Grand Teton National Park

After leaving Yosemite, we were faced with our first really long drive of the trip. From Tuolumne Meadows to our campsite in Grand Teton was about 700 miles through Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. We weathered the drive in good spirits, with a stop over at a road-side hotel in Salt Lake City. There really isn't much to see in northern Nevada, but the salt flats west of Salt Lake City, Utah are interesting to look at, and the back roads through southwestern Wyoming on the way to Jackson are quite picturesque.

Speaking of picturesque, the Grand Tetons can easily hold their own against Yosemite and the Grand Canyon in that category.

Grand Teton National Park protects over 300,000 acres of pristine mountains, lakes, rivers, and grazing land just south of Yellowstone, which together with a number of other preserves and national forests forms a continuous wilderness area of nearly unfathomable size. Driving from the southern end of Grand Teton to the northern entrance of Yellowstone would take about three hours and cover over 140 miles.  

Uniquely, Grand Teton National Park was almost entirely purchased from private ranchers by John D. Rockefeller Jr. in secret and then donated to the federal government to form the National Park. Needless to say, the independent-minded Wyoming folk were none to happy when they found out and extracted some interesting concessions from Washington upon the park's creation. (For all you lawyers out there – the Antiquities Act, which allows the President to declare that land shall be protected as a National Monument, no longer applies in the state of Wyoming, though it is in full effect everywhere else in the US...)

The Teton Range forms the backbone of Grand Teton National Park. The Tetons rise over 7,000 feet above the valley floor. As opposed to the Rockies, for example, the effect is quite dramatic since there are no foothills to block the view and Jackson and Jenny Lakes sit right in front of the peaks:

We wanted to get up in the mountains a bit, so we undertook a moderate eight mile round trip hike around Jenny Lake and up into Cascade Canyon. The views of the peaks and out across Jenny Lake were quite stunning:

Grand Teton isn't just good for views though. The wildlife viewing is pretty good as well. We saw a black bear foraging around by the side of the road:

And we even caught a glimpse of a mama Grizzly with some cubs, but never got a good enough view to snap any blog-worthy photos. Sorry...

We also took a break from camping fire food one night to explore Jackson, Wyoming, a pretty little western ski town just south of the park. In the summer it's a destination for outdoor enthusiasts who flock there for world-class fly fishing and rafting along the Snake River, boating on Jackson Lake, and hiking in the Tetons. In the winter, Jackson is the après-ski base for Jackson Hole ski area, one of the better slopes in North America. At all times, it's a western cowboy tourist town complete with Stetsons, cowboy boots, biker bars, stage coach rides, and four large elk antler arches guarding the entrances to the central square.

We both liked Jackson a lot. Despite being touristy, it still feels authentic and one never gets the impression that they are unwelcome by the locals or prayed upon in a traditional “tourist-trap” sense. The stunning views and free-wheeling atmosphere make a pretty enjoyable experience. We will definitely be back.

Next stop, Yellowstone National Park.

- Nick & Jo