THE GRAND TETONS

Our first full day in Jackson Hole we were able to move the Airstream to a spot that had electricity. Dry camping one night was fine but the furnace fan really ate into our batteries. It ran most of the night. We could have hooked up our generators and recharged the batteries but we opted to move.

Big mistake. When the campground said, "spot for 40' rig" I guess they meant a 40' motorhome that could drive right into the spot. We have a 34' trailer towed by a 27' long truck The road was one-way and the spot was angled the wrong way to allow easy back in. AND there were trees on both sides of the lot. After I tried for 15 minutes or so with no success, another camper came over and said, "A couple of years ago I watched a guy try to back in there with a much smaller rig than yours. He ended up going the wrong way around the loop." It was still a challenge, but that worked. Carol is an amazing spotter.

It was noon before we got situated. It was warm enough to open the door and windows and enjoy the fresh mountain air. Boots found all sorts of new scents. 

Possibly THIS is what he was smelling. They were in the field next to our camp.

 
The bull had a bad leg and judging by the size of his horns I suspect he had some age on him too. We never did see him stand up but he was a big one and impressive, even laying in the sage brush.

 A young bull showed up later.  As is usually the case, there were a bunch of people standing around with big cameras with giant lens and tripods. There was one guy standing next to us with the camera sans big lens and tripod. And he was not taking pictures. And he was not looking happy.  I said, "Got enough pictures for today?" He said, "Yes. Now I'm waiting for him to move so I can get my camera bag and tripod." They were where he'd left them when the moose came in his direction and now the moose was "examining" the bag. I didn't dare laugh out loud but it took all my effort not to.  He said, "I had one charge me yesterday and that's not going to happen again". Eventually the moose lost interest and moved across the road and right through the middle of the campground. Ya kinda get the idea that not much phases them.

 At the Moose Junction Visitor's Center Carol said, "I just heard a cat meow." When we looked we found Steph holding "Bugsy" a Bengal cat. He is the 9th generation away from the breeding of a domestic cat and an Asia Leopard. According to Steph they are very loving, easily trained and almost all of the wild traits have been bred out. Check them out at http://busybeesbengals.com/

Here is a plaque with a quote by Fritiof  Fryxell. He was one of the first promoters of these mountains. Please click on the picture. It will open full size in another window so you can read his inspirational words.  The first Anglo settlers were the ones who came up with "The Cathedrals."  The first Europeans to see them were French fur trappers and their name, "Grand Tetons" is the one that stuck. Carol reminded me that my grandchildren read my blog so click HERE to go to Google Translator.  Carol just shook her head and said, "Men."

We got up and out before dawn to catch the rising sun lighting the peaks.


But Carol's best shot of the day was looking east at the Gros Ventres Mountains to see the sunrise.

The clouds that made the sunrise picture so beautiful also blocked the sun from hitting much of the Tetons.
But they are beautiful in any light.

Even when they are capped in clouds. The big white wall is a glacier.

A short drive off the scenic route is the site of Menor's Ferry and General Store. Bill Menor built it in 1892 and his brother, Holiday built a lime kiln on the far river bank. By the early 1900's his store was serving locals and dudes alike. He also ran a blacksmith shop, grew vegetables for the dude ranches and, of course, ran the ferry. The store is now open and sells period items at modern prices. But it is free to go in and see the merchandise and furnishings.

I was confused when I first looked at the ferry because there didn't seem to be any means of propulsion. The ferry was attached with two ropes to a cable to keep it from floating downstream but there was not a second cable to pull it back and forth across the river. And no oars. Then I looked closely at the one cable. The ferry platform is sitting on two boats with sharp bows pointing upstream. Click on the picture to see how the operator cants the bow of the boats into the current to move the boat across the river and back.

Near Menor's is the Chapel of the Transfiguration, an Episcopal chapel built in 1925 to serve the people of this section of Jackson Hole. Services are still held there in the summer.

Next we'll go farther north along the range and share other vistas and interesting places.

OUT OF YELLOWSTONE - INTO THE GRAND TETONS.

As we drove around Yellowstone, we noticed 6 ft tall poles along most of the roads and around parking areas. We even saw men installing them every 50' or so.

We can both be a little slow sometimes but we finally figured out that they were to guide snowplows - more likely snowblowers. Wow, they actually get out and clear roads when they need 6' high poles to guide them. That's impressive.

At least we thought it was impressive UNTIL we were headed out through the South Gate and saw these.

No kidding. They have colored marking every few feet. They're about 20' tall. It makes me wonder how much snow it takes before they close the roads. And they DO close them. Or at least they've got lighted warning signs and gates that say they do.

The drive to the Grand Tetons was uneventful until they came into view. There is simply no way to describe them.

Here are some shots Carol took after we got set up in Gros Ventre Campground.

It was late afternoon and the sun was going behind the peaks.

Not the best of opportunities but some idea of  ".....purple mountain majesty."

On the way back to camp we saw this. Is somebody testing something we aren't being told about? I could start a whole new conspiracy theory with pictures like this.

Our first sunset in the Tetons.

YELLOWSTONE - ONE MORE DAY,

Starting another LONG day to go around the west side of the Yellowstone Loop. Not even. Just the south side because the road on the northwest side is closed for construction. So, in through the East Entrance then to the loop and around the south part of the loop.

 But first,  obligatory roadside animal pictures. In this case an elk.

 Along with Yellowstone Canyon from Artist's Point, Old Faithful is a required picture site for Yellowstone visitors.

 It was a little chilly.

 But we weren't the only ones waiting.

Like almost all of the scenery out here, pictures really can't do it justice.



 There are literally hundreds, if not thousands of geysers in Yellowstone. Old Faithful is not the biggest or even the most regular.

This one was fascinating because when we first saw it, it was an empty hole in the ground.

 Totally dry.

 Over a period of 5 or 6 minutes it filled with steaming water.

Then it started gurgling and bubbling.

Then "erupted" maybe five feet into the air.

Then just drained to repeat the process in about 10 minutes.




The temperature of the water determines the type of bacteria that grows and they are all different colors.

 Most have been erupting for decades or hundreds of years but only some build up deposits.

Another of the beautiful waterfalls. This is Gibbon Falls.

 The perfect Christmas Tree - If I still lived in my Main Street house.

One last area before we left - "Artist's Paint Pots"  One more case of not enough water to get spectacular colors. We were told they are beautiful in the spring and early summer.

 On the way across to the East Entrance we saw dozens of cars and people. Most of the people had binoculars and/or cameras with lenses that cost more than a small car. They were all looking and pointing excitedly. We asked, "What's up?" and were told, "There's a grizzly across that meadow trying to bring down an elk calf." All we got to see was a small blob that was probably a grizzly headed into the woods and a small group of elk in the meadow. Mixed opinions on whether he was dragging the calf or not.

As we got back into the truck Carol saw this beautiful reflected scene on the Yellowstone River.

 That ends what we'll share from Yellowstone except for what we might see going out the South Gate tomorrow. It's been a very good few days. The delay to get a clutch installed really made us worry about snow. It snowed but did not affect our trip at all.

Still beating that dead horse - nothing has gone as planned. Everything has turned out better than hoped for.

Grace - getting what  you don't deserve.