"Look Kids a Mountain" -- Grand Tetons
Our originally planned trip to the Grand Tetons was due to be a longer stint, as I was extremely excited about exploring this particular part of the country. But alas, flexibility is key on this venture, so we only got 2 full days to visit these magnificent mountains, and the startling valley that sits at their feet.
The geography here is unique. Huge mountains plunge out of a very wide and very flat valley; their size seems magnified. This is due to the way in which the mountains were formed - seismic activity that simultaneously pushed the mountain up but also dropped the valley floor. We avoided the Teton pass (best for our 65 feet of fun), and as we drove up from the south the peaks emerged. We made a quick stop to the visitors center, so I could run in and get some junior ranger packets, and then we were off to Dubois to set up for the night. The main road traverses through the middle of the valley and suddenly, out the gaping view of our enormous windshield Aaron spotted The Herd. The bison were right there on the side of the road, along with all of the people that had pulled over for photos. We sadly could not be one of those people, Big Dan does not like soft shoulders.
As we continued our drive we passed a small sign that said “Continental Divide.” This was a fun lesson that we all learned…and for those who are curious the continental divide is the point at which one one side all rivers flow to the Pacific, and the other side they flow to the Atlantic. Our RV park was great, we had a fun little spot right on the bubbling river, with its little swallows diving for food all day long.
The first day’s hike was a challenge. It was going to be a long one - 5 1/2 miles, to avoid taking the boat ride across Jenny Lake. What I didn’t realize is how busy this hike would be. SO MANY PEOPLE. We wore our masks but not everyone did. The thing that made it hardest was Amelia seemed to be suffering from altitude sickness. It was also hot, and she is very sensitive to heat. So it was a long and slow walk. Given the opportunity to turn around and head home she decided to keep going - but this didn’t make her any less miserable. After visiting Hidden Falls we opted to take the ferry back, as she was never going to make the walk. We spent a lot of time driving around looking for animals (ahem, Bison) but didn’t find any.
Our second day was better. We searched out secret places and selected a hike that was deserted, so my fears switched from Covid to being eaten by a grizzly or gored by a moose. But it was amazing, just what I was expecting our Tetons visit to be. We spotted lots of small wildlife - little blue butterflies (that Amelia had to catch) and ducks and birds and ravens eating fish and a colony of ground squirrels (that were very chatty). The kids were thrilled with these discoveries. We traversed over streams and through bushes. We drove the John D Rockefeller Memorial Parkway and saw the damage of a past forest fire and how a forest continues to grow. It was the perfect way to say goodbye to the Tetons.
