The Road Trip Begins

Bob S. had barely gotten back to Houston when Bob G. arrived to share my adventures for a few weeks.  Our first stop along the way was the Grand Tetons where we spent a few fun days.

Our day started with a beautiful dawn over  the Mission Mountains.

Mission Mountain Sunrise

Soon we were headed east and then south.  We were going to get to Grand Teton National Park by first going south along the back side, then coming in via the town of Jackson.  On the way we  stopped at Camp Fortunate, the Lewis and Clark camp where they were able to get horses.  Bob and I took turns taking each other's pictures in the dugout before eating our lunch there. 

Me in a model of a Lewis and Clark dugout

By late afternoon, we had arrived in Jackson. We stopped for a few minutes and took pictures under a set of the piled up antlers, 

First view of the back of the Tetons before we reached Jackson

Bob in one of the elk antler archers in Jackson

Jackson street scene

Our next stop was the Moose Visitor Center in Teton National Park. I loved this quilt. We didn't have time to do the center justice, so planned to come back another day.

Bob wanted to camp at Jenny Lake campground but that one fills up early. We checked it out and decided that it wasn't that  pretty and we would go to Signal Mountain Campground the next day.  I already had two free sites in mind.  Bob didn't believe my GPS so we ended up going the long way, through the Gros Ventre Valley, to a forest service camp.  We found a mundane campsite with several people in it, but followed the directions to continue up the forest road.  We were rewarded with a beautiful camp site directly across from the Tetons.

View of the Gros Ventre River near sunset

We got our camp set up and ate supper, then sat out to watch the full moon rise.

Moon rising behind our free campsite

 The Tetons were dark by the time we got to the site, so I was up early the next morning to catch the first light on them. From our vantage point, we could also enjoy Mt. Moran.

Grand Tetons

Mt. Moran in the morning

 We decided to go back to Jenny Lake and check out the area before heading on north to the Signal Mountain Campground. The shortest way back was across Antelope Flats, where the bison hang out and where the Mormon homesteads are located. We stopped to take the picture of the famous barn with the Tetons as a backdrop.  And then we were stopped again by bison crossing the road. We both took lots of pictures but I got the biggest kick out of the momma bison butting here baby across the road.  No lollygagging allowed.

Barn and Tetons

Get along, son

Closeup view of the gneiss rock that makes up much of the mountains in the Grand Tetons

Bob and I had a few more days of fun and adventure in the Tetons, then spent yesterday afternoon, night, and early morning at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.  I met my boss for next summer and enjoyed one of the primitive camp sites there. Currently, we are visiting friends in Bozeman and will drive the Beartooth Highway tomorrow, before leaving the following day for Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

So I have lots of stories and pictures with more to come.