Our tent after the hail
Going to the Tetons by boat reminded us of the Jurassic Park movie
Happy family, Hidden Falls
Hike in the Tetons
Desmond and Dad in Dad’s favorite environment, the mountains!
Our poncho’d hobbits
The banana family!
Leaving the Tetons in the rain
Campfire and marshmallows before the rain
June 27, 2017
Our day in the Tetons started off well; a young well-groomed couple were jogging through the campsite holding a selfie stick in front of them to capture every step. Gretchen said “what extravagant, wild creatures here in Yellowstone! I thought they were native to Facebook!”
We stopped again in the Grant Village supply store–sometimes I’m beginning to wonder if we are in a “Gift Shops if the National Parks Tour”! When we were there, a huge storm rolled in and dumped an inch of hail! It looked like it had actually snowed. We felt the need to drive half a mike back to the campsite and check on the tent but the REI Kingdom 6 was standing tall. Whew!
The drive south to the Tetons is beautiful, with lakes and forests, and some amazing wildlife. The jagged peaks of the Tetons rise straight up out of the valley in spectacular fashion. (Candy reference: see a Toblerone wrapper).
We had a picnic lunch at the Jenny Lake visitor center, then took a ferry across the lake to Cascade Canyon to go see Hidden Falls–recommended to us by our good friends Mike and Rita. I felt like we were taking the boat to Jurassic Park; huge jagged peaks wrapped in misty clouds with lush wet trees, and a small dock with “be bear aware!” signs all around.
We took the hike to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. We saw a marmot and a pica along the way, Gretchen was delighted to check these off her “animals I’ve seen in Yellowstone” list. Desmond found that jumping over puddles was pretty entertaining, and really enjoyed scrambling over the rocks and searching for new “wands”. It was crowded until the rains came. We got a little wet, then donned our outrageously yellow Grand Teton National Park ponchos and headed for the boat when the rains got heavier. Several younger, more fashionably dressed millennials laughed when Gretchen said “we’re the banana family!”
Desmond thought he and Gretchen looked like hobbits.
We dried off and headed back to our campsite pretty late. Along the way we got into another animal-influenced traffic jam, but this time it was a mama grizzly bear with two little cubs! She was way out on a field by the road and several rangers were managing the onlookers. We watched with binoculars until the bear turned to saunter our way, at which time the ranger demanded we get back to our cars. They felt she intended to come cross the road. Desmond even got a picture of her which was not bad if you zoom in.
It had rained all day at our camp but we managed to get a fire started and dinner cooked. Quesadillas are a great campfire food, by the way, it was a big hit.
Just as we were getting ready to go to sleep, the skies opened up, and rain continued most of the night. Good to listen to, but I was dreading packing up the next morning.