Day 13

So many pictures to share today!!!

Grand Teton National Park

Weather-sunny, 60’s daytime, 28 at night

This morning we got a little bit of a late start. We had pancakes for breakfast and did a load of laundry before getting ready to go out and do anything.

The first thing we did was take a drive on Rt. 22 west over Teton Pass toward Idaho (the border is only about 12 miles away). We wanted to see what this road was like because we had heard it was terrible for RV’s, with 10% grade up and down and sharp curves. It was as described, and we won’t be taking the RV that way when we leave here, but will instead go a different route. However, the views at the top of the pass were wonderful-we took a few pictures, but the smoke and morning clouds were like blankets around the mountains, and you actually couldn’t see too much. Still, it was a fun drive!

The view from Teton Pass-about 8400 feet

We then headed into the park with the ultimate goal of doing some camping around Jenny Lake. Jenny Lake is a smaller lake south of Jackson Lake, that was formed by a glacier. The water is blue/green, crystal clear and deep! We hiked around half of the lake, and then up several hundred feet towards a waterfall called Hidden Falls, and then several hundred more feet to Inspiration Point, where we had sweeping views of the valley and also the Teton peaks behind us. It was well worth the hike!

On our hike we saw quite a bit of wildlife. First of all, as we were going along, several hikers who passed us said there were moose on the trail ahead. Initially we were a little apprehensive about coming upon moose, but all of the hikers seemed to be happy about it, so we continued on. Indeed, at a woodsy area there were 3 moose (cow and her 2 calves) eating leaves and such in the forest. Many people were stopped to look at them, and we got a few pictures as well. 

Further on the hike we happened upon a small bat flying along the trail, and as he flitted about we realized what it was. He then landed on the side of a boulder next to the lake and started cleaning himself before flying away a few minutes later. It was really neat and unusual to see a bat during the day-he was very cute and of course the kids immediately named him Stellaluna!

At the overlook there was a chipmunk who had been tamed by so many hikers feeding him. He was quite fat and would come running up to you to look for food. He even let the kids pet him. They were enthralled of course. We got lots of pictures up at the top, and took some time to have a snack and water before hiking down.

The whole hike was a little over 7 miles, with lots of rocky areas to navigate and of course the steep climbs to the falls and overlook. The kids were wonderful about all of the hiking! At first, they complained a bit-to be honest, it took all of us a little bit to get warmed up-but after a mile or so, they were really into it and never complained again. They commented several times about how wonderful this trail was and what a good time they were having. We try to take it slow when hiking with the kids-we are in no hurry-and take plenty of breaks for water, snacks and lunch. But they really kept a great pace. I am convinced that the amount of wildlife we saw and the changing terrain made it more entertaining for them. It also could be that they are getting into the groove of what we do when out and about, and are expecting a lot of hiking, so they are more willing and happy about it all.

It was a fabulous hike! On the way back to the campsite, we could see the smoke from the wildfire in Horsethief Canyon-it appeared that the fire was getting worse from the amount of smoke, but we are not sure about that right now. This is a wildfire that is on the backside of Snow King Mountain, towering right over the town of Jackson.  We also saw a moose alongside the road on our way home, and I was able to get out of the car and walk over to the rushes where the moose was drinking in the marsh to get some pictures from afar.

After arriving back at the campground, we ended up moving to a different site. The person camping next to us had let their dogs poop in our campsite during the day when we were gone-yuck! So the campground hosts gave us another site away from  people with dogs. It is amazing how easy it is to pick up and move with the RV-I think the whole move took us about 15 minutes!

After dinner (grilled chicken and salad) we took a drive down to the Snake River, not far from our campsite. The water of the Snake River originates in Yellowstone and flows down through the Tetons before turning west and heading into southern Idaho. The place where we went had a river access where you could walk down-the entire shore was river rocks. The kids had fun throwing rocks into the fast moving water. Then we took a short drive into town to get Eric some hiking boots (all he had were running shoes) and a quick stop at the grocery store for a few necessities.

Tonight we are all  exhausted and will sleep hard and long hopefully!

 a drive-by view of the firemen's camp. This is only a small portion of it. They have tents filling up several acres, semi-trucks full of provisions (food, water, etc). The whole town has signs up everywhere thanking them. Being right here where there are wildfires has brought a whole new perspective to something that people who live out here deal with often and we usually only hear about

 On a rock with Jenny Lake in the background. The weather today was perfect hiking weather!

 Daddy and daughter hand in hand on the trail. This actually didn't happen too often. Leah was more likely to be navigating her own way through the rocks and grades of the trail, but when it was wide and flat she would often hold someone's hand

 A view of Jenny Lake from the trail. we hiked halfway around to get to the trailhead for the falls. 

This is very hard to see, but it is the little bat clinging to the side of this boulder. 

 Kids on the trail up to Inspiration Point-there was a place called Inspiration Point in Yellowstone also. It must be a common name for high overlooks!

 Hidden Falls

 This is where the trail got quite steep-not too wide, and straight down on the right side there!

 Eric petting the tame chipmunk-he would come up to you and stand up, put his front paws on your pants leg as if he were begging! 

 A kind stranger took a family shot for us. This is the view from Inspiration Point of Jenny Lake and the surrounding area

 The view from Inspiration Point looking back at the mountains behind us-the Teton Peaks and their glaciers you can see in the background

 Teton Peaks

 Going back down the trail. I know the picture does not do a great job with perspective, but it was quite steep!

A view above the trail of the glacial morraine-for those who do not know-glacial morraine is the debris left behind as the glacier moves slowly down the mountain and crushed rocks along the way. Jenny Lake is a glacial lake, meaning that many years ago glaciers ran all the way down the mountain to the lake's edge, and this is what was left behind as the glaciers retreated higher into the mountains.

 Can anyone identify this scat? Clue: check out the next picture!

 The two calves along the trail, lying in the sun.

 The smoke in the distance as we drove back to the campsite from the local wildfire at Horsethief Canyon.

 This was the moose along the drive. He was happily lapping up water while several people had stopped to take pictures of him. I am zoomed all the way in and not nearly as close as my picture appears!

All of the below pictures show us down at the Snake River. You can tell from the expressions on the kids' faces especially what fun they were having throwing the large river rocks in the water and hearing the ker-thlump sound it made!

 We were there just at dusk and the lighting was beautiful. What a great end to a great day!