Wednesday July 3, 2013- Havin' a Grand Teton Time!

Left: Grant Village at 8:43am MST

Pit Stop: Grand Teton Village- arrived 9:19am until 2:00pm MST
Arrived: Terry Bison Ranch, Cheyenne, Wyoming at 10pm MST
Total time on road: about 9 hours
Miles driven today: 552.40
Total miles driven: 3398.7

We did not answer the question of whether we would spend a whole week at Yellowstone, because that’s an invalid question. The real question is: How much time would you spend in Yellowstone? Well, that depends on how deep you want to entrench yourself. I would have enjoyed visiting each of the visitor’s centers. I would have liked to have tried one of the fancier restaurants. I would have like to visit the famous lodges and those are just the surface features.

I really needed more time to sit at Fishing Bridge, famous for its rich and varied wildlife. The only camping permitted there is in hard-sided RVs due to bear activity. I would love to do more self-guided hiking. I didn't even get to Lamar Valley, which is also abundant with wildlife and outside the Grand Loop. My friend’s sister lives and works by giving tours in Lamar Valley. You know I’d be buying her dinner just to hear the stories! I’d go on more hunts for Trumpeter Swans and I’d have a few private picnics next to mountains streams with my own park ranger. I would even buy him a hat for the occasion.

As sad as we were to leave Yellowstone, there’s a definitive line for detachment. You either have to get more involved and go deeper, which we didn't have time for, or you have to find a new adventure. So, we took ourselves to Cheyenne, Wyoming via the South entrance of Yellowstone through the Grand Teton Mountains. Yes, this is an indirect route to Cheyenne, but Peter has dreamed of seeing Jackson Hole since he was a young man. His brother, Mike, is an avid skier who has spent many enviable hours swooshing those slopes.

As we approached the Tetons, I was struck by their awesome magnificence. So different than Yellowstone, yet just next door.

The Grand Tetons

Pete talked about taking a ride on the aerial tram, but lamented the cost, both in money and in time. I offered him several options: If you think we have enough time, go by yourself OR take the kids OR if you feel it’s that important, I’ll go too. The bottom line is: Do not worry about the expense. Do worry about not climbing the mountain. He took the kids to the top of the world while I did a tiny bit of shopping and a healthy bit of quiet resting.

Would we spend a week there? Oh, heck yeah! We’d have to spend two. One in the summer so I could bike and one in the winter so he could ski. I don’t know that I would like staying in Teton Village.  The center of Jackson looks like I could get into so much fun while Pete was skiing.

We had quite a bit of driving to do to get to Cheyenne. The passage south from Jackson to Rock Springs is lush with rock veins that I would love to explore in early spring (in Yellowstone-speak that means May). The Oregon Trail also ran across this passage. Other than that, it’s quite desolate.

Our Tired, Happy Campers

Dinner: Cheese and crackers, etc.  That’s a really popular dinner lately. Who knew?
Today was the best vacation day because Pete took his children to the Top of the World.