The Grand Tetons
Trip Start
May 09, 2009
1
18
96
Trip End
Ongoing
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Our next destination after Yellowstone was its sister park to the south – Grand Teton NP. The Teton range is always spectacular, seemingly rising straight up because of no foothills. Even with rain clouds hovering around them, they are impressive.
The Snake River winds beautifully through the park. Our first night there, we went to Ox-Bow Bend on the Snake River, an overlook made famous in an Ansel Adams photo. We were there at the same time as a photography group who set up their tripods and cameras to capture the river with the mountains in the background. They got to be rather annoying, complaining about any disturbance in the scene – including some ducks gliding over the water and an otter catching his dinner - all ruining their ripple-less water that they wanted for the perfect reflection. A jet flew overhead and created a jet-trail – also a no-no. They were disappointed at lack of colors when the sun set behind the mountains, but behind them, the landscape was aglow in muted pinks. We decided that we were happy with our automatic digital camera and our ability to be spontaneous and enjoy what nature offered.
The next day we did a hike in the park – our first one since bad weather and my recovery from bronchitis had prevented doing a hike prior to this. It was a moderate hike to Taggart Lake – one of the smaller but nonetheless beautiful lakes in the park. It felt terrific to hike again.
The best part of our visit was that we were able to coordinate our itinerary so that we were there when Pat (sister), Carol and their two traveling companions,Evanne and Jody were also there on tour. They only had one free afternoon and evening which they spent with us at the Jackson Lake Lodge where they were staying. Pat and Carol treated us to an evening in the lodge, so we got to have luxurious showers and a king-size bed (that you could walk around – imagine!!). Thanks, Pat & Carol!
This was my 2nd time in GTNP and Jim's 6th, and we will certainly be back again.
