I’m so glad you had a nice vacation! It has been a year and a half since we were there and I still think about that trip.
I totally agree the food there stinks. The best meal we had was at Lake Yellowstone Hotel but the rest were almost worse than Disney food. 
We brought a cooler and stocked up before we got there so at least we had good picnic lunches with sandwiches, cheese and crackers and things like that.
I tried to tell my husband we should get a little cooler, but he was NOT interested. Funny story though - he decided we should buy some things, so we spent close to 70 bucks at a convenience store in Jackson. Included in his purchases were peanut butter, some jelly, and thick white bread, along with a case of bottled water. They didn’t have any “healthy” bread, and I really dislike white, especially thick white. So, we made PB&Js one time. Didn’t use it again after that time. We “lost” the PB&J and bread at one of our hotel switches (I told my husband I was going to make him carry it home on the plane), and we used maybe 3 of the bottled waters. Left the rest in the rental car. I did “refuse” to let him buy trail mix, because I brought a ton of nuts with us. He did buy M&Ms to spice it up. He weighed himself at work today and said he actually lost weight on vacation. That is not normal.
Fantastic to lose weight on vacation. I typically do so and it’s because of the exercise and less snacking. I often pack a jar of peanut butter and jam in our checked bags and buy whatever bread in the moos for at our destination. We get tired of restaurant meals- including fast foods- and will pull out the pbj stuff. We also take the paperplates/plastic knife et al. Always do the peanut butter first so jam doesn’t contaminate it. Jam will last without refrigeration for a few days. We also pack the nuts et al. But- half the fun of vacation is buying food on a whim.
We stayed at the Absaroka lodge in Gardiner (plenty nice) and theSnow Lodge at YNP, which was so…bad. Just so understaffed and the food was awful. someone here suggested the Sleepy J Cabins in SwanValley Idaho for our GTNP leg and we took a leap of faith ---- it was wonderful, just perfect. Highly recommend for anyone who is reading this now and making plans.
We also liked Absorka lodge in Gardiner. We also stayed at Lake Hotel in Yellowstone and were treated to concerts in the lobby by a string quartet every night. Had a great time! It was the same quartet we heard with our kids 20 years prior!
“Definitely don’t forget the bear spray!”
I am pretty sure that you are not allowed to take in on the plane. However, I did see bear spray for sale in Jackson. I don’t think that it will be hard to find. What you do with it at the end of your trip I have no idea. It would almost seem like a good idea for someone to have a bear spray exchange. We relied on a local who had some.
We were in Wyoming last week. The temperature can fluctuate quite wildly. In the morning you can be wearing a fleece jacket on the way to breakfast, and then just a t-shirt in mid afternoon, and a light jacket in the evening. We did watch it snow on the tops of the Tetons last week.
We also did see bears, many elk, and a few bison in Yellowstone. We also saw Old Faithful go off, which is worth the trip (and the wait, if you do not happen to arrive right before it happens).
It was a great trip.
We rented bear spray and the just returned it at the airport as we were leaving. It was $28 for 10 days.
We were to Yellowstone twice. Never had nor needed bear spray either time. It really depends where you’re planning to be. We didn’t go anywhere where we were very near bears, except the one time a bear wandered near the park road. The rangers promptly appeared and had everyone keep their distance.
If you’re going hiking in the woods, there are many signs that say “this is bear country…” We were advised by many, including rangers, to have bear spray.
We stayed in cabins IN the park, but that was about 10 years ago, so I don’t remember the name. Rustic, but comfortable enough for only 2 nights. Best perk was the ability to rise very early in the morning, when the animals were out, but most of the visitors weren’t.
For folks who are interested in viewing the animals, Yellowstone Association has private tours that you can book for an additional fee. They provide guides and scopes. If you have enough people, you can have the tour just for you and your friends and they can pick you up and take you back to your lodging (or an agreed upon location). We have two tours booked with them and they were great. They communicate with one another to share info about where the animals are at all times, so they can lead you to them, minimizing time in traffic and circuitous routes. The price seemed quite reasonable but can’t recall what it was.
If you want to view animals, the tours start very early in the morning, so you can see them (I think it may have been 6am). Highly recommend!