Day 1: Winter is a magical time to visit Yellowstone. With an average snowfall of nearly 50”, wildlife gather around the steaming hot pools and geysers for a bit of warmth, and trees are transformed by snow crystals from frozen thermal vapors. Our first day takes us along I-70 as we drive through western Kansas and eastern Colorado to our first night in Thornton.

2: The scene changes as we skirt mountain ranges in Colorado and travel to Jackson in northwest Wyoming. Pronghorn Antelope may begin to dot the landscape. A late afternoon arrival into Jackson allows us to settle into our hotel we call home for the next three nights.

3: Since the roads in Yellowstone are not maintained during the winter we are only allowed to enter on special snowcoaches which hold 10-12 passengers and can handle snow packed roads. The driver on the snowcoach also serves as our guide telling us about the places we are experiencing and helping us look for wildlife along the way. Our snowcoaches pick us up early today for a full day of adventure in Yellowstone National Park (Altitude 7,500’-8,000’). A box breakfast and lunch are included today as we tour the park heading to the Old Faithful area. Stops are made along the way to enjoy the winter scenery and the different thermal features in this part of the park. Time will be given to watch Old Faithful erupt, to walk along some of the trails, and to enjoy this most famous part of the park. We arrive back to our hotel in Jackson late in the afternoon.

4: Once again our snowcoaches pick us up early to enjoy another part of Yellowstone National Park. As we did yesterday a box breakfast and lunch are included. Our tour takes us to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Along the way stops are made for pictures and to view the various thermal features for which Yellowstone is known. Later we begin our journey back to Jackson arriving in the late afternoon.

5: This morning is reserved for relaxing and looking around Jackson. Our hotel is only a couple of blocks from the center of town which makes it convenient to come and go. This afternoon we visit the National Elk Refuge which lies just northeast of the town of Jackson. We ride a horse-drawn wagon onto the refuge to get a close view of these majestic animals among thousands of elk who winter on the refuge. Later we travel 90 miles south to Pinedale for the night.

6: Enjoy the Tetons as they fade from our sight. We are on our way southeast through Rock Springs, site of a modern oil boom in the ‘80’s. We look for pronghorn and osprey along the roadside as we continue through Rawlins and Laramie on our way to Denver for night.

7: It has been a unique trip and we reflect and visit about it as our comfortable motorcoach skims the interstate taking us to our destination in central Kansas.