shutdown

Johnel5

I e-mailed TAUCK about what effect the shutdown might have on our late January, early February trip and got this reply:

Should the partial government shutdown continue, the following changes will take place:
· Our guests are scheduled to arrive at Yellowstone National Park on Day 3 of the itinerary for a 3-night stay with a visit at Grand Teton National Park on Day 6.
o Visitor centers are closed. If they remain closed once our departures begin, National Park passports will not be able to be stamped for guests.
o Day 4 lunch scheduled at the Canyon Visitor Center will need to be provided elsewhere.
o Restrooms in the National Parks may or may not be open. If they are opened, they may not be maintained.

Johnel5

Anyone who has been to Yellowstone since the shutdown started,
how was your trip?

Our Travels

Hello Johnel5, We just returned from Jan 3 - Jan 10, 2019 Yellowstone in Winter. The above post made it sound very negative. You can rest assured that you will have a fantastic time. We have traveled with Tauck several times. The short trip exceeded our expectations. The breathtaking scenery and the majestic Tetons along with the wild animals and wonderful guides who provided a wealth of information will transport you to another place and time for an unbelievable adventure. It was definitely cold and, if prepared, that is nothing to worry about. There are so few people in the park compared to the summer tourists that the shutdown was barely noticeable. Yes, the visitor centers were closed and that did not affect our experience at all. Everything was very well maintained and only a handful of public restrooms in the park were closed. We had our National Park Passports stamped in some areas. Bring yak tracks or crampons for your water-proofed shoes or boots. There is snow for as far as your eyes can see. I hope this helps you. You'll have a wonderful time. We did.

Johnel5

Excellent! I was sure TAUCK would come through. They always do. We started traveling with them in 2013 and this will be our 13th trip with them in various places throughout the world including Yellowstone in the summer.
By the way, did Xanterra use their new snowcoaches and if so how were they?

tomh

I know things have probably changed there since I was on Tauck's tour in Feb. 2012, but if you have a chance to do some snowmobiling while at Yellowstone, I can highly recommend the experience (I did so in Feb. 2012). I had the Wort Hotel concierge hook me up with 8 other folks in Jackson Hole and ended up snowmobiling 100 miles all day long throughout Yellowstone, but I had to make arrangements well in advance of my arrival as our "free day" in Yelllowstone the Park Service had already allocated the limited number of snowmobiles to another group. It definitely was a "bucket list" experience for me. :-)

relcvilleva

Thank you for these posts. We are on the January 30th trip and have been following the official NPS posts on the Yellowstone website and were assuming the trip would go pretty much as planned. It is nice to know that Tauck is continuing to maintain their high standards.

Johnel5

We'll be on that same trip. Where are you from?
We're from upstate NY (way upstate) and are flying out of SYR on Monday, a day early.

relcvilleva

We're from Northern VA and also going a day early.

Johnel5

Oops. We fly out of SYR Tues AM but leave home here on Monday because we live an hour from the airport in good weather so will spend the night at the airport Inn so we can be at the terminal early, early Tues AM.

P.S. Wasn't supposed to start snowing here today until 4 PM but it has been snowing lightly since about 10:30 AM and they are still calling for between 1 and 2 feet followed by high winds and frigid temperatures. Gotta love central NY...

relcvilleva

At least the Yellowstone weather will not be a shock to you.