already closed for the season. The staff in all of the park were days away from the end of their summer jobs, and for the most part, were bored and had had enough. I can excuse that, since I understand that young people are restless and ready to move on. There were so many foreign students working around the park, learning English and meeting Americans.....I wonder what impressions they received from their summer stay? Certainly the park itself is magical, I just hope their interaction with us humans was as good.