Road Trip: Jackson Hole & Grand Teton

July 8, 2015

We decided to spend the morning in Jackson Hole.  It's not bad considering it's basically one large tourist trap.  They do it well, for that kind of place.  There actually are some nice shops and places to eat, and of course there's the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar.  Wouldn't want to miss a bar with saddles instead of stools, would we?

Uinta Ground Squirrel -- Grand Teton National Park, WY

Red Squirrel

Before I go on, I should mention the little critters that inhabited our campground.  I'm sure they're still there.  Two red squirrels include our campsite in what they call home.  They are a loud, rowdy couple.  They like to chase each other through the trees and chirp loudly at every opportunity.  They were fun to watch the few nights we were there.  I'm sure if I was having trouble sleeping I wouldn't have been a big fan, but sleep was never a problem for me on this trip.  I was worn out enough every night that when my head hit the pillow I was gone.

Jim was visited a couple of times by a mouse trying to eat its way into his tent.  It wasn't too interested in my tent.  I had dirty socks lying around, that's probably why.  Natural rodent deterrent.

Grand Teton National Park, WY

One of the nice things about an early morning drive to Jackson Hole is that the road runs right along the Teton Mountain Range.  The beauties are lit best in the morning, providing an opportunity for some early morning, blurry-eyed photos.

Grand Teton National Park, WY

Grand Teton National Park, WY

We ate breakfast at The Bunnery.  If you're in Jackson Hole, this is the place for breakfast.  I would take this restaurant up against any breakfast spot in the country.  The baked goods are amazing and they make a mean hot breakfast as well.  Did I mention they have decent coffee?  I take good coffee for granted, but get off the left coast and it becomes a precious commodity.  The Bunnery uses Starbucks, which would get poo-pooed anywhere between San Diego and Seattle, but it smelled of ambrosia on this particular morning in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Jackson Hole, WY

After breakfast we did a little shopping.  We went to an outdoors store where Jim picked up a camel pack and some warm clothes.  We'd seen a bit of rain already in Grand Teton and we were expecting more, so he bought a rain poncho as well.  We went to a photography store where I picked up a polarizing filter for my new big lens and Jim bought an extra battery for the SX50 I loaned him.  Then we went to Eddie Bauer where I found a nice rain coat on sale.  That raincoat and Jim's poncho would get a workout sooner than either of us expected.

At that point we'd killed enough time and we went to the Cowboy Bar for a pre-lunch beer.

Jackson Hole, WY

It doesn't get any cheesier than the Cowboy Bar.  I wasn't joking about having saddles instead of bar stools.  That is quite literally the case.  I have photos, but they're too compromising to share publicly.

We weren't quite done after downing our High Lifes.  Jim bought a new hat at the local haberdashery and we both picked up some smokes at the tobacco shop.  It was good to get back to civilization even for just a couple of hours.  We felt refreshed entering the last few days of our journey.

Our first stop back in Grand Teton National Park was at the visitor center where Jim insisted I take a picture of him fondling a bronze moose.  I'm not sure what that was all about.  We even had to wait for a group of kids to buzz off to take the photo.  Was it worth it?  Judge for yourself.

Grand Teton National Park, WY

We hatched a plan to take a short hike around Colter Bay We'd stop for pictures along the way.

Grand Teton National Park, WY

Grand Teton National Park, WY

Grand Teton National Park, WY

Heron Pond

It was raining pretty hard by the time we got to Colter Bay.  We tried to wait out the rain, but once the hard stuff stopped we decided we might be waiting all afternoon for it to stop completely so we headed out into it.  That meant I'd be leaving my big camera behind and using the little SD770.  Photo quality suffered accordingly, but it did make for an easier hike.

Beaver Lodge -- Heron Pond, Grand Teton National Park, WY

Heron Pond, Grand Teton National Park, WY

Swan Lake

The hike was a three mile loop that took us out by Heron Pond and in by Swan Lake.  If lily pads were dollar bills this place would have looked like Scrooge McDuck's private swimming vault.  We saw a few beaver lodges and dams, and at one point we heard a beaver slap, but we never actually saw a beaver.  No moose, either.  Argh.

Colter Bay, Grand Teton National Park, WY

Mule Deer

We drove to the top of Signal Mountain as our last destination for the day.  We went up there on our last visit as well.  There's nothing very exciting to see.  I imagine the view is probably better in the morning when the sun isn't behind the mountains.

Grand Teton National Park, WY

Grand Teton National Park, WY

We had a visitor when we got back to camp.  He was waiting for us in the campsite one over from ours.  Unfortunately, I wasn't fast enough with my camera and only got a few shots of his backside.  The good news is those bear-proof food storage bins actually work.

Black Bear -- Grand Teton National Park, WY

Black Bear -- Grand Teton National Park, WY

Grand Teton National Park, WY