Grand Teton National Park

Leaving Salt Lake City, we headed north passing Centreville and then gaining a glimpse of the famous Salt Lake in the distance.

Near Logan, Utah

 With each mile the brown hues of the environment added shades of green and then we were in hilly country, looking very lush with horses grazing and produce farms dominating.

Idaho - from the speeding car

 Idaho here was very beautiful with the above picture snapped about 20 miles from Malad where we enjoyed a picnic lunch at the Information Centre rest stop. Soon after this we left the main highway to continue on two way roads, hurrying along because we needed to arrive at Grand Teton National Park early enough to secure a site in one of the six camping areas. Unlike other places, it was first comer take all for the sites as there were no reservations taken and we had heard of people totally missing out during this peak summer touring season.

 The sight of these two rafts and another canoe being swirled down and around in fast moving muddy waters of Snake River Gorge had us stop to admire their courage [ or foolishness ]. 

Snake River

We then sped on passing through Jackson where I spotted this antler arch on a street corner. Initially I was alarmed for the deer until I remembered that they drop their antlers every year so these must have been collected that way.

Antler Arch, Jackson, Wyoming

From Jackson we followed route 26 passing the National Elk Refuge, a safe place for the elk to come down to during the harsh winter conditions in the mountains.

Bison

The mountains became closer, their glaciers visible through zoom lenses.

Grand Teton Glaciers

The Tetons

The photo above was taken from the moving car but that below from the Teton Turnout Point.

Grand Teton

 We then moved with more speed to Signal Mountain Campground where we hoped we would be in time to obtain a site, preferably near the lake.

Signal Mountain Campsite, Grand Teton National Park

Fortunately our speed was sufficient to acquire this spot among the lodgepole pines and firs, but only after driving around the entire campground before spotting it. The first requirement was to get a warming fire going as, although it was only late afternoon, the air gave us a strong hint of the temperature that was to come quickly. This night was notable for several reasons including the honour of being our coldest night of the whole trip.

Note the bear food cabinet on the left in the picture. That item is essential if you are not to have an unwelcome encounter with a foraging bear, especially if you are camping in a tent as were the people on the neighbouring site.

We soon had dinner cooking on the gas cooker and sat around the fire enjoying the moment and appreciating the beautiful, crystal clear, starry sky. Maybe the altitude  - the camp ground is at 6824 feet - added to the clarity of the sky. Definitely the absence of phone calls and the www.com added to the peace but this night was one to be appreciated and will be remembered for many years to come.

The Grand Tetons

Signal Mountain is on the southern end of Lake Jackson. The tallest mountain in the photo is Grand Teton at 13,770 feet with the others being Mt Moran at 12,605 feet, Middle Teton 12,804 feet and South Teton at  12,514 feet. How they shone in the early morning sun!

Mt Moran

The Tetons

This photo was taken at Lily Lake.


Our next adventure will be at Yellowstone National Park where we have reserved a camping site for several days . . .