Cold Nights, Beautiful Views

     We left Fossil Butte in the early afternoon and headed for Jackson Hole. Along the way we passed over the Salt River Pass on Hwy. 89, which is the timed KOM/QOM climb for the LOTOJA bike race and ride which happened just two days earlier. I noticed the paint on the road as we drove up, but I didn't notice what it said until I got out to take in the view. We also passed by a new LDS temple in Star Valley, WY that will be opening soon.

View from Salt River Pass

K/QOM line for LOTOJA

The Star Valley, WY LDS temple that is still under construction inside

     We couldn't decide whether to camp in Jackson or to drive over the Teton Pass and stay a few days in Idaho. I found several trails on both sides. The Idaho campgrounds closed in just two days, so we decided we didn't want to keep packing up our stuff every day. We opted for the Gros Ventre Campground inside of Grand Teton National Park just northeast of Jackson. When we entered the valley we found loads of clouds and not much to see. What areas weren't covered by clouds were a hazy blue from nearby wildfires. Traffic was awful and it was cold. My initial impression of the area was not great, but I was determined to see the natural wonders of the area.

Gros Ventre Campground. Nothing fancy, but it gets the job done at a place where people don't hang around the campground very long.

   

     We learned a thing or two about setting up the tent over the previous few nights and it made things easy for this set-up. Staking down the tent helps with all parts of set-up, even if the wind isn't blowing. We never would have learned that had it no been so windy at Curt Gowdy. It began to rain just after dark and rained steadily all night and into the early hours of the morning. The temp dropped into the upper-30s which was quite a shock for us since it was 91 degrees the day we left home.

     Once the rain stopped, we crawled out of the tent for breakfast, only to have to retreat to the tent again for another passing shower. Finally, the rain ended and we ventured out to see what the area had to offer. We had a few notes about things in the area, but we had no real plans. Mountain biking was out for the day after so much rainfall, so we decided to drive Gros Ventre Road into the Bridger-Teton National Forest along the Gros Ventre River.

It was so cloudy we couldn't see the Tetons this morning

     This road was great! It started on pavement, then changed to dirt after a few miles. We drove about 12 miles off into the wilderness, passing by Lower Slide Lake and several really nice ranches that sat way back in the canyon. The skies parted shortly after we got to the lake and we were treated to some nice views of yellowing leaves and light snow on the surrounding peaks.

Lower Slide Lake

Small cascade further up the Gros Ventre River

     We found a campground way back on the river that I would like to stay at one day. But not this trip as I don't know enough about bears yet to be camping alone in the middle of the forest. Bears are a big deal here as you have both Black and Grizzly bears that frequent the area. You are advised not to have any food or toiletries outside of your car or bear box, which is a giant locking metal box that each campsite has. You even have to sign a waiver before you can camp that says you understand and will abide by all bear precautions. It's serious stuff. You are also told to carry bear spray everywhere you go. We bought two cans before the trip so we would be ready.

Red cliffs in one part of the canyon

Gros Ventre Road

One lane bridge

That is one round bird

Gros Ventre River

     The entire Jackson area is one big geological playground. There's active faults, hot springs and landslides all around. Lower Slide Lake is actually a lake formed by a massive landslide in 1925. It was known as the Gros Ventre Slide and consisted of an enormous amount of rock and debris from the side of Sheep Mountain. It blocked up the canyon and dammed the river with 50,000,000 cubic yards of debris that not only covered the canyon, but went 300 feet up the opposite slope. Three ranchers witnessed the slide as they had ranches near the area. The following day the river had backed up enough that their houses were flooded. Within a week the houses were floating in a lake that was over five miles long. The dam gave way two years later when the top 20 feet of the slide debris broke loose from the pressure of the water, causing massive flooding downstream in the small town of Kelly. Residents had little warning and six of them perished. Since then, the dam has been stable and has kept Lower Slide Lake in check. We hiked down to the debris dam and its size was hard to comprehend.

Another view of Lower Slide Lake

The debris from the slide

The debris stretches on for a long way

Lower Slide Lake from the dam

Hornet's nest along the trail

     We stopped by an old homestead after coming out of the canyon. The homestead belonged to early Mormon settlers that came into the valley in 1890 and created the town of Grovont. Today, there are a few homesteads still standing along an old dirt road that is known as Mormon Row. The dirt road was really muddy from the rain, so we only stopped to visit the homestead on the north end of the road. Those people had one heck of a view out their back door!

This probably would have been my favorite house if I lived back in those days

An old barn with a beautiful backdrop of the Grand Tetons

     With the weather looking much better, we decided to venture into Grand Teton National Park, stopping first by the Visitor's Center to get some info and see the exhibits they have. If you ever go, check out the park video. It tells you a lot about the park, then ends with the giant screen parting to reveal a window with a beautiful view of the mountains. We then bought our park pass and headed into the park. It costs $30 for a seven-day entrance pass, which is good for one vehicle. You can buy a combo pass for $50 like we did, which also includes access for one vehicle in Yellowstone National Park for seven days.

View from the theater in the Visitor's Center after the park movie

    Our first stop was at the Chapel of the Transfiguration. It's an old church building that still holds occasional services. Again, what a view out the back. There was also a replica of an old ferry the early settlers used to cross the Snake River.

Chapel of the Transfiguration

Snake River

A replica of the old ferry used to cross the Snake River. This replica is a little more modern with the solar panels added to the side.

Looking to the east of the mountains across the valley called Antelope Flats.

     We stopped at many scenic pull-offs on the main road. All provided amazing views of the Tetons. The park video said you could see reflections of the mountains in most of the lakes inside the park, so we went out in search for that. We ended up hiking from the Jenny Lake area, hiking around the north side of String Lake. We had hoped to go all the way around the lakes, but we ran out of daylight and had to turn back. We saw some wildlife on the trail in the form of mountain grouse and mule deer. The reflections were not great at first, but once the sun dropped behind the mountains, the reflections became very clear. The following pictures do not do justice to the amazing sites we saw on this hike.

The three Tetons from the first pull-off in the park

Jenny Lake

Reflections in String Lake

The stream between String and Leigh Lakes

Mule Deer

Mule Deer next to the trail

Black and white shot of the mountain and lake taken with the GoPro

Another GoPro shot

GoPro shot

Exposed roots on the bank of the lake

     More awesome views awaited us on the Jenny Lake Loop as we drove back toward the campground. The sun was still slightly visible through one of the bigger canyons and allowed for some bright rays to shoot between the steep mountains. It was a great place to enjoy a clear sunset.

Sun rays coming through the canyon on the Jenny Lake Loop overlook

Sunset over the Tetons

     We also saw three moose near the campground right at dusk. That was my first real moose sighting. It was a cool way to end a really awesome day. I thought I saw a bison at Antelope Flats earlier in the day, but I just caught a quick glimpse and couldn't find it again to verify. Hopefully we will see one before the trip is over.

Moose

Sunset from Gros Ventre Campground