Since this was a long trip with lots of planning, it seems reasonable to post some final thoughts. They might help someone else with their planning. You can scroll down to see thoughts on the trip in general and Yellowstone. One of the main thoughts is that this was a marvelous trip and I'd love to do it again.
Miscellaneous Thoughts
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Getting the ice chest was a good idea. It was very handy to have food that easily accessible. Albertson's in Jackson had everything we needed. Including a wine store next door. We left the ice chest at a hotel in Washington. If you are going to Yellowstone and plan to get up early to see wildlife, get something that can pass for breakfast. Probably something that doesn't need to be cooked.
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Jackson was a neat town. Now that we've seen it we might stay at Teton Village, Lake Jackson or head into Yellowstone next time. There aren't a lot of places to buy ice chests and food between Jackson and Yellowstone, though.
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My wife quit using my old Nikon 4300 and was using my Nikon D100 this trip. This is the first time she contributed to the pictures on the site. She took so many that it caused a lot of extra work reviewing them, as well as my own. Enough of hers turned out good that it was worth it.
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Washing quick-dry clothes in the room was a good idea. They were always dry by morning. We could have gotten by with less clothes.
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Skip the Bison Range. Its OK if you're in the area anyway but after Yellowstone, it isn't that impressive.
Final Thoughts on Yellowstone
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Its very easy to combine a Grand Tetons trip with a Yellowstone trip. If I had to pick, though, it would be a Yellowstone trip.
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You can see enough of Yellowstone in 3 days to THINK you saw it all. It was easily worth visiting with only three days but I would have liked a couple more days to explore..
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We'll stay at Canyon for part of the trip next time. Its closer to Hayden Valley and you can get there early without getting up in the middle of the night. We'll probably stay somewhere else too but I haven thought about it. The park is so big that staying in multiple places does make sense. I didn't think that before this most recent trip.
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Get out of bed and get moving if you want to see wildlife. 5:45AM wasn't early enough when you had to drive from Old Faithful. We did have to get breakfast and that slowed us down.
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For convenience, show up with an ice chest and sandwich makings in the car. We got them at the Albertson's in Jackson. They had everything we needed. Something for breakfast wouldn't be a bad idea either. Especially for those early morning starts. It also keeps you from needing to plan to be near food at lunch time.
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Old Faithful is very impressive. So are the geysers and hot springs in the Upper Geyser Basin. Make sure you take that walk. There's others around too but we didn't have enough time. Next time we'll include Norris Geyser Basin.
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Be extremely careful in the various traffic jams that occur around the park. They are very dangerous because people get very excited and do foolish things.
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Don't get too excited about wildlife way off in the distance. Especially bison and elk. You'll see them up close too.
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One good way to find wildlife is to ask other people. Also pay attention to where people are in the turnouts. Especially if they have scopes. If you are polite, they may even let you look too.
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Pay close attention when driving. You never know what will be standing in the road.
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We met a guy that told his 7 year old daughter was in awe. We're a bit older than that but we agree.