When I was younger, the entire state of Wyoming was embodied in my mind by Yellowstone. My family made annual trips to the legendary national park, and I loved every minute of it. Honestly, the place is pretty much a kid’s paradise.

One day, however, my dad announced a Wyoming trip that, shockingly, did not include Yellowstone. Our family would instead be backpacking in the Wind River Range in western Wyoming. I didn’t know much about those mountains, but I recalled them being referenced in the stories told by the grizzled, old scoutmaster who lived in our neighborhood.

With our van loaded with gear, we headed off for the heart of the Rocky Mountains in Wyoming. We made our way to Evanston (where my ne’er-do-well cousins always got their bottle rockets), then drove up to Kemmerer, home to the world’s first JCPenney store. From there, we passed through Big Piney and then arrived in Pinedale, the last stop before the trailhead.

The Winds turned out to be a majestic mountain range with more than a thousand lakes. We camped at a uniquely beautiful lake every night and caught brookies and cutthroats on nearly every cast. Occasionally, we’d even land a rare golden trout.

Grant Olsen hikes in the Wind River Range in western Wyoming with his brothers in 1994. (Photo: Orrin Olsen)

My dad took us back to the Winds many times afterward, and those trips rank among my all-time favorite outdoor adventures. The difficulty of the hikes and the tranquility of the camping really brought our family closer together. All these years later, we still reminisce about the trips and joke about all the crazy things that happened.

Now that I’m married and have kids of my own, I’ve learned how easy it is to fall into a rut and go to the same destinations each summer. So I decided to chart a course for my family similar to that first epic trip I’d taken to the Wind River Range. Starting in Utah County, we’d head to Evanston, then to Kemmerer and Pinedale. And even though Yellowstone is always a tempting destination, our final stop on this road trip would be the Grand Teton National Park.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the highlights we enjoyed on our Lehi-to-Teton adventure:

Evanston

Our first stop was Bear River State Park, which is only a stone’s throw away from the highway. Although we planned on seeing lots of wildlife later in the trip, it was fun for the kids to start by seeing the resident herd of bison (including a couple of white bison) and the big bull elk. There were lots of trails along the river for the kids to explore, and the visitor center was fun.

We then walked around downtown Evanston and visited the Uinta County Museum, which has no admission fee and is located in a historic building almost 120 years old. There were some really cool exhibits, and my toddler got a kick out of the play area.

Kemmerer

The world’s first JCPenney store, originally named the Golden Rule, is located in Kemmerer, Wyoming. (Photo: Grant Olsen)

This town is well known for its impressively old JCPenney store. But fossils are the main attraction. At Fossil Butte National Monument, visitors can see a vast collection of specimens from the freshwater lake that covered the area 52 million years ago. The massive crocodile fossil is undoubtedly impressive, but the top prize goes to the beautiful fossil display that’s surprisingly located in the men’s restroom (no joke).

To find some fossils of our own, we went to the American Fossil Quarry just outside of town. We spent less than two hours chipping away at the rocks and each found fossils of complete fish. Even our youngest son was able to get in on the action. While the quarry provided the necessary tools, we wished we’d brought gloves to better protect our hands. If you decide to go to one of the quarries in the area, take some quality gloves and a bucket to sit on while you work.

Pinedale

Returning to this beautiful mountain town after almost three decades was amazing. My family rented a cabin at Half Moon Lake and spent each morning hiking around the shoreline. We skipped stones, caught snakes and relished every minute of the solitude.

One of the highlights of the entire trip was the day we spent at the Sandy Beach Picnic Area at Fremont Lake. There’s no parking fee, and the shallow water is perfect for little ones. We brought our poles and tossed out a few spinners, but the bay wasn’t ideal for fishing. So my family later trekked to the nearby CCC Ponds, where the kids reeled in a dozen rainbow trout.

Pinedale’s not a big town, but it has several great restaurants. When we weren’t preparing meals in our cabin, we enjoyed hitting up a few of the local cafes. We even visited an outdoor restaurant where they cook your steaks on a pitchfork, which might sound odd, but it turned out to be the best steak I’ve eaten in a long time.

Jackson Hole

Our final stop on this road trip was probably my family’s favorite. My kids were fascinated by the famous elk-antler arches at the corners of Town Square and also enjoyed checking out the overpriced fossils at the souvenir shops (that were identical to the ones we’d found on our own at the quarry in Kemmerer).

We took a quick gondola ride up to the only mountaintop observatory/planetarium in the United States. The Snow King Observatory and Planetarium isn’t large, but the 360-degree planetarium theater was worth the cost of admission. We watched a movie about moon landings that even captivated my hyperactive toddler (truly a miracle, because he was a maniac when we watched “Paddington in Peru” earlier this year). Then we went into the observatory where the public can view planets and galaxies through a million-dollar telescope.

Jackson Hole, in western Wyoming, is home to the only mountaintop observatory and planetarium in the United States. (Photo: Grant Olsen)

The next morning, we went on an amazing wildlife tour at Grand Teton National Park. We saw moose, elk, pronghorns, bison, deer and several other species. As we hiked near Jenny Lake, we even came across some fresh bear tracks, though we didn’t catch sight of the animal.

One of our last adventures in the area was taking the aerial tram at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. Wow. I’ve ridden my share of trams over the years, but climbing 4,139 vertical feet in just a handful of minutes is a thrill. At the top of the mountain, we were close to 11,000 feet above sea level. My kids absolutely loved hiking the trails and pretending to be mountaineers.

Conclusion

I had high hopes for this Western road trip with my family, and it truly delivered. We did some really unique activities and created lots of memories. Most importantly, my kids got to visit these places that are so special for me and my dad, bringing the generations together.

For the record, my toddler is already asking when we can go back to Fremont Lake. So it seems that he now loves the Pinedale area as much as I do.