The Grand Teton National Park (Days 10-12)
After a splendid time in Yellowstone, it was time to head towards the Grand Teton Range. I have had an Ansel Adams print of the Tetons for as long as I can remember, and it was finally time to see the majestic sawtooth mountains with my own eyes. The Tour bus driver we had in Yellowstone encouraged everyone heading that way to come up with one word upon seeing the Teton Range once they made it to the park, and I will have to admit seeing the mountains rising out of the sagebrush left everyone in the car a little speechless. We quickly jumped out of the car to take a few snapshots.
In the Tetons we had planned to stay in Tent Cabins, or what Julia kept referring to as a claim shanty. The tent cabins had two log cabin style walls with the remaining walls and roof made out of a canvas material. At the door was a potbellied stove that use used to keep the room warm at night. After checking in, we hit the visitor center and were just in time for a ranger program. A local author Kenneth Thomasma was speaking about the life and travels of Sacajawea. Kenneth proved to be a remarkable storyteller, who described in great detail the many contributions Sacajawea provided to the Lewis and Clark expedition down the Missouri River to Oregon.
After the talk we decided to head down the road toward Jenny Lake to see what we could see of the magnificent mountains. Just outside of Colter Bay we ran into a traffic jam of folks stopped on the side of the road scoping out some wildlife. It turned out to be a Mamma Grizzly bear and her two cubs. We stopped for a bit and snapped a few good photos of them. We left the crowds and kept driving toward Jenny Lake, stopping a couple miles out as the sun was setting on the other side of the mountains. Eagle Eye Mary spotted several bull elk just after we turned to head back and we watched them coming down off of a ridgeline into the sagebrush. The following morning we had the plan to head to Jenny Lake, take in a hike or two and get the girls through the Teton NP JR. Ranger Program.
After stopping at the visitor center to complete the Jr. Ranger swearing in, we hopped on a trail around Jenny Lake with the plan to head off the pathway toward Moose Pond. Having seen most all other big game animals, I was hoping to come across at least one moose before we left the park, and Moose Ponds seemed promising on name alone. The weather was great, and there were plenty of folks on the busy main trail around the lake. About the time we thought we should be taking a side trail to Moose Ponds, we came across a Valley Trail, with some signage, none of which indicated Moose Ponds were down the trail or up ahead. I opted for the trail knowing that we were close and thinking that if we went the wrong way we could just double back and find the ponds right away. The tail ended up running alongside Lupine Meadows Drive. Mary and I were ahead of the others, and shortly up ahead I saw a brown bear heading across the path and into the deeper woods. We paused, keeping a tree between us and the bear and snapped a few photos. Within moments, two trucks sped up to us, both drivers hopped out and told us to get off the trail. 25-50 yards up ahead on the trail was a momma black bear with two cubs who had just gotten in a fight with the bear we saw heading into the woods. About that time Julia walked up with the other girls and we all got onto the road out with some cars and observers. Sure enough, the momma bear had gotten her cubs to scurry up a pine tree, and they were heading up and down as we watched from the road. Knowing the fate of a bear that walked up on the momma and her cubs, we were glad to have some spotters on this particular trail, and we also decided it would be best to head back to the busy Jenny Lake trail at least for now.
Back to the car we started driving towards Moose Wilson Road, hearing from the Yellowstone guide that was a good place to spy what seemed to be an elusive Moose. Moose-Wilson road parallels the Snake River and follows smaller creeks that I suspect find their way into the Snake. The road generated no moose sightings and we ended up down in the ski town of Teton Village. Circling around we decided to give hiking another go, checking our books and maps we decided on the hike up to Phelps Lake overlook on the Death Canyon Trail which was back down Moose-Wilson road. The hike was a two mile trek (out and back) with a steady climb up around 200ft in elevation. A mule deer welcomed us at the start of the hike, and the tall intermittent trees gave us nice respites of shade to rest in on the climb up as well as frequent views of Buck Mountain, Mount Wister, and Prospectors Mountain. The view of Phelps lake at the top was quite a site. The deep sapphire blue of the lake was stunning and we had a clear view back to the southeast. After snapping a few pictures, we started back down the trail. Eagle-eye JB spotted a grizzly bear off the trail up a rise that I totally missed. The bear was a little too close for comfort as Julia, JB and MB came scurrying down the trail to catch AK and I. We were two for two with regards to trails and bears and by this time late in the afternoon, we decided to head back to camp for dinner.
Post dinner, we decided to hop back in the car to get a last bit of wildlife viewing in. Back in the car we bypassed the row of spectators looking for the grizzly and her cubs, and we went straight to Lupine Meadows, the spot off our first bear sighting, to see what kind of animals would be out and about. A few pronghorn were out in the meadow, but towards the end we started seeing elk. A cow elk and her spotted calf. A little farther down the meadow drive we came to a huge herd of elk and their calves. It was fun watching the calves play as the sun went down, and unlike watching wildlife in the meadows and valleys of Yellowstone, we had the parking area almost entirely to ourselves. Just as the daylight was gone, we looked to our left and finally spotted a MOOSE! It was a moose cow and her calf hugging the tree line. As soon as we spotted them the pair headed back into the deep woods and out of view. We stuck around a bit longer straining our eyes to catch another glimpse but the moment was gone. Even after spotting them, they only offered the briefest of glances. Back to camp we settled back in for our last night in the Tetons.
We were all up and going the last morning, ready to head back East toward home. After some quick showers, we were on our way. The allure of the Tetons however was too much, and I kept wanting to get in “just one more picture of them” before they went out of sight. After stopping at more than a few turnouts for “one more picture”, it was time to make our way across Wyoming towards Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). In the end, I was glad that I revised our plans to spend more time in Grand Teton National Park. Initially I had only planned to pass through on our way to RMNP, but decided it would be worth a couple of nights to take it all in. Julia and I agreed, a full trip back split between Grand Teton, and Yellowstone should be in our future vacation plans.
Happy Trails!!