I’m on a cross country trip from Grand Rapids, Michigan to Reno, Nevada to deliver an older conversion van for my son and daughter-in-law to use as a “camper”.

Normally, this is a 2000-mile drive on Interstate 80, but I modified the route slightly to visit the Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. Here’s the path.

In Road Trip – Part 1 I described the itinerary from Grand Rapids to the Tetons.

Here I’ll fill you in on the remainder of the journey from the Tetons to Yellowstone National Park. During the next 30 hours, I took in a lot of scenics – so hang on for a fast ride!

As I was driving north of the Lake area, I spotted this elk grazing in a heavily wooded area.	West of Canyon, I found this coyote crossing a wide open field.
The next morning I awoke early enough to see the sunrise along the Madison River.	I arrived at the Hayden Valley to find the mist hanging above the Yellowstone River.
Still early, I watched this White American Pelican fishing for his morning meal.	From this overlook you can see the Yellowstone River winding its way through the Hayden Valley.
A glance upwards and I see this small flock of geese flying towards the river.	Heading north at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone are the powerful Lower Falls.
Onward to the Lamar Valley in the north end of Yellowstone. Here is an osprey searching for prey on the tall hill below.	A short distance away I run into a sizeable herd of hungry bison casually grazing in the field adjacent to the road.
This bison was resting comfortably nearby.	Why did the bison cross the road?
My last stop on my whirlwind visit to Yellowstone is at the Norris Geyser Basin for a hike through the amazing moonlike terrain.
Steamboat Geyer. That evening, it errupted – the first time in 2 years. I just missed it.	Here’s a colorful mud pot sending steam and gurgling noise into the air.
Can you can see how the Emerald Pool gets its name?	This view shows the vast extent of Yellowstone’s thermal areas.
Vixen Geyser	Watch the Vixen Geyser in action

After my hike through the geyser basin I make my way over to the van, set my bearings to leave the park through West Yellowstone, MT and follow the Snake River in Idaho for a while until passing through the high plains of Nevada to Reno.

Making this stop off at these two national parks is undoubtedly a very enjoyable way to turn a long distance vehicle delivery road trip into a mini-vacation.
 
 
Written by: Arnie Lee