Grand Teton National Park
When we headed out to the Grand Tetons following our long travel day, we had no idea what to expect. To this point we had been seeing a lot of reddish-brown dirt and rock formations in places like Zion, the Grand Canyon, and Bryce. We were expecting more of the same at the Grand Tetons. I think it was better that we did not look at a single picture of them before this trip because when we finally came upon them it was way more breathtaking than we had anticipated. This rugged mountain range jutted straight out of flat terrain with almost no hills around. The snow-covered peaks in the middle of June stood out as odd to us southerners from South Carolina. Especially seeing as it was almost 80 degrees fahrenheit! As soon as we got to the park (again, skipping the admission fee because of our cool annual parks pass!), we were thankful some kind person in the past designed the park layout so that you can drive in a large loop and see most of the sights.
We came in on highway 191 out of Jackson, WY, where we stopped for lunch and browsed around at some of the shops for a bit. We followed that road north and looped back down Teton Park Road. This afforded us the ability to stop and take in the sights of the mountain range from far and near. The park was a lot more flat that we would have expected if we would have known the Tetons were a mountain range. The flat grasslands played home to quite a few roaming bison which we were excited to see as well as deer. Driving through the parks during COVID meant a lot fewer travelers, which meant a lot less traffic and more chances at getting a glimpse of the wildlife. We saw deer, bison, bear, and a moose with two calf on our way into the park. If you have a vehicle capable of 4x4, make sure to take some of the rugged access roads which lead out to more remote areas in the park. Also, a trip up Signal Mountain will give you a view of the park at over 7,000 feet.
As we headed back down south towards Jackson and onward to our hotel in Driggs, ID (if you want to avoid the expensive hotels in Jackson, this is a great option!), we stopped off at our favorite part of the Grand Tetons which was Jenny Lake. Here you can catch close-up views of the mountains as you look out over a peaceful lake. We snapped a few pictures, took in the moment, and hopped back in the car wondering where the time went as it was getting late. Of all the parks we visited on our trip, this was the one we wished we had planned to spend more time at. After we checked into our hotel in Driggs, the Super 8, which was a great deal and very clean and quiet, we went and grabbed an excellent dinner at O’Rourke’s pub consisting of surprisingly great pizza and nachos!
