Rockies Caravan - Part 6 - Grand Teton NP - STR-2021-32
Wednesday, 1 September
Today's caravan itinerary only had repositioning to Jackson, WY, about 200 miles north on US 191. Seeing an opportunity for some independent adventuring, we departed early. Again.
Our first stop was the main visitor center for Grand Teton National Park, the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center. Arriving about noon, we saw that the wildfire smoke was making the Grand Tetons a little less grand than the thousands of photographs and paintings for sale in Jackson. And the air quality alert suggests tomorrow might not be any better.
Our primary reason for making this our first stop was to get additional information from the park staff (maps, suggestions) to plan the best use of our limited free time while in Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. In trying to plan our time using the National Park Service app and other online resources, we kept running into obstacles that could only be discovered with five to seven layers of digging. Such as RVs and trailers are not allowed on Moose-Wilson Road - which looked to be a scenic opportunity. And no RVs or vehicles over 23.3 feet long are permitted in the Lawrence S. Rockefeller Preserve. Sprinty is also not allowed on the road to Signal Mountain summit.
Sprinty's trip planner got a tad bit frustrated at the difficulty in finding out Sprinty restrictions before arriving at the sign at the intersection as to whether Sprinty was welcome or not.
The park information lady suggested seeing Coulter Bay, and made some suggestions for some hikes. Driving to Coulter Bay meant we would duplicate the charter bus route on Friday - but it also meant we got to choose if and where to stop.
We headed to Coulter Bay via US 191. Alas, Coulter Bay was underwhelming. The smoke/haze did not put the Grand Tetons in their best view, and Lake Jackson water levels were so far down, Coulter Bay was only a pond. The boat ramp was closed, and all the docks were sitting on lake bottom.
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| Coulter Bay |
We continued on to the Virginian RV Park in Jackson, WY. The Virginian RV Park is the only RV park in Jackson. Our caravan was only able to secure 18 sites for the 29 rigs, so 11 folks are staying at a RV park 45 minutes away.
Due to some confusion on who was staying where, Darrell (H) and Brenda got switched to the Virginian RV Park just as they pulled into Jackson. Fortunate for us as we have enjoyed adventuring together.
After getting settled and an early dinner, we headed for downtown Jackson. We wandered a small market set up in a park and walked the streets. We got the obligatory photos under the antler arch at the town square.
Thursday, 2 September
We set a semi-early start on the "On Your Own Morning (Scenic Drive or Downtown Shopping)" to drive to Taggart Lake in the park for a 3.8 mile hike. The air had cleared a lot since yesterday, so we enjoyed some scenic views of the Grand Tetons as we drove to the trailhead.
By starting early, the trailhead parking lot was only about half full at 9:15am. We knew from our drive by yesterday that would be short lived.
The hike to Taggart Lake was scenic. As suggested by the reviews and the park information, we did the loop trail counter clockwise.
For much of the way, the trail followed along a creek that flowed out of Taggart Lake.
Taggart Lake was clear and set off the Tetons well. The wind had not kicked up too much, offering nice reflections on the water. We spent quite awhile soaking in the grandeur, and wandering around for some other viewpoints.
Most of the people we saw on the trail seems to be doing the out-and-back trail, while we did the loop trail. The hike back was a bit more open than following the creek, which provided an opportunity to look for wildlife. Perhaps because of the number of hikers, all we saw were chipmunks and a soaring bird that might have been an eagle.
The thunderstorms passed to the south - we heard thunder in the distance. We learned later that it rained and hailed back at the campground in Jackson. All we got was a slight sprinkle. The clouds and smoke started to roll in making us super glad we started early this morning.
We went to the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center to eat our lunch under cover and visit the visitors center. The view of the Tetons from the visitor center was a little better today.
We revisited downtown Jackson as some of the stores we wanted to check out were closed last evening. We also treated Darrell (H) and Brenda to their first coffee shop latte. And the barista was quite talented at latte art - making these latte just a little more special. Just another wayward influence.
After a few hours relaxing back at the campground, we loaded the shuttle bus to head for the BAR T-5 Covered Wagon Ride and Cookout (https://www.bart5.com). After a short orientation by Chris, one of the owners, we loaded our assigned covered wagons. Our driver was Ashley, a college student at Brigham Young University - Idaho in Rexburg, ID, driving the horse team of Star and Bella.
Ashley shared a lot about the operation of the Bar T-5, the care of the animals, and was just plain fun. She made our 20-minute covered wagon ride up Cache Canyon extra special. The covered wagons were pulled by two draft horses up the canyon to a covered pavilion in the woods where the chuck wagon dinner and show was held.
Dinner was served with amazing efficiency. Chris, one of the two owners, was an entertaining host. After dinner, Chris, two guitar players and a fiddle player entertained us with some cowboy songs. Eva, age 17, the fiddle player, trained as a classic violin player, could play a mean fiddle. Among the many tunes they performed, "Orange Blossom Special" and "Devil Went Down to Georgia" really showed off her fiddle talent.
We then headed for the covered wagons which had just arrived with the second group for the night. As we loaded the wagons, a couple of "outlaws" were nearby watching.
The covered wagon ride back was fun as well - Ashley used the brake a lot as it was mostly downhill. She also shared that as a covered wagon driver, she got paid by the bump. 😉 Actually she shared that one of the things she enjoyed about this job was that they rotated her to different assignments - riding as one of the outlaws, driving the covered wagon, working in the kitchen. She also shared that the Bar T-5 provided housing for the employees - that Jackson was far too expensive to be able to afford housing.
When we saw it on the itinerary , we were not too sure about the BAR T-5 Covered Wagon Ride and Cookout. It turned out to be a highlight of the caravan. As we learned on the caravan two years ago, one of the many advantages of doing a caravan is the experiences they schedule that you might not know about or you might talk yourself out of. Highly recommended.**
Friday, 3 September
Today's caravan activity was a Bus Tour of the Grand Tetons National Park Day Tour. The nature of having our group in two campgrounds over 45 minutes apart was the first challenge. Our group loaded at 9am to go pick up the rest of our caravan group at 9:45. As we drove along US 191, we saw a couple of moose and some antelope. Just before we picked up the other group, one of our folks thought he saw a mountain lion or bobcat.
The first stop of the day was an overlook of the Snake River basin. The smoke/haze was still a factor in spite of the thunderstorm that came through about 3am. But better than expected.
Once we realized it was not the Moulton Barn, we inquired if we were going to be visiting that barn, which was nearby. Alas, it was not on the itinerary. And the bus driver did not know if she could get there, and whether there was anyplace to turn around. Just another reason to visit again one day.
We made another stop just after entering the south entrance to Grand Teton NP at the The Episcopal Chapel of the Transfiguration. A early, small church in Jackson Hole, the chapel has a large picture window that frames the towering Grand Tetons. Our group was too large for everyone to get a photo, so we captured this view.
We continued on the 42-mile scenic route to Jenny Lake. Vicki, our co-Wagonmaster, passed out sack lunches she made as the Subway sandwich shop in Jackson was closed for lack of staffing. We made our way to the boat dock, got our ticket and took the boat across.
Jenny Lake lies at the base of the Grand Tetons.
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| Jenny Lake |
Once on the west side, we ate our lunch.
No doubt being the Friday before Labor Day Weekend was a factor.
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| Hidden Falls |
The two Darrells hiked on up to Inspiration Point, while Brenda and Kris made their way back to the boat dock.
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| Inspiration Point |
After boarding the bus, we completed the 42-mile scenic drive and returned to the distant campground to drop off those folks. We passed two Ranger vehicles with lights flashing and saw a black bear on the south side of the road. After dropping off the folks, as we passed the same two Ranger vehicles a second time, we saw a grizzly bear on the north side of the road. Unfortunately, there was no way for the bus to stop so we could do the typical visitor thing of starting an animal jam. Especially with two Rangers there. One of our group was able to get a photo of the grizzly bear.
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| Grizzly Bear |
Back to the campground in Jackson we went. Like most folks, we prepared for departure tomorrow morning by doing laundry, getting fuel, attending to dumping and filling.
Saturday, 4 September
We elected to depart before sun arise and shop at the iconic T. A. Moulton Barn to get sunrise photos. Us and dozens and dozens of others arrived early in the cold (24 degrees) to watch the sunlight slowly bathe the barn and Tetons.
When we arrived, we were lucky to get the next to last parking spot in a parking lot that only has about 15 parking places.
Already, many had gathered and set up in their desired spot to get photos.
As we headed on to our next destination, we stopped at a pullout for one last photo of the Grand Tetons.
And with that, we headed on for the next adventure looking for wildlife early in the morning. You will just have to read the next blog to see how successful our early morning watch was.
** "Always buy the ticket, Always take the chance, Always make the memories"
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