Wyoming - Grand Tetons

We left Yellowstone very early and headed south through the majestic Grand Tetons which are smaller in area than Yellowstone. Near the entrance to the national park we saw a big ‘bear jam’ – lots of cars and people gathered on the side of the road. Our excitement jumped and we quickly found a spot, grabbed our cameras and joined the crowd. It was a grizzly bear and her 3 cubs. The cubs were playing around and climbing small trees, swing around the branches. Mum bear was just grazing on the grass and keeping a close eye on her cubs. We snapped a stack of photos and managed to get some nice ones. We where thrilled to see the bears and were captivated by them. There were three rangers there ensuring cars kept moving and I checked they all had bear spray on their belts. It wouldn’t take much for that bear to reach the crowd if she wanted to run at us.

We only had the day to drive through the Grand Tetons as our destination that night was in Idaho. The day was cold with rain patches and low cloud which cut off viewing the top of the mountains. The views were still beautiful but a clear day would have been magic. These mountains are full of outdoor adventure activities - hiking, climbing, biking, rafting. We stopped at a few lookouts and took a short ferry ride across Jenny Lake to get a better view of the canyon. The canyon is called Jackson Hole which should not be confused with the actual town called Jackson which is outside the park. In the old days, they called canyons ‘holes’ so the canyon between the two mountain ranges was called Jackson Hole. 

The town of Jackson was named in late 1893 by Margaret Simpson, who at the time was receiving mail at her home as there was no post office. She named the town in order for easterners to be able to forward mail west. Jackson, which became incorporated in 1914, was named after David Edward ‘Davey’ Jackson who trapped beaver in the area in the late 1820s. Davey Jackson was one of the first white men to spend an entire winter in the Valley of the Teton Mountains.

We drove a few corridors (roads and areas) where wildlife are prevalent but sadly, we didn’t see anything new. We saw some white bum elk and a fox. We hoped to see some moose but none were seen. Bugger. Maybe better weather would have brought them out.

The Snake River winds through the Tetons and like the Yellowstone River, it is strong, fast flowing and a great sight to see. It flows all the way into Idaho and we followed it for the drive into Idaho Falls, our stop for the night. It had been a long, long day and we were looking forward to a hot shower and relaxing for the night. We checked out Dixie’s Diner up the road and had a light dinner. Still not quite the diner experience we see on TV but it was better than the little joint we visited at in Wyoming a few days ago. When we got back to the hotel, we couldn’t remember our room number. Clearly, we were suffering from too-many-hotels-itis. We wandered to the end of the corridor and asked each other, what room are we? It’s room 330. We’re not 330, that was last night. I think we’re next door, try that. Swipe, red light. Try it again, red light. Try 330 again. I’m telling you that was last night, swipe, red light. Aren’t we in the corner room 336, swipe, red light. Farkkk. What about this room 334, swipe, green light. I did not want to go to reception and admit I forgot my room number, thankfully that didn’t happen.

We are quite tired after several long days and will sleep in tomorrow before we head off to Salt Lake City in Utah.

Bear Jam