I believe that the best family vacation is enjoying the Great Outdoors together! When my family does a vacation trip, it has always been action-packed! And that was very true of our Summer 2025 adventure! My youngest daughter, Melissa, a project manager, made us an excel spreadsheet of activities- hikes, biking, boating, etc. My oldest daughter, Teresa, mom of the grandsons, helped keep us all safe and things running smoothly.
Our trip started with a flight out of Dulles Airport to Seattle, Washington where we rented a car to drive to Mt. Rainier National Park and hiked the Paradise area for 2 days! What a contrast to the heat wave we left behind on the east coast! We had mid-40s to no higher than mid 70s and hiked in snow/ice-packed trails near the top of Mt. Rainier! We started out with hardly anyone on the trail, except a couple of friendly rangers and several marmots. We proceeded on a very slippery trail which was strenuous due to having to maintain balance on the snow and ice. We did make it to the top where there was a mountain goat grazing. The fun part of that hike was that with the ice and snow and slippery slope, we sat down and just slid down the steepest slope – much more fun than trying to sidestep and prevent falling! The views from that Paradise area fit the name with snowcapped mountains surrounding the historic Paradise Inn where we stayed to hike the 2nd day there.
After a very long drive in our red rental Jeep, which we named Roma, we briefly stopped by a lake in Idaho, to then meet my older daughter and family at our Air BnB lake house near Glacier National Park where we stayed 5 days. There are a lot of lakes in the northwestern states. They just keep going! There was a paddle boat provided from the house and going out in it was fun for all!!
We had many hikes (including evening hikes to beat the crowds, since the sun did not set until after 9:30 PM). A special treat in this National Park is the Going-to-the-Sun Road to the top of the mountain range in Montana on a historic, 51-mile, two lane road built in the early 1900s. It crosses the continental divide and is considered an Historic Civil Engineering Landmark!
Next, onto Yellowstone National Park, where we enjoyed another lake house Air BnB nearby. My son-in-law and grandsons were captains of the boat for one of the days on Henry’s Lake. We stayed four days here and used my National park pass to go in and out of the park. We enjoyed hiking trails around the many geysers. And Old Faithful was faithful to us and erupted at the right time for us to see!
Our family trip would wind up in Grand Teton National Park where we enjoyed our trip to the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar in Jackson, a historic establishment built in the early 1900s. We also took the Jackson tram up to Rendezvous Mountain, which was 4,139 vertical feet up! There were 360-degree views of the Grand Tetons, Jackson Hole valley, and surrounding mountain ranges. And we enjoyed the world-famous gourmet waffles from Corbet’s Cabin at the top!
After celebrating the 4th of July parade in Jackson, Wyoming, Melissa and I drove to Salt Lake City for the flight back to the east coast. And Teresa and family caught a flight back to San Diego. So many pictures of our great western outdoors with snowcapped mountains, lakes, streams and waterfalls. And so many memories!
Now, back home on the east coast, the season coming up next is Fall…one of the best times to get outside in our Great Outdoors and do whatever activity we like to do! Let’s enjoy!!
-Sue Merritt
Mathias, WV
