You step out of the van into an open valley where steam rises from the earth like a living thing demanding attention. The first day opens in Grand Teton National Park—jagged granite pushes skyward and lodges of pine scatter the slopes—before the road slides north toward Yellowstoneʼs geyser basins. Geysers perform sudden, mechanical eruptions; rivers braid through willow-shadowed flats and canyons cut deep lines into volcanic rock. Wildlife appears when it pleases: elk bed down in cottonwood groves, bison amble across horizons as if measuring your resolve.