4 Sep
Today we drove the "big loop", or that is what I am calling it. 110 miles total from our campground through the Grand Teton National Park and back. We took Liberty so time would not be a factor. The drive, sightseeing and one potty break took us right at four hours, which is not bad.
We first stopped in Jackson and filled with diesel as we had not filled since we drove down here last Friday. Then we headed north on 191. Coming out of Jackson the hills are gentle but the scenery changes fairly quickly. We had a beautifully clear day for this drive.
Soon the Teton Mountains start coming into view. The further north we drove the more beautiful they became.
Our first stop was the obligatory Grand Teton National Park sign. Of course it was a busy place so we had to wait our turn for a picture!
Our son-in-law Keith (Michelle's husband) used to fly for a company who's owner had property here at Jackson Hole, so he flew out here seemingly several times a month. So he was intimately familiar with the area and also an Alliance fifth wheel owner, so he gave us some tips on our stay and recon'd the local campgrounds for us in advance. We passed the very busy Jackson Hole airport and texted him this picture!.
Our next waypoint was the turn into the Grand Teton National Park. We turned off of Highway 191 onto Teton Park Road. The line of vehicles waiting to process through the gate was lengthy but one line turned into two and they flowed pretty well.
The scenery just kept getting more awesome the closer we went. We took a bunch of "postcard" pictures for sure.
We were not sure what was happening, but all of a sudden this silver sedan changed lanes from the center lane to ours and then to the shoulder and he parked it. Then this guy made a mad dash for the weeds, pulling his pants down as he ran and in full view of the park rangers at the check-in. Hey, when you have to "go", you sometimes had to do whatever is necessary!! Soon he emerged from the weeds and hopped back in his car. We got a good laugh here but I don't think he was laughing!
The guy returning from his stroll into the ditch with everyone watching!!
We continued on into the park and stopped at one of the many "turnout's" they have so that visitors can safely exit their vehicles and enjoy the views. Again, we took literally hundreds of pictures but will just post a few here.
We stopped at "Teton Glacier Turnout" and got a great picture of the glacier. The glacier sits on the northeast area of Grand Teton mountain. Similar to other mountains we've seen, these glaciers carve into the mountains and shape them. They say that two million years ago at least two periods of "glaciation" occurred. Glaciers covered more than a third of the earth's surface. The ice retreated around 14,000 years ago and exposed incredible canyons and other formations known as U-shaped valleys, fjords, cirques, nunataks, arêtes, horns, moraines and many more. One of the most interesting results of glaciers is glacial till and glacial flour which are sediments produced through glacial grinding. This is what gives stream and lakes created from glacial melting it distinctive milky look and color.
The Grand Teton Glacier in the upper center of the picture
The Grand Teton Glacier
Sagebrush flats and grasslands in the park
We continued up Teton Park Road and turned into the Jenny Lake turnoff. This road is a one-way heading south, and passes near Jenny Lake which is supposed to provide some unbelievable views. That also makes it one of the most popular places to visit. Needless to say there was no parking available, especially for the big ol' brown truck. So I found a spot to "double park" and Doreen hopped out and took a few pictures.
On up the road we approached Signal Mountain and we stopped for a potty break. There is a lodge, gas station, marina, boat launch, restaurant AND a restroom! Believe it or not this is the first one we found so far on our journey. Needless to say we all were glad to find it!
Just past there is a great view of Jackson Lake where we saw some boats cruising around and one brave sole water skiing!
Past there we crossed the Jackson Lake Dam and then we took a slight detour north to Colter Bay to have a look at the Colter Bay Village RV Park for possible future camping. The campground was full over Labor Day weekend but the ranger was gracious and allowed us to cruise the park to have a look. While there we noticed two Alliance Paradigm RV's! The campground looked nice with lots of shade as it is stuck into a thick forest of pine trees. Had we continued north on this road we would have ended up at the southern entrance to Yellowstone National Park.
Departing the campground we started our journey back towards Jackson and turned off the main road to visit an old Mormon village. We parked there, and guess who was there to greet us? Our Texas Alliance friends! They are camping not far from there and had come down to visit the Mormon Row also. Again, great to see them! Hope we can get together one more time for dinner before we all disperse. I failed to get any pictures.
So at Mormon Row, Mormons were sent out by their leaders from Salt Lake City in the 1890's in search of areas to support their expanding population. Homesteading is a self-sufficient lifestyle where they were given a plot of land by the government if they agreed to stay for five years and produce crops. The post office named the area Grovont but it is now known as "Mormon Row". They built homes and out-buildings and created irrigation techniques developed during the settlement of the Great Basin. The soil was rich here and was protected from the winds.
Several of the homesteads still exist and the John Moulton homestead is being rebuilt today. Many of the buildings from several of the homesteads still exist. Today some re-enactors dressed in time-appropriate clothing greeted us, explained life on the homestead and demonstrated some of the tools and items from that time.
The John Moulton Homestead
The house being restored
Folks demonstrating tools and techniques.
A cross-cut saw explained and how homes were constructed
Rope-making
Various furs
One of their barns
The Andy Chambers Homestead
The doctor's buggy!
Another preserved barn
What a view they had!
We headed back to Jackson and drove through town before returning to the campground. Here is a picture of one of the ski slopes on the south edge of town. We can only imagine how beautiful this place is in the winter!
After we returned to the campground we received a kncok on our door, and it was Dave and Suzie Butzier. They live in Idaho and were enjoying the holiday at a Grand Teton Lodge, and read that we were here. Dave was one year before us at Northern University High School in Cedar Falls IA. His late brother Doug was in our class and a great friend of ours. It was so nice to see them and talk with them!
Tomorrow we head just up the road in front of our campground to Teton Village and will ride the tram and the gondola up the mountain for a view!
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