We stayed 22 miles on the west side of the Tetons this time because the RV park in Jackson, WY is not comfortable. This sign is at the peak of the pass.
See the white line at the bottom of this photo? That is the road.
The grade of the road going up and down through the pass. Even in 2nd gear, we had to brake a lot.
The most popular entrance to the park is north of Jackson. We took one that is west of Jackson. Teton Village and this ski area are on this road.
Part of this section is dirt. We were happy to be driving a Jeep.
We were happy not to miss this gem or
this huge beaver lodge or
the moose habitat. No moose, but if I were a moose, I would want to live there.
The stars of the park.
This is the more popular entrance. The all terrain RV had French license plates. How much did it cost to ship this thing to the USA? We have seen photos of the interiors of vehicles like this. They are very efficient and have extra large water, waste, and diesel tanks so that they can dry camp for an extended time. Note the two spare tires on the rear. I would not want ot have to change them in the middle of nowhere.
Lupines and Arrowleaf Balsamroot in Lupine Meadows. Made me think of my former teaching partner, Becky, who loved a book about a lady who was the Johnny Appleseed of lupines.
We took 183 photos. I deleted about half of them and then had to decide what to share on the blog. How to give a good overview without causing mountain overdose?
The rocks in the core of the range are some of the oldest in North America, but these mountains are among the youngest in the world. Over millions of years, a combination of tectonic plate action and a massive earthquake caused the mountains to rise and the valley floor to sink.
Then, massive glaciers up to 3,500 feet thick sculpted the mountains.
Jenny Lake is really clear and helped frame this photo. It and several more of these lovely lakes were formed behind glacial moraine dams.
There was a park ranger at this turn out educating visitors about wolves and bears. This is a grizzly bear skin. Note the size of those claws. The ranger said that this skin was from a bear that became too much of a danger to people.
This park is well suited to biking, hiking, fishing, rafting, etc. There is a paved bike path from near Jackson to here, and maybe further. There is a shuttle boat across Jenny Lake to hiking trails in the mountains.
The Jackson Lake Dam on the Snake River creates Jackson Lake at the foot of The Tetons.
At the bottom of the dam, there were fishermen/women everywhere.
Jackson Lake and The Tetons.
The Jackson Lake Lodge is very modern looking. It is so different from the lodges we are used to seeing in national parks. This is the patio that looks over the mountains and lake.
The interior had more of the feel of other national park lodges.
Now that is a view!
We had learned that there was an RV park north of the lodge at Colter Bay Village. We wanted to see it for possible future trips. We have seen far more rented RVs this year. Owning a concession for these in this area would be almost like having a license to print money.
These pronghorns were the only animals we saw today.
We took Hwy 191 back to Jackson. This provided a broader view of the range.
Jackson, WY ski runs. The town is very touristy and crowded.
The main street through town was under construction. We were waiting our turn to go, when we saw this car pull out to turn left, stop, and back up, but only to this position. He is blocking the right lane of the two lanes and stays there until the light changes and he can turn.
This is our farewell to this side of The Tetons. Our loop is complete. We have almost reached the road that took us into the park.
We followed this school bus slowly up the pass. There wasn't a place for it to pull over until we reached the peak. Now the line of cars could spread out and travel at a reasonable speed. The whole day took six hours.
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