by
Amy Saffell
While
I certainly can’t claim to be a world traveler, family vacations are an
important part of my summer. My parents and I have taken yearly vacations
nearly every year for as long as I can remember, often to big cities that offer
options in accessibility. Even with beach wheelchairs available, I’ve never
really liked the effort that beach vacations require, as well as the feeling of
not being able to move easily in the sand. I do, however, enjoy the outdoors in
ways that are easier for me to manage.
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The
first challenge was getting there from our home in Nashville, Tennessee. RVs
and motorcycles seemed to be the vehicle of choice for a lot of visitors, but
taking to the air was much more plausible for us. From much of the country,
part of traveling there includes a flight layover, never a fun process for
someone in a chair. I use a manual chair, and I can imagine that power
chair-users might find flying even more challenging, but it is definitely worth
the hassle. We flew on Frontier Airlines, and I
have to say that I had great experiences (well, three out of the four legs were
great; one was just okay, which is a pretty good percentage!). In one leg, the
co-pilot actually was the one who helped me board the plane, and because he was
there in the next city, he also helped me exit, a practice that I think all airlines
should put into place. The process was made much easier by having him help both
times since he was already familiar with how I liked to operate, but I also
give him a lot of credit because he had worked as an EMT prior to co-piloting
and was familiar with working with people with disabilities. He even asked me
if I liked to transfer with the aisle chair at a 45-degree angle, and I can
assure you that I have never had anyone know that. After a good day of travel,
we landed in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
We
spent our first afternoon in downtown Jackson Hole. While we were here in the
summer, the grass-covered ski slopes that run into town made it evident that
Jackson Hole is a ski town at heart. We perused the shops and art galleries and
took advantage of this early opportunity to pick up some souvenirs. Although
it appeared that a few of the shops weren’t accessible since their storefront
had a step at the entrance, those were very small in number. My family loves ice cream, so we made sure to check
out the local ice cream shop as well. It was my first inkling that huckleberry,
something that I’d never tasted before, would be big and something that I’d
enjoy throughout the vacation. The huckleberry ice cream was indeed fabulous,
which led me to later buy some huckleberry lemonade that I’ve enjoyed back at
home.
Opportunities
for new experiences really were at every turn on our trip. In the world we live
in, it’s hard to imagine a week without technology, but neither of our rooms
had a TV, there was essentially no cell service, and we didn’t bring a laptop. As
it turned out, though, the lack of technology became the driving force for the
framework of our days. The mosquitoes there were like nothing that I’d ever
seen, so bug spray was an essential, in addition the sunscreen, since we were
outside most of the day. While we would normally take our showers in the
morning while watching TV, we decided that it made more sense to take showers
at night to wash everything off, enabling us to just get up and get ready for
our day. Since we didn’t have a lot to keep us occupied in the evenings, our
strategy worked well. Nature wakes up early (despite dipping below freezing in
the early morning hours, even in the summer), and getting to witness the beauty
of the early morning without being exhausted was another advantage of winding
down early.
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In the canyon, a waterfall leads to the Yellowstone River |
It
was quickly apparent that, although Yellowstone may be most talked about when
it comes to national parks, The Grand Tetons are an area not to miss. The
massive snow-dotted mountains, even in summer, made for a breathtaking
landscape that can’t be found many other places. In The Grand Tetons, we stayed
at the Jackson Lake Lodge. With its own shops and restaurants, it gave us
everything that we needed. The biggest perk of staying at Jackson Lake Lodge
was that the view of these gorgeous peaks was out of their back patio. Each
morning, we got up to see the sunrise, and we made sure to get back to see the
sunset. Particularly in the mornings, rangers would often be around to help
guests spot wildlife and to answer any questions.
From
the patio throughout our stay, we saw elk, coyote, and a wolf. Binoculars were
an essential for the trip. Seeing wildlife was definitely my favorite part of
the trip, so staying in such a wildlife-rich area was perfect. The area is
particularly known for elk, and every day we saw them in the field right
outside the Lodge. One morning, we spotted probably 100 elk hanging together in
a herd. We knew that they were in the field that was actually across the street
from us, so we hopped into our cars to get a closer look. While they had moved
from where we saw them, we caught up with them as they crossed the creek. It
was an amazing sight to see such a large group of elk in the water, living life
totally in the wild.
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An elk peeks out from behind the trees |
As
our vacation progressed, we spent a lot of time in the car. A vacation in this
part of the country includes a lot of driving, particularly in our case because
we were trying to see a little of everything. In the Tetons, we drove to the
top of Signal Mountain for a 360-degree view, parallel to the mountains and
through the Jenny Lake area, and also to Rendezvous Mountain near Jackson Hole
for a tram to the top, while stopping at look-outs all along the way to take in
the view of the pristine water, sky, and mountains. Those hiking in the area,
which we learned actually was possible for someone in a chair, may do a little
less driving, but we went for breadth instead of depth, overall.
Something
important that we learned was that whenever we saw a crowd of people pulled
over, particularly if people had binoculars and scopes, they were looking at
wildlife and that we should stop, too. That’s how we knew that the elk had
moved to the creek, and following the lead of other people served us well
throughout our trip. We even spotted two rarely seen mountain goats high up on
a cliff after we stopped to ask what a group of people were looking at through
their scopes. Every once in a while, like when we spotted three pronghorn in a
field, we were the first to stop, and we all felt pretty proud of ourselves! It
was really important to always look out the car window!
After
spending three wonderful days in The Tetons, we drove to Yellowstone National
Park. In recent years, Yellowstone has made significant strides in making the
park accessible, particularly by paving or installing boardwalks onto trails.
It’s a delicate balance of making things accessible to visitors with
disabilities but also not compromising any of the natural beauty that makes the
area so beloved. After all, if the natural areas are damaged, there wouldn’t be
anything worth looking at, regardless of accessibility.
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My parents and I in front of Jenny Lake and The Tetons |
Our
first destination in Yellowstone was Old Faithful, but I soon realized that it wasn’t
the only feature in the area. Yellowstone is home to geothermal features like
geysers, mud pots, and hot springs scarcely found in other areas of the
country. Old Faithful erupts approximately every 90 minutes and is a crowd
favorite. A large walkway and deck area surrounds the geyser, making room for
thousands of spectators. After we watched Old Faithful, we walked on the paved
and boardwalk trails to the numerous other geysers and hot springs in the area.
Even after learning how they were formed, it’s still amazing that a mix of
natural causes creates such stunning phenomena.
For
dinner that night, we went to the Old Faithful Inn. Known for its rustic
beauty, we had heard that the Inn was a popular dinner spot, so we made
reservations in advance. Our experience at the Inn certainly didn’t disappoint,
as we thoroughly enjoyed both dinner and the wood and stone-laced construction
of the Inn. While we were there, we met another family that also consisted of a
young adult daughter in a chair and asked them how accessibility had been so
far. They had just arrived, but they let us know that there was an
accessibility guide from any of the visitor’s centers across the park that we
hadn’t yet heard about, and throughout the rest of the trip we found it to be
really helpful. In each major area of the park, the guide gave the most
accessible routes to see the area’s features, as well as bathroom, parking,
lodging, and restaurant information. Having accurate information as we planned
our daily activities made for a smooth rest of the trip.
At
Yellowstone, we stayed in an accessible cabin in the canyon area, providing
convenient driving locations to the rest of the park. The canyon was caused by
a volcanic eruption that occurred long ago and resulted in an array of colors
on the rock from different mineral deposits. Numerous look-outs provide views
of waterfalls and the Yellowstone River. The accessibility guide was really
helpful in this area. I didn’t expect to be able to see so much, but the guide told
us which path to take, and although there may have been closer views via
stairs, I didn’t feel like I missed out on anything. The guide noted pathways
that were steep or had rough terrain, which was a helpful warning, but
particularly with my parents with me, it wasn’t much trouble getting to the
look-outs. Even on my own it would have been possible, but I was definitely
appreciative of the extra help at times! From there, it was simply a matter of
figuring out my best vantage point. We actually saw other visitors in
power chairs (fully charged batteries are a must!) who were also able to
maneuver well throughout the pathways. I
couldn’t have imagined a more picturesque place, and I’m so glad that I was
able experience it. Although we took hundreds of pictures throughout the week, we
took the most pictures here as well as at the Beartooth Highway, a gorgeous
drive just outside of the park.
While
we saw an array of animals in The Tetons, Yellowstone provided an even greater
wildlife experience. In the canyon area, one of the most interesting things we
saw was a on a tiny rock ledge, presumably to create difficulty for predators, where
an osprey built its nest, and three baby birds were inside. As we were
watching, they were in the process of learning to fly. They hovered over the
nest and then landed in it again. They’re large birds, so it must take a lot of
strength to learn to soar like the adults!
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Snow still covers part of the ground in the higher elevations |
The
larger animals created their own set of interesting sights, particularly in the
Lamar and Hayden Valleys. While I’m much more accustomed to cars causing traffic
problems, in Yellowstone it’s often the animals that are the biggest cause of
traffic problems. One animal that we saw so many of was bison. We must have
seen at least 500 bison in Yellowstone! Although we did see one on its own at
times, they often are found in large herds. They don’t seem to mind getting
close to the road, crossing it, or even standing completely in the middle of it
and aren’t easily lured out of the way. I learned that ambulances actually can
have an entirely different purpose in Yellowstone. Park rangers slowly drove
the flashing ambulance vehicles with a special sound to successfully but
unhurriedly move bison from the road.
The
second most numerous animals were our old friends from The Tetons, the elk. The
Mammoth Hot Springs area, where the hot springs create landscapes that look
like an entirely different planet, has a grassy area once controlled by the US
Army. Elk visit this area of the park each day, and we were lucky enough to be
there when a herd of mothers and their young decided to stop by. They ate, and
ate, and ate until they got hot and decided to seek shade in the shadows of the
trees and buildings. One curious elk even decided to walk up the front steps of
one of the buildings to look into the front window!
Mammoth is also home to the
administrative offices of the park. It was here that I learned that the park
spokesman used to work for Quickie wheelchairs! I imagine the spokesman’s
history played a big role in recent accessibility advancements.
For
sure, my favorite animal sightings in Yellowstone were the grizzly bears. We
saw six in total, an impressive number for the amount of time that we were
there. The first of the sightings seemed like something that would come right
out of National Geographic. We saw
several dozen people out of their cars and looking towards the valley, so we
asked what they saw, and they told us that a mother bear and her two cubs were
feasting on a bison carcass. It was several hundred feet away, but with
binoculars, I could see the scene well. As we continued to watch, we saw two
wolves creeping down the hill towards them. As they got closer, presumably to
try to steal either the carcass or the cubs, the cubs ran to their mother’s
side, and the two groups of animals faced off. We weren’t close enough to hear
them, but each side must have said their peace because they parted ways after a
few minutes, and the bears stayed near the carcass.
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We saw this guy digging for food as we drove through Yellowstone |
Bear
sighting number four was also memorable for how close we were. As we were
driving, we saw a few cars stopped, and we quickly realized that a bear was in
the field right next to the road. At its closest point, we were probably 15
feet from him. Of course we stayed in our car, but it was amazing to watch him
walk around searching for food. Despite his long, sharp claws, the gentleness
with which he dug through the dirt was mesmerizing to me. He wore an ear tag
and collar, which we later found out are given to some bears to track their
health and their movement throughout the park. Bears five and six weren’t close
or facing off against enemies, but I was equally as grateful to get to see such
beautiful animals in their natural habitat.
As
I think back to my trip from my home, I know that there aren’t words or
pictures that can truly do justice to the magnificence of The Grand Tetons and
Yellowstone. Their splendor is truly something that has to be experienced. I’ve
come to strongly believe that everyone should add taking a visit to his or her
bucket list. Thanks to the planning that has been done in the area of
accessibility, people with disabilities can explore the area with excitement
and confidence, and I hope to get the opportunity to do so again some day.
For
more information about Grand Teton National Park, visit http://www.grand.teton.national-park.com.
To learn more about Yellowstone National Park, visit http://www.nps.gov/yell/index.htm.
Amy
lives in Nashville, TN and works in the music industry. She enjoys spending
time with friends, concerts, and volunteering for a local youth wheelchair
sports and independence group.
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