Grand Teton National Park
After a couple of days acclimatising in Denver and Dubois we reached the first of our Rocky Mountain National Parks, The Grand Tetons. Before we started our research we had not heard of the mountain range and thought it was just an area we had to pass through on our way to Yellowstone. How wrong could we be! The Grand Teton National Park is one that everyone needs to have on their bucket list.
It is not the largest park and is all rather compact. We spent 2 days exploring the hidden valleys and side roads. There was one particular road we were desperate to go down, Moose Wilson Road, however RV's were not allowed due to the narrowness and road conditions. Sods law it is the road where the most sightings of wildlife take place, particularly bears and moose! Sadly the wildlife proved illusive to us in the Tetons, apart from squirrels, chipmunks and mule deer. This did not detract from our enjoyment exploring the area though and the scenery was beyond stunning.
We approached the park from Dubois to the west and dropped down through a high mountain pass with glorious scenery and views of the snow capped mountains. We had a scenic picnic by the side of a lake on the Wind River mountain pass. There were notices all around warning of bears in the area and to not leave food on benches or in rucksacs that are unattended. I was tempted, just to see if they came out to play but there was no sign of them.
Our first day in the Tetons was spent exploring view points and historic places off the main 191 highway from Moran down to Moose (what a great name for a town!). It follows the Snake River for several miles and has several elevated platforms with stunning views across to the vast mountain range. Every stop gives a different yet just as beautiful perspective of Tetons and before I knew it, I had got over 200 photo’s on my camera role and that doesn’t include the dozens that Richard took on his DLSR camera! We were expecting it to be much busier, particularly at the more touristy, Instagram famous stop off, but much to Richards relief, parking for the RV was OK.
We particularly loved visiting the tiny wooden Chapel of the Transfiguration in the town of Moose which probably only seated about 20 people but had the most incredible window view. It had outside seating and a window that opens for days when the church is full! Just down the road from there we also visited the Moulton Barns on Mormon Row, a historic landmark and much photographed wooden barn left over from an early 20th century Mormon homestead.
We were going to drive down to the ski town of Jackson Hole, however we soon realised there was enough to do just stopping and taking in the views in the National Park.
There were many highlights of our second day starting with getting up REALLY early so we could watch sunrise over Oxbow Bend, another famous photographic viewpoint. We didn’t quite get there for sunrise as there were simply too many other dramatic, stunning views that caught our eye on the 20 minute drive there. It was a misty morning and the low clouds clung atmospherically to the base of the Tetons across Jackson Lake. That combined with the golden glow of the sun lighting up the tip of the mountains was breathtaking. When we finally got there, Oxbow bend was probably at it’s best as the wind had dropped and the water was like glass, reflecting the trees and snow capped mountains. There was a steady stream of eager photographers all vying for the best view point and all desperately hoping that a moose would appear out of the mist in the shallows – it was not to be.
The second highlight was a boat trip across Jenny Lake and a hike through Cascade Canyon to the Hidden Falls and Inspiration point. It was a gloriously sunny day after the cold misty start and we could see for miles across the Park and high mountain plains. The waterfalls were picturesque and people watching intriguing, for some, the opportunity for a full on 10 minute photo shoot of themselves was too hard to resist.
RV Campgrounds
We stayed at 2 different campgrounds in the Park. The prices are quite eye wateringly expensive for a campsite at $110 including taxes per night. Both were set in lovely forested locations and were both on high bear alert.
Colter Bay which was on the shores of Jackson Lake had a resident Brown bear with 2 cubs that we were warned about when we signed in. Apparently she is quite laid back and wanders around but we had to take bear spray everywhere with us and were warned not to get between her and her cubs!! Quite a scary proposition when you need a wee in the night! We did not bump into her.
At the other campsite, Headwater Lodge, we had a small group of mule deer trot past the van as we were having a cup of tea. They were not bothered by humans in the slightest, they were seemingly more interested in the various mushrooms growing on the forest floor and the juicy leaves in the dense forest behind us. The only other animal we came across in the campground was an extremely busy squirrel who was furiously collecting up pine cones to store for the winter. He was not happy when another squirrel came onto his patch and we have never heard such a loud chattering squeal come from such a small creature before.
A top tip if you are visiting multiple national parks is to buy an annual pass at $80, I wish we had done this when we were in Arizona in February as we visited 3 parks on that trip and we could have saved a fortune as it is $30 per vehicle to enter each park. Needless to say we have got one now and are already 2 parks into the trip with many more to come.
We were on slight tender hooks until September 30th awaiting news of a US federal shutdown which was proving quite likely. If that had happened all the National Parks and State run facilities would be shutdown until further notice due to lack of funding to pay staff!!! Luckily for us, it has been postponed until a review in mid November and we will be safely back in the Dales by then.
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