Day 23: Grand Teton

Miles driven to-date: 6,283
States visited to-date: 21

We decided to skip the sketchy showers at the campground and instead started our day at Yellowstone’s neighbor to the south, Grand Teton National Park. The parks are only separated by about 8 miles but the drive took awhile, partly because I kept making Steve stop so I could take pictures of the scenery.

The dozen mountain peaks in Teton are the youngest in the Rockies and were named by 19^th-century French-Canadian trappers; the name of the park translates to “the big breasts.” I’m not even going to say anything more about that.

The ’Tons

The park also contains several lovely lakes including the incredibly picturesque Jenny Lake. We went there first and saw the gorgeous Jenny Lake Lodge where we vowed to stay someday.

A ranger at the lake described an easy 4-mile hike along the Cascade Canyon Trail which led around Jenny Lake and up into the mountains. A mile or so into our hike, we saw another moose! This time I was able to get a better picture.

The water was indescribably beautiful. I couldn’t stop taking pictures.

The weather was gorgeous too. We have been very lucky in that department!

I was glad that we were also able to get a couple of photos of the two of us.

The hike brought us to the opposite side of the lake so we took a short boat ride back to the dock. From there, we rented a canoe and paddled around for an hour. It was hard to resist putting our feet in the cold, clear water. My Dad would really love this place!

Glowing with pride over our mastery of outdoor activities, it was time for a little civilization so we drove into nearby Jackson Hole and had a couple of beers at the Snake River Brewing Company. We arrived during happy hour and the beers were fantastic. Enough said.

The cuisine back at the campsite was less memorable (hot dogs and beer) but we passed another pleasant evening outside . . . well, Steve was in the van watching a DVD, but you get the idea. The Loud Talker had left so we slept even better than we had the night before. Knowing it was our last night camping during this trip, it was extra special to sleep under the stars!