why we work -- travel -- yellowstone and grand teton

SUMMARY
We spent Labor Day 2006 visiting Yellowstone and Grand Teton. We flew into Jackson, Wyoming.

HIGHLIGHTS
Moose, wolves, foxes, elk, bison, coyotes, bears, geysers, bacteria pools, fresh air, hiking, mountains, waterfalls, huckleberries in just about everything, and making the last Jenny Lake shuttle boat so we didn't have to walk 2 miles back to the car.

WILDLIFE SPOTTING
Best time of day (I guess this is a world wide rule-of-thumb) was dawn and dusk.

In Yellowstone, we had good luck (wolf, bison, coyote, fox) between Tower junction and the Northeast entrance. We saw elk consistently in Mammoth and encountered a "jam" of some sort (either an elk-jam or a bison-jam) each time we drove between Madison and Old Faithful. We also saw a lot of elk and bison between the west entrance and Madison junction.

In Grand Teton, we saw moose consistently at Oxbow Bend.

LODGING

Mammoth Lodge (Yellowstone) - Rooms are basic. Ours had its own shower/bathroom although some did not because we saw them in the hallway. We heard elk bugling in the middle of the night.
Old Faithful Frontier Cabin (Yellowstone) - Still basic, although at ours did have its own bathroom. I would not have wanted to trek to the common bathhouse in the frigid morning air. You couldn't beat the location - we were literally steps from Old Faithful. Also good because it's walking distance to several food options. This area is quite crowded, so if you're not wild about crowds I wouldn't stay here more than a night.
Grant Village (Yellowstone) - Located on the shore of Lake Yellowstone, Grant Village is a series of two story buildings with basic motel rooms. Pretty close to Old Faithful, yet so much quieter.
Jackson Lake Lodge (Grand Teton) - This is by far the nicest place that we stayed. Our cottage was large and nicely decorated, and the main lodge had an absolutely phenomenal view of the mountains.

DINING

Mammoth Lodge Dining Room (Yellowstone) - We had a great dinner at the Mammoth dining room. Definitely recommend the Miller's Farm pork chop.
Roosevelt Lodge (Yellowstone) - Among the more rustic accommodations, we enjoyed a good "hiker's special" breakfast in the cozy dining room.
Old Faithful Inn Terrace (Yellowstone) - You have to do a "do it yourself" happy hour on the Old Faithful Inn terrace. I saw "do it yourself" because they don't have cocktail service, so you can go to the bar (either upstairs or downstairs) and get to-go drinks, go to the downstairs bar and get to-go appetizers, or go to the nearby store and get some crackers and cheese (we even saw a few folks tote in coolers!)
Old Faithful Dining Room (Yellowstone) - Reservations required, and make them in advance because this place is popular. They have a buffet, but we opted for the menu.
Snow Lodge Dining Room (Yellowstone) - Decent, buffet available, although we opted for the menu. Buffets scare me.
Three Wolves Brewery (West Yellowstone) - Supposedly closing that week, so you likely will never get to visit it. Andy had the "Embalmers Brew" which was "twice as expensive as the others" and about 12% alcohol.
Grant Village Dining Room (Yellowstone) - Reservations required, and we couldn't get in until 8:45.
Lakeside Cafe (Yellowstone) - Buffet only, I was able to suppress my fear. Great view.
Route 89 Cafe (Jackson) - EXCELLENT bar-b-que
Jackson Lake Lodge Dining Room (Grand Teton) - pricey (well, about the equivalent to what we usually pay in Chicago) but great atmosphere, view, presentation, food. Yum.
Jackson Lake Pioneer Grill (Grand Teton) - An all-counter restaurant where we had a perfect breakfast on our last morning.

WEATHER
In a word, perfect. It was warm (70's) during the day but cool at night (and downright frigid in the early morning hours!).