Gushing, Steaming, Bubbling and Rocky Mountain Grandeur!

Teton magnificence

View - from the Jackson Lake Lodge - It took our breath away!

Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble - Yellowstone caldera

Our happy camper - Ava!

Well, we've had a fantastic two weeks visiting the Grand Teton National Park and touring Yellowstone, our first National Park in the nation. Geographically, they sit right next to each other, yet they are unexpectedly quite distinct in their geology and their available tourist venues. It was fun mixing up our days, for example, with a Teton hike around Jenny Lake one day, contrasted the next day with a tour of the geyser basin in Yellowstone. Both parks were, quite simply, a feast for the eyes and the senses.

The ultimate reward, during those two week, was that Lisa, Eric and baby Ava also joined us for a week of adventure.  They camped in their tent and we used the trailer for cooking and to escape the rain, cold and mosquitoes, when needed.  We had a wonderful time hiking, exploring, eating Lisa's creative dinners, and kayaking, and our little Ava was delightful the entire time - of course!

The Snake River meanders - providing crucial habitat for the abundant wildlife

The Tetons are magnificent.  Their sharp, rugged peaks appear abruptly above the lush green valley floor. From the meadows, lakes, and guest ranches (at 5000 feet) they rise to nearly 14,000 feet high and are visible everywhere you visit in the park. When it was raining and cloudy, they peaked shyly, around the mist and clouds; when the sun shone through - they were quite simply - spectacular!

As the clouds cleared for a brief moment - Wow!

Jackson Lake boat launch

The wildflowers were celebrating spring everywhere we toured. with magnificent mixed floral displays of yellow - Balsamroot, pink - Wild Geranium, blue - Lupine, and red - Coral Bells and Indian Paint Brush.  Only the very talented can duplicate the artistry of mother nature's bouquets!

Standing immersed in a field of yellow!

When the weather permitted, we hiked - around Jenny Lake to the Cascade Falls, around Jackson Lake to Heron Lake, and we kayaked the Snake River at Oxbow Bend and Cattleman's Bridge (where wildlife is abundant, if you are stealthy and quiet).  When it hailed, snowed or rained in torrents, we retreated to the truck and drove around to spot wildlife or to explore new sites in Yellowstone where the heat from the mudpots, geysers and caldrons neutralized the cold.

On the water kayaking at Oxbow Bend - Tetons - shhhhh

 

"The place where the center of the earth finds an exit and gives us a glimpse of it's soul"

Our newest family hiker at Cascade Falls

A storm descended as we ended our Jenny Lake hike - Lightening and hail - Yikes!

Ava and "Hawkeye Cecil" enjoying the Yellowstone mudpots.

New buddy for Ava...National Museum of Wildlife Art near Jackson.

It took several weeks, but we were successful at spotting a variety of wildlife, including: a mother black bear with her cub, a female moose, a grey wolf (Lisa spotted him at Oxbow Bend while kayaking), pronghorn, bison, elk (male and female), muskrat, otter (another Lisa spot), a pika, several bald-headed eagles, a coyote, and tons of deer. We also saw cut-throat trout, a red-tailed hawk, and a barn owl (up close and personal) with the help of animal biologist pro's. Eric is now nicknamed "Hawkeye" because of his excellent "spotting" skills. We have few if any pictures of the animals - just a brief moment then they were gone.

Bison traffic jam

So we focused our cameras on the people and things that stood fairly still:

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Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful baby and mother

Snake River and Tetons vista - of Ansel Adams fame

Heron pond reflections

Aaaahhh - this is more like it!

As citizens, we are fortunate that, as the result of the individual leadership and wealth of Rockefeller and Roosevelt - in the early 1900's, the ranch land surrounding the Teton mountains could be purchased and made part of this park - to be protected from future development.  Without their tenacity (fighting against Congress, local ranchers, and the state of Wyoming), this park would not exist as it is today with its rolling hills, meadows and rivers accessible to the public. We would only see billboards, highrise condo's, private "mc-mansions" and commercial businesses at the base of these magnificent peaks!

Cunningham ranch log cabin room with a view - he helped Rockefeller convince the other ranchers to sell their land to expand the Teton National park to what it is today. Would you sell this land if it was yours?

View of Teton range from Jackson Lodge -

One rainy, cold day, we visited the Museum of Wildlife Art just north of Jackson.  The displays were lovely...a great way to spend a cold, blustery day!

Museum of Wildlife Art doe sculpture

Museum of Wildlife Art building

Eric, Ava and well...another friend in Jackson.

Thunderhead heaven!

And then it would clear!

Our hike down the Grand canyon of the Yellowstone to see the upper and lower falls was a bit challenging - not from difficulty, but from fear - the metal see-through steps went straight down and back up the canyon rock face.  ("Concentrate now...") It was beautiful and we're happy we did it, but...it was scary. To think that in the 1800's, women in their long dresses climbed down ropes to see these views - now, that's impressive!

Lower Falls Yellowstone River. Whew; we made it!

Upper falls overlook

Yellowstone River canyon - hence the name - yellow stone

Pelican fishing for spawning cutthroat trout at LeHardys rapids

A huge 22 inch cutthroat tagged by fish and game!

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More incredible artistry by nature

Looks inviting, doesn't it?

The story of Yellowstone is the story of violence from fire and volcanic eruption, and the recovery and adaptation of the land to that violence. In spite of all this damage, beauty shone everywhere - in the new green trees and wildflowers that covered the recently fire-ravaged hillsides, in the burnt black tree skeletons that remained standing amidst the cauldrens of heat and mud, and in all the amazing colors and textures displayed by the mud pots and hot pools. Even the animals adapted and endulged in the luxury of these "hot spots."

The  late 1970's 7.7 earthquake resulted in newly active geyser basins where forests once stood.

An old bison enjoying the day spa.

Wildflowers persist -  in spite of the extreme heat

We capped off our visit with Lisa, Eric and Ava with a delightful dinner at the Old Faithful Inn and then they spent the night there to celebrate their third wedding anniversary.  A great way to end a wonderful week!

The iconic Old Faithful Inn

The interior structure of the inn was made from logs cut to resemble tree branches.

We are so fortunate!

We are now heading for Flathead Lake and Glacier National Park, Montana.  Because of July 4th and the craziness that occurs in parks around national holidays, we plan to settle into a small RV site outside of the national park - to do some laundry and errands first, then will head into the park after the holiday. We cheated, though, and simply drove into the park early one day, and here's a sneak peak of what we saw...

McDonald Lake serenity -  Glacier

More beautiful sites to come, soon!