Grand Teton National Park

Because Husband is working as we travel I wasn't sure (when planning) if we would be able to see Grand Teton National Park.  Thankfully my mom was uncompromising on this.  She and my dad drove all the way from Michigan and they wanted to see this park.  Because our experience in Willard Bay was so terrible we decided to leave on Friday after Husband got off of work instead of waiting until Saturday morning.  Because of that decision we ended up driving 250 miles starting at 6:30 p.m. and ending at 2:00 a.m.  I know that it doesn't seem like 250 miles is that many...but these are back roads-curves-35 mph-deer & elk around every turn-miles.  It was SLOW going in the dark.  I really don't recommend driving late at night when pulling a rig.  We've done it, but it's not fun.

However, there is nothing like waking up with this view in this wilderness.  We were there from June 21-24.  It was cool - even cold at night (in the 40s).  There are many wonderful adventures and hikes to do and we could only pick a couple.  Our first, and most ambitious, was hiking the southern part of Jenny Lake to Hidden Falls.  This hike was about 3.5 miles and had significant elevation change.  I think it took all of us to our limits - especially Sister (4).  It was amazing and beautiful.  Here is just a sample of the amazing nature that was all around us.

At one point we were walking up a trail and my dad spotted this beautiful deer laying the the grass next to the path.  Many people stopped to take pictures and it just laid there posing for us.  Here I am borrowing my mom's picture because she really captures the animals better than I with her zoom lens.  

Somehow, against the advice of National Park brochures, our party became separated.  Brother and Husband went on ahead.  Sister and I were in the middle and my mom and dad were in the rear.  Looking back I don't think this is a good practice, but we were all going at our own paces (or at least I was going with Sister's pace).  While Sister and I were alone a yellow-bellied marmot crossed the path right in front of us and scurried up the hill on the other side.  It was no more than 5 feet from us.  At the time we didn't know what it was, but we later found a taxidermy example of one in a museum. Regarding our group being separated - thankfully I had a walkie talkie and my mom had the other one.  Husband and Brother waited for us at the waterfall and then we all waited for mom and dad and communicated via walkie.  The waterfall was a wonderful place to sit, relax, and look at the view.

From the falls we "only" had to walk a half of a mile to a boat that took us back across the lake.  That last part of the walk was notable because of the river by the path.

The boat ride was enjoyable and welcome after such a long hike!

The second day we opted for a much less strenuous adventure and walked the Lakeshore Trail at Colter Bay.  This is a 2 mile hike on fairly level ground with amazing views of the lake and the Teton Range.  Oh! Look a picture of me in profile!  I'm always the one taking the pictures, but this time my mom was there too!

I think this is funny - this is me taking a picture of my mom (left) taking this picture (above)!  It is fun to have two sets of pictures to look through!



It was an overcast day and we even had a few sprinkles, but it was a beautiful walk and much of it was in the woods.

We saw one deer on this hike as well, though I was too slow with the camera and only got it's rear as it walked behind a tree.  We also saw bear sign!  I later showed this picture to a ranger who confirmed that it was probably black bear claw marks. We also found fur nearby, but we didn't actually see any bears in Grand Teton.

And we saw beaver sign! (thanks for the good pic mom!)

I will share some final pictures.  As a group we did see one moose, but it was quite a distance and we couldn't get a good picture.  My mom and dad however had two sightings of this cow and calf!

I really wish we would have had more time to explore this amazing place.  I will talk more about this when I review the campground in my next post.  Any trip back to Wyoming must include a stop at Grand Teton National Park.  I did not get enough of it!