An American Safari, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

When you hear the word “safari,” what comes to mind? For me, I think of a riding in an all-terrain vehicle, racing through the African savannah, and spotting the type of wildlife that you only see in movies.

I think of adventure.

So when my wife and I were planning our last trip and saw that we could go on a safari in the States, we put it on the top of our to-do list.

Our guide was to pick us up at 7 a.m. That meant an early wake-up. Thankfully, the hotel we were staying at had coffee. (If you read my post about my Airport Meltdown, you’ll see that I have a problem.)

At 7, we sleepily climbed into the van. After making another stop for more passengers, we were on our way into Grand Teton National Park.

The park, which is about 310,000 acres large, is home to various forms of wildlife. The fun part was going to be trying to spot the animals. My drowsy eyes gazed out of the window. Lo and behold, there was a buffalo!

Continuing on, we stopped at a very, very important place: Snake River. The river snakes its way (see what I did there?) to Idaho. Its mission: to water most of the country’s potatoes. Did you eat chips or fries today? Did you have mashed or baked potatoes? If so, then you probably ate those ‘taters courtesy of this river.

Our next step had us at Jenny Lake, where we saw a bear box. A bear box is a necessity in this area. Any food and trash that smells like food has to be locked in this bear-unfriendly contraption. Think of legendary Yogi Bear. What did he like? Pic-a-nic baskets. What do people bring to campgrounds? Pic-a-nics. Basket or no, the bears are going to go for your food.

I was going to go in it for a photo, but decided against it. Instead, I decided to keep saying “Hey Booboo” over and over again, just loud enough that my wife could hear. Now that I think of it, I remember being afraid that she was going to lock me in the box. I can’t say that I’d blame her. It was still way too early for my shenanigans.

After, the real fun began. We stopped at Jackson Lake and got to take a peek at the mountains. All of a sudden, someone a few yards from us tells us that there’s a bear in the woods, about 20 yards from us.

Oh, boy! A bear! Never mind that our guide told us we needed to stay at least 100 yards away from the bears. Never mind that he told us they can run 50 yards in a second. Never mind all that now! There was a bear in the woods, and by golly, we were going to get a picture of it.

Tourists.

It was a grizzly. Thankfully, he wasn’t hungry, and he meandered into the woods.

We continued around the park and saw spectacular views.

If you ever get a chance to go on a safari in Grand Teton National Park, I highly recommend that you do.

We went with Backcountry Safari Tours, and our guide was Tyler Ford. We were very happy, and Tyler was very knowledgable and friendly. He also operates a tour company in Hawaii, so it’s possible that our paths may cross again someday. Thank you, Tyler!

Grand Teton National Park is located in Northwestern Wyoming, north of Jackson (where we stayed and were picked up) and south of Yellowstone.

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