Grand Tetons National Park

Saturday evening after Lewis falls we said goodbye to Yellowstone and camped in a campground which was located between Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons National Parks.  The good thing about the campground was that it had flushing toilets and free showers.  The bad thing is that the RV's were located next to the bathrooms, and the campers were on the far end of the campground.  Seriously.  RV's generally have a toilet in them; it is the campers who need the toilets... So, that put us exactly 107 of my normal strides away from the bathroom.  We were also the only "tent" so I had to wind my way around the RV's at night (why do they all look the same?), in the rain with lightning and thunder...and fog.  In order to avoid the restless sleep I had the night before, I got up more frequently to go to the bathroom (3 times), and anyone who knows me knows how directionless I am.  Recipe for disaster when I am not following a straight line to the bathroom.  I almost got lost on the first two trips.  By the last time I finally had it down.

We stayed nice and warm and cozy in the Tahoe while it rained.  It was awesome.  Once again I was grateful for J for thinking to camp that way.  It was even more foggy in the morning when we woke than the previous day, but as we drove up the mountain we reached a point where we were surrounded in fog and then we were out of it.



There wasn't much sightseeing done in the Grand Tetons National Park.  In an attempt to spot animals, J took a side road (not much traveled) that led us quite a bit through the mountain but ended abruptly with a fallen tree across the road.  Because it was a narrow one-direction road, we had to back-up several hundred feet before we got to a place where we could turn around.

Unfortunately, we didn't see any animals during our little detour.  I maintain that the sound of the Tahoe scared them all away (it is a loud vehicle).  We did see a buck before we took the side road, but other than some antelope and grouse, that was the extent of the animals we saw in the Tetons.




One of the sightseeing stops we made was up a windy road in the mountains.  It had a beautiful view of the valley below, and then when we hiked a little further, of the Grand Tetons.  We stopped at several outlook places and took many pictures of the same mountains.  It was fun!




The grouse had no fear of people.  There were (by our count) eight grouse just wandering around by our cars.  I was literally only a couple feet away from this grouse.  

My favorite moment in the Grand Tetons actually came from only what I can imagine is a city slicker.  J was up ahead taking some pictures and I had stopped to read a sign about the first photographs of the Tetons.  A couple in their late forties was also on the trail and the woman stopped to read the sign with me.  The man continued on to see the view.  A chipmunk ran in front of us, and the woman got all excited.  When the man came back over, she said: "I saw a squirrel! No, it was like a chipmunk but not a chipmunk...it was from the same family as a squirrel."  I resisted the urge to say, "no, it was a chipmunk.  Squirrels and chipmunks are very different looking."  It was all I could do not to laugh as I caught up to J on the trail.  I forget how funny tourists can be.







There you have it!  Our very packed anniversary!  We had so much fun, and although we got to see a lot, there is much more to explore.  We are hoping to be able to go again in the spring.  We also want to do more hiking since I won't be pregnant and will be able to do more.  It was my first time to Yellowstone, and I can't believe that we live so close (less than six hours away) and I was completely ignorant on how awesome it is!  I can't wait to go back!