Day 31: Grand Teton National Park
Trip Start
Jun 21, 2008
1
18
42
Trip End
Ongoing
Grand Teton National Park,
Wyoming,
United States
Monday, July 21, 2008
We broke camp early in an effort to watch the sunrise at Old Faithful. On the way we stopped twice to view bison and elk. When we arrived at Old Faithful we had just missed an eruption, and the next one would not occur for 90 minutes. The sun was still lower than when we saw it 2 days ago. We stuck around, had breakfast, then watched Old Faithful one more time (3 times, total). I called mom and wished her a happy birthday. We did not stop again until we were out of Yellowstone NP.
We decided to visit Grand Teton NP for a few days and arrived at the Colter Bay campground around 11am. There was a snafu with some people occupying our site but we got it resolved. While waiting for them to leave, we decided to go to the Visitor Center. The Visitor Center was nice and had a museum attached. There was a member of the Navajo Nation who was painting and selling work. We found a painting we liked. A museum of Indian Art, most from one man's collection, very cool. And very well displayed.
The Shoreline Trail is our first hike in Grand Teton NP; 4 miles of forest, lake shoreline, and mountains. Amazing views!
As we were starting dinner a fox trotted through our campsite! We jumped and he moved on. Our first fox!
Colter Bay is named after John Colter who was a member of the Corps of Discovery. On the way back to Missouri, John Colter asked to leave the group and explore on his own and "found" the Teton Mountains.
Day 32 - Grand Teton NP - July 22, 2008 - Tuesday
Started the day with a Ranger Walk to Swan Lake from the Colter Bay visitor center. Very nice walk, very informative, and a good wake-up activity. Learned how to identify Spruce (sharp, spiky spruce), lodgepole pine and Douglas fir. We also met a nice family from WI, with a daughter who's a senior this year, so Michal and her mom talked colleges. We did not see any animals except for a heron from far away, but we saw lots of ecosystems; forests, meadows, sagebrush and lake/pond. I bought a Junior Ranger booklet for $1.
After the hike we had lunch and listened to a string quartet on the back deck of the visitor center. They were very good and it was nice to take a rest and listen to music for 30 minutes. Afterward, we talked to them about the Teton Music Festival that is going on in Teton Village just outside the park. One of the musicians gave us a coupon for one free ticket. Hooray! I think we'll go tomorrow.
Drove to the swimming area for a quick dip. Beautiful swimming area facing Mt. Moran. A bit chilly, though.
Did 2 loads of laundry at the laundry mat and then headed back to camp. Glad we took showers at Yellowstone NP, here they are $3.50. Also bough a few groceries at the nice general store.
Day 33 - Grand Teton NP - July 23, 2008 - Wednesday
A great day!
Started with another Ranger Walk. This time from Jenny Lake Visitor Center. We took the Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point Hike. We rode the boat to the other side of the Jenny Lake, then hiked with many informative stops with the Ranger. At Inspiration Point the hike with the Ranger ended and we hiked a little further on into Cascade Canyon. In the canyon we saw a moose in the willows. Wow! A bull moose with a large rack. We also saw a pike in the rocks along the trail. Yeah. An exciting hike. We headed back down and walked the 2 miles around Jenny Lake instead of taking the boat.
We then went further south to the Craig Thomas Visitor Center. Very informative about mountain climbing and the animals in the park. Very interactive visitor center. Here I got my Jr. Ranger badge! Not too embarrassing.
On the way to the historical district of Menors Ferry, a coyote crossed the road in front of us. Back in the 1860's, before the area was a National Park, people homesteaded the area. Bill Menor built a wooden ferry and charged people $.50 to cross the Snake River. The area was cool. Sometimes you can still ride the ferry, but not today. His cabin has been converted into a General Store/Museum with old furniture and items from the period. The store sold neat soaps, cards, jams and more. I was tempted to buy something, but did not. There we also saw the Chapel of the Transfiguration which still has services today. Very rustic church, and at the front, instead of stained glass, was just a window with a beautiful view of the Teton Range.
We stopped briefly at the Laurence S. Rockefeller Interpretive Center. New and very different from the other centers; it was all about experiencing and enjoying nature and its beauty.
Finally, we headed to Teton Village for the dinner concert. Teton Village is a ski resort, bigger and more developed than we expected. The dinner and music was great. This was the 47th Annual Music Festival. Very cool. We met a nice couple from Virginia during dinner.
Day 34 - Leaving Grand Teton NP, Craters of the Moon NM and Preserve, ID - July 24, 2008 - Thursday
Started the day with a bear jam. On our way out we saw lots of cars and people stopped on the side of the road. We stopped too, wanted to see what was out in the meadow. We heard yesterday from a gentleman that a grizzly bear has been seen in that area for several mornings. Sure enough, it was a grizzly bear. The bear was far away but clearly visible. Our first grizzly bear of the trip. Michael took a few pictures.
Continued on scenic Hwy 89 out of the park, stopping at a few overlooks. Did not see any eagles along the Snake River, but did have great views of the Teton Range. Stopped on Jackson, WY for gas.
Drove on to Idaho Falls. Stopped at a Starbucks for a break; wrote postcards and journaled and put pictures on the laptop.
One the drive to Craters of the Moon NM, we stopped briefly at EBR-1 which is the world's first nuclear reactor. I took a couple of quick pictures, but did not go inside for the tour, Amy was waiting in the car. The rest of the drive was uneventful and boring. We did stop for grocieries and ice in the small town of Arco. Arco's claim to fame is that it is the first town to be powered by atomic energy.
Around 4pm we arrived at Craters of the Moon NM, picked a campsite, and went to the visitor center. The weather was hot and a strong wind was blowing. We were able to leave the rainfly off the tent and see the stars before falling asleep.
I am trying to get my Junior Ranger bade so we went to the evening Ranger Program.
Animal Sightings for Yellowstone NP and Grand Teton NP: bison, coyote, pika, deer, grizzly bear, heron, elk, fox, moose, marmot, and osprey.
