A Grand Getaway

*Critters we’ve seen on our 2014 trip so far:  pronghorn, horse, llama, elk, bison, grizzly, bighorn sheep, mule deer, Uinta ground squirrel, wolf, black bear, moose, coyote, fox, bullsnake, bat, white-tailed jackrabbit, mountain goat, yellow-bellied marmot, river otter

*Birds we’ve seen on our 2014 trip so far: bald eagle, grouse, osprey, magpie, red-tailed hawk, Canada goose, great horned owl, American kestrel, sandhill crane, cliff swallow, mountain bluebird, Ferruginous hawk, cinnamon teal, Clark’s nutcracker, northern flicker, Brewer’s blackbird, red-winged blackbird, Lazuli bunting, common merganser, American white pelican

 

 [Click on any photo to enlarge.]

Since our camping trip to Glacier had gone so well, we decided to try a couple of days at Grand Teton National Park (www.nps.gov/grte) located about 30 miles south of Yellowstone’s south entrance.  We took the road over Dunraven Pass (8,859 ft. elevation) through the park, and on our way passed this big guy walking along the very edge of the road.  One misstep could have found him at the bottom
of the valley!  We continued through Hayden Valley, past the 29 ft. high Lewis Falls, and along the John D. Rockefeller Memorial Parkway (www.nps.gov/grte/jodr) that connects Yellowstone to Grand Teton.

 

    Part of the reason for our trip to Grand Teton National Park at this time of year was to see the beautiful fall colors that we’d heard so much about, and as you can see, they did not disappoint.

 

All the campgrounds are first come, first serve, run by an outside concessionaire, and when we arrived at Colter Bay Campground, we were assigned a wonderful spot in the tent only area.  Unlike many of the other sites, our tent pad, table, and firepit were down amongst the trees below the road where our car was parked…very
secluded.  Our first morning we even had a visit from a fox running through the trees, but my camera was in the car.  Abby was enjoying her breakfast al fresco and didn’t seem to notice the fox or care to interrupt her meal, though it did stop briefly and gave her a quick glance. It was the most beautiful, healthy fox we’ve ever seen.

 

Most folks love going to Grand Teton National Park for the mountains, of course, but we love going for the wildlife.  The Oxbow Bend area is our favorite, not the turnout, but rather a spot right on the Snake River.  There’s a gravel
     side road that takes you to a little parking lot from where folks like to launch their kayaks or canoes (and photographers like to hang out).  We visited both days we were in the park and saw plenty of bald eagles, osprey, American white pelicans, common mergansers,
Canada geese, and more.  In fact, one morning we saw the largest, most beautiful bald eagle we’d ever seen perched high in a tree across the river, but the sun on it created too much glare to get a decent picture.  Besides the birds we also watched a family of river otters frolic in the river and along the
   bank.  There were at least 6 of them but may have been more, and they were having the best time, even doing some fishing.  If you look closely at the photo of the one on the riverbank, you’ll see that it’s got hold of a big ol’ fish!

The mountains, though more impressive when snow covered, are quite amazing.  They were created about 13 million years ago when a series of earthquakes caused the earth to thrust up a block forming the mountains and at the same time dropped the valley floor so there are no foothills like most mountain ranges.  The elevation
ranges from 6,320 ft. in the valley to 13, 770 ft. at the summit of the Grand Teton peak.  The rocks found in the core of the mountains are some of the oldest in North America while the mountains themselves are some of the youngest in the world.

The best views of the mountains are found by taking the one-way 4 mile scenic drive off the main road along the east side of Jenny Lake (unless of course you are into hiking).  This lake was formed about 12,000 years ago by glaciers that carved the Cascade Canyon
    and is about 250 ft. deep.  Some of the views along this drive are absolutely spectacular, and the water is so clear as you can easily see in the close-up photo.

 

     The largest glacier in Grand Teton National Park is Teton Glacier at about 3,500 ft. in length by 1,100 ft. wide, and it moves about 30 ft. per year.  As with most glaciers, it acts as a “conveyor belt” carrying rocks and boulders along the ice and down the mountain.

 

One afternoon we drove down to Jackson (also known as Jackson Hole), home of several massive elk antler arches.  There are 4 that grace the town park (one at each corner) and a few, like this one, scattered around elsewhere. The town is a huge tourist trap, but we
enjoy visiting the Jackson Hole & Greater Yellowstone Visitor Center.  Located in the heart of town, it’s a great resource for everything you’d want to know about the area and has some very impressive wildlife displays like the elk herd just inside the entrance (only elk we saw on this trip!)  Some of the critters almost look real, but thankfully aren’t since Russ felt the need to try and pet the grizzly! (Don’t worry …he didn’t actually touch the display. J)



On our way back, we drove towards Gros Ventre (pronounced grow vahnt) Campground hoping to spot a moose along the river.  Other than the birds, the fox, and a couple of deer, we hadn’t seen much wildlife in the Tetons this trip but finally got lucky and saw a moose cow.  There was quite a crowd watching her and hoping perhaps a bull would show himself as well but never did while we were there.

 

Early on our second morning we were awakened by the sound of rain on the tent and decided we better get up and moving.  Between rain showers, thunder, and lightning (Russ thinks one bolt came within 100 yards!), we got everything loaded into the car and were on our way by 8am.  We didn’t experience much rain the
rest of the way and were able to enjoy a pleasant drive home albeit slightly wet.  Back in Yellowstone, we passed more colorful foliage and in Hayden Valley even got stuck in a bison jam.  Overall it was another enjoyable and memorable tent camping adventure.