Wednesday June 15, after adding our lock to the pier in Idaho Falls, Chad and I headed to Jackson and The Tetons. We spent a few days in the area with the kids 10 plus years ago at the end of a trip to Yellowstone. We thought we liked the area but weren’t quite sure…WOW – We love this area!! There have been many amazing sights/views on this trip but the Tetons might be the most impressive! The mountains still have so much snow on them adding to the beauty. There are not nearly the animal sightings that we had in Rocky Mountain National, which was surprising. There was terrible flooding in Yellowstone just before we arrived so everywhere was quite crowded due to the 10,000 visitors that were evacuated.
Our first night, we camped out at Jennie Lake Campground. Chad found the site online Monday morning – we were very lucky to get something especially with all the “homeless” tourists from Yellowstone. Jennie Lake is one of the more popular campgrounds in the park – apparently it is almost always sold out 6 months in advance. We had a great evening – we set up camp, got firewood, went for a couple walks in the park – just enjoyed camping and the scenery. And of course watching for bear/ mama moose!
Here comes the teacher in me….I love learning about the history of areas…and want to remember what I learned later…feel free to skip if you want!! Jackson Hole, is a 48 mile long valley that is completely surrounded by mountains. Jackson is the town at the southern. Native Americans traveled through the valley but long harsh winters discouraged permanent settlement until the late 1800’s. Homesteaders were lured there by the offer of free land. They survived with cattle ranching, farming, big game hunting and then Dude Ranching in the 1920’s (a “dude” is a paying guest trying to experience cowboy life on a ranch). I didn’t realize how progressive the state of WY was…In 1869, they were the first US state to give women the right to vote and the city of Jackson actually elected an all female town council in 1920! Grand Teton is part of the greater Yellowstone eco system – one of largest, nearly intact, temperate zone ecosystems in the world. The park was originally created in 1929, but only protected the Teton range and the glacial lakes at their base. John D Rockefeller Jr was a significant reason that the entire valley was never really developed. He toured the area while visiting Yellowstone and then quietly began buying parcels of land near the already established park. He feared that the development of the valley would ruin the natural environment and beauty. Even after Rockefeller donated the land it was very controversial. There was a 15 year legal battle in Washington before the rest of the valley was protected.
We stayed in a beautiful home a few miles south of Jackson Friday and Saturday night. Was nice to have a washing machine, shower and real bathroom! We hiked up to an overlook of the city and Tetons…beautiful!! We didn’t hike much in the park because of the dog restrictions. On Saturday we rode our ebikes right from the house to the top of Teton Pass – ended up going 35 miles roundtrip! Teton Pass has an elevation gain of about 2500 feet in 3 miles – even on an ebike that was A LOT of work!! it was more than enough to completely drain the battery on Chads bike since he cheated and had his on full power help mode. We had to leave the bikes and walk the last 1/2 mile to reach the summit. Going down was actually a bit scary…so glad our brakes worked! We had to switch back and forth from one to the other because they got so hot. The 10 mile ride home with a very heavy bike and no motor help was Chad’s “punishment” for using too much electrical help on the way up the hill! I had to go home and get the truck to pick him up about 4 miles from the house. Was a very fun ride overall!
When we visited this area with the kids years ago, we had dinner at the Jackson Lake Lodge one night. I had read that moose are frequently sighted in Willow Flats below the lodge and I really wanted to see one. We watched all through dinner and didn’t see any – even in the distance. I was bummed – I mean they really need to keep the animals closer to visitors!! 🙂 Anyway, we went for a quick walk behind the lodge called Lunch Tree Hill. This is where Rockefeller first looked out over the Tetons and was inspired to buy and protect the land. While we were walking and admiring the mountains and wild flowers, 2 huge moose came up the steep hill out of nowhere it seemed! They were on the path between us and Lodge – very close and very big. I had been telling the kids that we did not want to approach any of the wild animals…while we stood there unsure what to do, Julia said quietly “Would this be a good time to run?” The story has become a bit of a legend in our family…quoted quite often!