Alternative Yellowstone vacation

“My wife and son were planning on going to Yellowstone and the Tetons the first week in September for about a week. My son will be 18 months old then. We just found out that baby #2 in on the way which means mom will be 6 mos preg when we were planning on going. We thought about taking the trip earlier, but I don't want to contend with summer Yellowstone crowds. I've never been West of the MS river before and am so ready to get to the mtns. I can't stand it. We were going to be doing lots of short hikes, not bp'ing. Any thoughts on a place that we could go in July that wouldn't be overly crowded? I realize we'll have to put up with some crowding; I just don't want bumper to bumper for 60 miles through a NP. Thanks.”

“dayhiker, how far do you want to travel? It seems that an 18month old would be at a difficult age for driving a long distance and there would need to be many stops. When you say mountains, what did you have in mind closer than Yellowstone - colorado, new mexico...can you narrow it down????”

“It doesn't really have to be closer than Yellowstone. The problem w/ Yellowstone is the bumper to bumper traffice at peak season. Flying is not a problem. I was thinking that there were some places that would still be very pretty, but not maybe a little off the beaten path.”