Day 8: Helena, Montana→Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

We peaced out of Helena and made our way towards West Yellowstone. Our initial plan was to go to Canada, but with the border closed we had to make way for plan b – the Grand Tetons. We decided to drive through the west entrance of Yellowstone and make our way south to the Grand Tetons. We visited Yellowstone in 2015, so we just swung through to reminisce. Once we were in Grand Teton National Park it was much quieter. We checked into the Jackson Lake Lodge and our 2nd story room had a balcony overlooking a peaceful meadow. We decided to drive an hour away to Jackson Hole, Wyoming for dinner at Snake River Brewing and it was fantastic. We shared a pretzel with queso but it tasted like a damn pretzel/biscuit hybrid. So good! Then, we shared a small truffle mushroom pizza. I enjoyed a Jenny Lake Lager while Megan had a Hike It Out Hefe then a Wheat your Heart Out beer. We got a 6 pack of Jenny Lake Lager and a 6 pack of Hike it out Hefe to go to save for when we were home in Iowa. Leaving, we were on a race against time to get back before it was the darkest of darks. There are no street lights or lit up cities – it’s just you and the nocturnal animals. The giant sign that read “ELK ELK ELK ELK ELK ELK 45MPH” was nightmare fuel enough – so driving back as it grew darker and darker scared the dickens out of me. We made it back to the lodge, sat out on the balcony and saw a shooting star at 11:11pm. Wild. The stars really twinkled out in the extreme darkness – Saturn looked extremely bright.