Well, we made it!!!!
This post about the Grand Tetons is going to be hard for me to write, because I could go on and on and on with what we experienced and saw! I promise to try to keep it to a minimum!
We drove two days between our last stop and the Grand Tetons – one night in Missoula, Montana, where we did something super exciting – we went to WAL MART! Haha – had to stock up on some groceries we needed, so a travel day is a good day to do that!
The next day took us to Rexburg, Idaho, and it was a beautiful drive with amazing scenery! We are always amazed at what we see around each corner – it’s so beautiful out here in the western US!
Another cool “people that we know but haven’t seen in a while” moment happened in Rexburg! Leonard has a friend – Keith – who is an environmental engineering professor at Brigham Young University Idaho – they have known each other about 10 years, and were involved in the Water Environment Federation together – we knew Keith lived in Rexburg, so Leonard contacted him and told him we would be coming through!! We were blessed to be able to meet he and his wife, Rachel, so that Leonard and Keith could catch up – it was a delight for me to meet him and his wife and also to see Leonard enjoy meeting up with a friend! We just never know what awesome surprises await us as we go through each of these places!
After a relaxing day in Rexburg, we headed off to the Grand Tetons – one of our favorite places we have been – so excited to be able to go back a second time!
Once again, the drive to our destination was spectacular! Lakes, dams, trees changing colors, mountains…it’s hard to take it all in – enjoy some photos of the drive!
As we went through Jackson Hole, Wyoming and approached the National Park, the mountains came into view and…WOW!
I remembered the beauty and majesty of those mountain peaks and understood why I loved it there so much! The mountains seem to rise out of the ground and almost touch the sky! SO BEAUTIFUL!
Our campground was just outside of the National Park, and it was nestled in a valley with mountains and meadows surrounding it!
After setting up the trailer, we headed off for some sightseeing!
First stop: SNAKE RIVER OVERLOOK
The Snake River Overlook is a famous roadside viewpoint that offers a breathtaking vista of the winding river with the Teton Range rising in the background. This site is legendary because photographer Ansel Adams captured his famous 1942 photo “The Tetons and the Snake River” from right there!
The trees have grown much taller than there were in 1942, so it looks different and the view of the river is partially blocked – but it’s still STUNNING!
Second stop: SCHWABACHER LANDING
This is a popular scenic are on the Snake River known for mirror-like water reflections of the jagged Teton mountains. It’s also a great place for spotting moose, beavers, bald eagles, and otters! Unfortunately we didn’t see any wildlife, but it was still so serene and peaceful and pretty!
Next stop: MORMON ROW
Mormon Row is an historic district featuring weathered barns built by Mormon homesteaders in the late 1890s – they are set against the backdrop of the Teton Mountains! The whole area around these barns is gorgeous – fields that seem to go on forever and then the mountains rising in the background!
On our drive to these places, we also saw wildlife! Fields and fields of horses and bison!
What a wonderful first day we had at the Grand Tetons! It’s hard to capture in these photos, because everywhere you look is beautiful and one view seems better than the one before it! Our second day was the one we were most excited about! After a great night’s sleep in this fresh mountain air, we headed out!
Our first stop was a scenic area called OXBOW BEND – it is another famous scenic overlook there that is known for its mirror-like water reflections of Mount Moran and also abundant wildlife! We didn’t really get a great photo of the reflection because there were ripples in the water from it being a little windy…but as you will see, it is still GORGEOUS!
AND!!! We happened to see a bear swimming across the river!
Our big adventure for the day was a Snake River raft ride, but on the way we wanted to show our friends something we had seen when we were here in 2023! – Colter Bay RV Park which sits on Jackson Lake! (We tried to get into this RV park but couldn’t get three reservations)
There is a short path in the RV Park that leads to an amazing view of the lake and the mountains! Look how beautiful!
A quick lunch at the lodge and a visit to the visitor center of the National Park led us right up to our raft ride!!! Leonard and I had also done this back in 2023 and KNEW how awesome it would be – we were actually so excited for our friends to experience it also – the best part was that it was a picture-perfect weather day!!! 70 degrees and bright sunshine!
I’ll just let you enjoy the ride down the Snake River through these photos and videos – it was so much fun!
After a FULL day, we all went back to the trailers and had dinner and relaxed…Leonard and I were sitting in the trailer and we could see outside that the sun was bright in the sky over the mountain peaks, but it was going to be setting soon – we had heard that Oxbow Bend (where we were the day before) was a GREAT place to watch the sunset! We debated back and forth about just leaving everything as it was and rushing over there to watch it! Leonard said: “LET’S GO!” We jumped in the truck and drove back to the scenic area – it was a 13 minute drive and we could see the sun getting a little lower every minute as we drove! Haha
All I can say is that I am SO thankful we went! We and all the others who knew to show up there were greeted with one of the prettiest sunsets ever!
All the way back to the campground we congratulated ourselves – haha – for not missing that sunset! What a great night’s sleep we had that night!
The next day brought another fun little adventure – Jenny Lake, a boat ride and a hike to guess what?
If you said waterfall, you’re the winner!
After a beautiful morning at the campground with the mountains in the background, we headed off to Jenny Lake – a scenic glacial lake at the base of the Teton Range in the National park – it was formed by glacial activity carving out Cascade Canyon. There are several things to do there, and one of them is to take a shuttle boat across the lake to several trails – we chose to do that instead of hiking around the lake to get there, and to also enjoy the view from the lake itself – it was beautiful!
After getting off the shuttle boat, we hiked to Hidden Falls, which is a PERFECT name! The walk is short but steep, and as you begin the walk up the mountain, you can hear the rushing water and KNOW that it’s going to be something exciting to see!!!! After LOTS of steps and uphill climbing, there was an AHA moment for all of us!
Look and listen to these beautiful falls which are definitely hidden right up until you get to them!
After ooh-ing and aah-ing for a while, we headed back down the trail and took the boat shuttle back to the visitors center – then headed into Jackson Hole to eat lunch and shop for a bit!
We had chosen a restaurant to have lunch called Persephone Bakery, and were disappointed when we got there and it was SUPER crowded – we knew there was no way to seat 6 of us, so we saw a restaurant next door – it turns out that it was our second choice, Café Genevieve. It was small and we had our doubts about being able to get 6 of us seated for lunch. But when we asked the hostess, she said there would be a table in about 10 minutes – yay! We waited outside and after about 15 minutes, we saw a big group coming out – we knew this would be our table soon! As they came out of the restaurant, I recognized one of the gals right away – I looked at her and said “are you from Pittsburgh?” She looked at me with a surprised face and said “yes!” – I then said “did you go to Keystone Oaks High School?” (where I went) – again, even MORE surprised, said “yes!” – we had been in the same high school class and I had not seen her since 1979!!!! The group she was with was blown away – they couldn’t believe it! I recognized her right away – we were so surprised and excited at the same time and could not believe what a small world it is!
After they left, I have to say I sat there and thought about the “chance” encounters we have had on this trip and am just amazed at how small God’s world is and how He orchestrates things in our lives! It has been so fun and so crazy at the same time! We have another “chance” visit coming up in Santa Fe – more to come about that!
Thank you SO much for coming along to the Grand Tetons with us!
UNTIL NEXT TIME…
What a beautiful and amazing adventure this one was! I particularly loved the contrast of Ansel Adams painting and your picture! The colors God creates in this world are certainly amazing! Stay safe 🤗🙏🏻😊
Each of your stops has astounding beauty, but that sunset, just wow….
Hidden Falls ✔️
You do justice to the old adage that 1 picture is worth a 1,000 words! Also gets me thinking how difficult – and yet how beautiful – the experience would have been for the early settlers traveling on horse or in Conestoga wagons across the same region in search of a place to call home (of course without an RV park to stop along the way). Lastly, given all of your chance encounters with old acquaintances so far, waiting to learn who will pop up next and where!! Continued safe travels.
The photos of the scenery are so spectacular! I would want to frame so many of them! That sunset picture would get a frame for sure! How fun to meet old friends along the way!
You take such beautiful pictures, Susan. Glad to see y’all are enjoying your trip trip. God’s beauty is amazing.
love! we thought the Grand Tetons we so amazing we named one of our past golden retrievers “Teton” 🤎
keep enjoying your grand adventure!
I’m thinking a good temp for a rafting outing is about 90*. Especially if I’m going to be getting wet/splashed.
The picture of the mountains and the lake that looks like glass it is so still….that should be one that.makes it up on your camper wall!
Beautiful country. When I was a kid we went to the Tetons and I called them “the Teeter-totters”.
Do you know how the Tetons got its name? The French who were exploring the area thought the mountains reminded them of their women back home. LOL.