Grand Teton

It was a long night last night, a very long night. I was up at regular intervals, and my morning didn’t start off well when I had two fresh spider sightings. I was very, very ready to go! We ate breakfast in the Lake Hotel and reported the spiders. Apparently they can’t spray in the national park so they are limited as to what they can do. Small comfort!!

We had a lovely breakfast overlooking the lake through large picture windows. I was tired of eggs and got steel cut oats and coffee. Lots of coffee.

We headed south, and around the area we were in yesterday with the old growth, a wolf ran across the road. It may have actually been a wolf I saw on the water yesterday, and not a coyote! It was in the same area. We drove past the West Thumb area we were at yesterday and crossed the Continental Divide. We drove by Lewis Lake and decided to stop for some pictures, both at the lake and at Lewis Falls.

We passed through the south entrance of Yellowstone and on to Grand Teton National Park. It got very smoky from the fires behind the Tetons and in Idaho. Unfortunately the rain didn’t reach this area so the smoke was still quite heavy.

We got to Coulter Village and checked in to the cabins. We have an adjoining cabin with a shared bath, and it’s very cute! We drove around to get the lay of the land, then headed over to Jackson Lake. The lake is huge and beautiful, and should offer a glorious view of the Tetons. However, the smoke was so thick, they were barely discernable. We were teasing our ‘tour guide’ that she went in the wrong direction as we must be in the wrong spot! We went to the Jackson Lake Lodge for lunch, overlooking a marshy area which is known for animal sightings. Nada.

We compared a post card of the view with what we saw, and got a few pictures from the dashboard with the two. As the time progressed, we were able to make out a faint outline of the mountain ridges, though they weren’t really showing up on film. We headed south to Jackson Hole, stopping a few times for pictures as the mountains came more into view. It almost feels like being in New England in some areas with the fall colors and pine trees. The aspens paint a silvery yellow that contrast with the vivid green of the pine and the gold of the plains.

We stopped in the Jenny Lake visitor’s center and got our first great view of the Tetons. The smoky haze was starting to lift, and though it didn’t still show well on film, it was amazing to see the jagged outline through the mist. The visitor’s center had a lot of great things, and a short video that demonstrated how Yellowstone and the Tetons were created through shifting plates, volcanic eruptions and glaciers. It was really interesting.

We headed into Jackson Hole through a National Elk Refuge, though we never saw any Elk in that area.

Quote of the day: ‘If I were an elk, I’d be right out there all day!’

We parked in the downtown area by the square, and went into the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. The bar stools are saddles, so we took the obligatory pictures before settling down for a beverage. I got a huckleberry lemonade, which I think is my new favorite thing. Who knew huckleberries are so good? The place was interesting, with a lot of a really thick, knotty wood.

The square is flocked with four gates, one of each corner, of antler’s horns. It reminds me of Santa fe but is much more western, instead of southwestern. We walked around the square, window shopping a bit, then went to dinner at a restaurant called Thai Me Up. One cannot exist on buffalo alone, and we wanted something different. The food was great, service ok, and the bathroom was something to speak of! A rather talented artist painted giant elephants on the walls. The elephants were white and the walls were each a different bright color, so the contrast was striking. I didn’t take any pictures, but it would have been picture worthy.

We headed out to animal watch, and our timing was perfect! First we saw a half dozen elk, including a large male with full antlers, and a couple of young ones. They were bugling, which was amazing to hear. Then a minute later we saw a large male moose across the street, just standing there posing for photos.  We enjoyed some gorgeous views of the tetons, which were now more in view with the fading light. We headed to Jenny Lake, and a wolf ran across the road in front of us. Then we saw something by the side of the road and saw a fox. I tried to take a picture and succeeded in only getting a shot of glowing eyes. Apparently we were intruding as he started barking his displeasure.

We got to the Lake and got out to take some pictures. It’s gorgeous, and close to the base of the Tetons so very picture worthy. The sun was in its last pass before heading below the horizon and we enjoyed the colors etched as it floated down.

We pulled into our campground and got ready for bed. Two went to the office to use the internet, and we learned that there were TWO bear sightings right in our campground! We don’t even have to go far, and I think bears are the only animals we haven’t seen on this adventure. I suspect we’ll walk around the campground a bit tomorrow morning to see what we can find!