Exploring ‘America’s best idea’

Jefferson County is midway between two true jewels among America’s parks:

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK: Our favorite family trip to Yellowstone was in the dead of January. The temperature was just one degree, but the scenery was stunning. And we were surrounded — at one point, very literally — by bison. Bighorn sheep welcomed us along the road from Gardiner, and we saw wolves (okay, dark, far-off specks that folks told us were wolves) in Lamar Valley. 

But Yellowstone is wonderful the rest of the year, too. Try not to go in July, when the roads are jammed. And an important tip: Get out of your car to explore the trails, hot springs, and geysers: Inexplicably, the vast majority of  visitors don’t.