Grand Tetons

Monday morning we left our campground in West Yellowstone and headed off to the Grand Teton National Park for a few hours. Grand Teton is just on the other side of Lake Yellowstone, so we had one final drive through Yellowstone on our way there. After having driven through the park for a few days already, we knew just where to look to spot the wildlife. This time we saw a male and female bald eagle and their nest. We also spotted some more buffalo and elk on the drive.

Grand Teton is located in northwestern Wyoming, about a two hour drive from West Yellowstone, Montana. The park is named after the Grand Teton, which at 13,770 feet is the tallest mountain in the Teton Range. The park was established in 1929 and covers 484 square miles.

The Tetons are part of the Rocky Mountains. As we learned later, they rise from the floor of Jackson Hole, Wyoming without any foothills. At the base of the Tetons are several large lakes. We headed for Jackson Lake and the Colter Visitor Center to see a Native American museum and do some hiking around the lake.

About 12,000 years ago, Native Americans camped in the area while following game. The Tetons were named by French explorers who called the highest peaks of the range Les Trois Tetons (the three breasts). In the 18th and 19th \centuries the area was frequented by fur trappers.

We made a visit to the Native American museum, which had an incredible display of ancient moccasins. Emily begged us to open the case so that she could wear some of the pretty shoes, proving that her shoe fetish is still alive and well! After the museum we hiked around the lake for a while and then headed off to the cafe at the restaurant for lunch. Since the boys were both wearing Red Sox caps, one of the elderly rangers at the restaurant asked if we were from Boston. He explained that his sister had been married to Tip O'Neil!

We ate a quick lunch and departed for Salt Lake City for the evening. The drive from Jackson H0le through Idaho was a bit hairy. Extremely steep two-lane mountain roads that the RV struggled mightily to climb. We almost bailed out a couple of times, but we persevered and it paid off. It took longer than we expected, but we arrived at a particularly elaborate campground near Salt Lake City at about 7 pm. The campground was complete with a waterpark, which the kids loved. The begged us to stay another day so that they could play in the park, but we left early the next morning so that we could get to Lake Powell, Arizona for our next adventure.