Summer Vacation Trip - Day 8

At 0700, we took a walk down to the lake - it was nice.  We ate a light breakfast (snacks), checked out of our room and got gas in Grant Village (0815).  We then drove to see the West Thumb geysers.  After a nice walk on the boardwalk (in the fog), we headed south. Along the way, we saw elk and stopped at several scenic overlooks.  We finally left Yellowstone (sad) and visited Grand Teton National Park - our first stop was at Colter Bay Visitors Center.  Mollie worked on a Junior Ranger badge.  We also attended a ranger program.  We ate lunch (turkey wrap, corn dog, chips, cookies) at 1205 while sitting in a parking area with a view of the mountains.  Afterwards, we drove over towards Jenny Lake and took a hike nearby (String and Leigh Lake Trails).  We then drove to Moose, where Mollie got her badge and we answered texts, emails and phone calls for the first time in four days; proceeding south into Jackson, Mollie and I checked out hotels but found out they were way too expensive.  Instead, we drove across the Teton Pass and through Swan Valley until we found ourselves following the Snake River in Idaho.  We stopped a few times to view scenery and take pictures.  Eventually (1725), we got gas in Idaho Falls and decided to stay in town after we found an affordable motel.  We unpacked and cleaned up and talked to the hotel owner (nice guy) about the things to do in town (seemed like a cool place).  Then we drove to Culver's, thinking we could eat there.  Unfortunately, they weren't officially open yet - but they gave us consolation chocolate milkshakes!  Undeterred, we parked in the old downtown (along the Snake River, near the falls) and ate dinner (Snow Eagle Brewery) at 1830.  We later walked for about another hour nearby, enjoying the little parks and waterfalls. After such a nice evening, it was actually hard to go back to the hotel.  Because of some things that had built up while we had no connectivity, I teleworked for about an hour.  Mollie and I then watched movies (until 2345) and went to bed.