The Grand Teton:Or, as my boys got a kick out of..."the big boobs"
The mileage from home to this first major destination was about the same as other trips...however, something has changed. I don't know if it is because we are older? Have done it too many times? The scenery wasn't as interesting? or what, but the driving was harder on us. I felt great relief knowing the long legs were behind us and that for the next 2 weeks or so I wouldn't be driving (or so we hoped).
It was exciting to see the change in landscape as we approached the Rockies. Along the road, we came upon a campground that looked like a good place to make a lunch stop. Curiously, the campground was 100% empty?
We came into the Tetons from the east and dropped into the Colter Bay area first. The first views of the Tetons will always be remembered. There is a distinction between them and other mountains. They were...well...GRAND.
Before we had reached the campground, we had already been welcomed by Buffalo and Moose!
Our first destination was Gros Ventre campground. We were following our outdated GPS, and started loosing confidence when we were on a gravel road that turned out to be Mormons row. It was a feasible way to get there, but the GPS didn't take into account the 30' of trailer behind us.
We chose to stay a few nights in Gros Ventre and another few nights in Colter Bay. It was a wise decision to reduce driving. Grow Ventre was especially chosen for the reports of moose common in the area. We went on a moose hunt on 2 evenings, but didn't see one. Fortunately, we saw one on the drive into the park and were to see a few more throughout the summer.
This shows the river that runs behind the campground. It was very moosey looking, but it wasn't in the cards on this night. We were also all a bit nervous about taking our first few walks in the woods that included the possibility of bears. A healthy amount of caution is what keeps you alive!
Our first morning, we went on a hike at Jenny Lake. We decided to do Inspiration Point. There is the option of taking a boat across the lake to reduce distance, but sometimes I am cheap to a fault. :)
It was a beautiful hike! However, due to some trail construction, we ended up doing about 8 miles when we were prepared for much less.
We had 4 liters of water on us, thinking it was plenty for a few miles. But with the change in trails, we started rationing water and actually ran out with about 2 miles left. The temperatures were warmer than expected at about 84 degrees. I honestly had a rough time and was experiences early signs of dehydration. I was irritable, nauseous and had a headache. By the time we made it back to the trail head, I needed water...and needed it NOW! Again, due to construction, we couldn't find water. I finally got to some in a hose bib behind some construction fencing about 15 minutes after we got off the trail.
Lesson learned. It took me about 6 hours of laying still with a cool rag on my forehead before I felt normal again.
But this didn't taint an otherwise beautiful day.
We moved to Colter Bay campground, where we had a very large and private site.
From here, we did several activities. First, we had a wonderful day exploring a gravel road that followed the Snake River. It is shown on the park map. We estimated it to be a one or two hour activity, but ended up spending about 6-8 hours on it, stopping often just to sit and soak it all in. We packed a picnic and brought the lawn chairs. We were in no rush. In the whole day, we only saw 3-4 other cars. It was fantastic!
The high that day was 49, which was awesome for a southern family in June! Note the jackets.
We spent another day resting around camp, which was needed and welcomed. I uploaded photos to the hard drives. Cooked a nice dinner. Heck, I even gave hair cuts! I cut my own, so I figured I could do theirs too!
One evening, we were doing laundry and noticed the mountains lit up with the sunset. The golden hour was upon us! I managed a few shots, but not pleased that they captured the magic.
While there, these birds (loon?) had a commotion going on. One caught a fish and the others were chasing for it. I did manage a decent shot of that, but wish I had more zoom. I use an 18-270mm lens, and often times on this trip I wish I had twice the reach. However, that is expensive, and when vacationing with kids, you can't beat the convenience of not switching lenses.
We did a few other activities in the area. In all, I think we planned it about right at 4 nights. After all, we need to leave a few things to do on the return trip. Which there surely will be. We were sad to leave, but excited to see the next thing...Yellowstone!
