Tetons are fabulous

Here we go again...it's awesome, beautiful, majestic, unbelievable, wonderful, and fantastic. I have used up all my words and I can't even come close but just let me say., if this was the only place we had visited it would have been worth the trip to me.

Our travel day out of Salt Lake City was the longest, most frustrating, and tiring of all the days so far and one of the most beautiful. We drove mountains on a two lane road up to 7000 feet...construction delays...off road R Ving ( no pavement at all), the rushing Snake River on one side and stone walls on the other...trucks and tour buses coming at us and no shoulders...it was a long, long day.

It wasn't until we arrived at the park at 6 p.m. and all of us took a deep breath, we realized how stressed we were and yelled at each other.."let's eat out" and we unhooked and headed for the park restaurant without even setting up. There we all let out a collective sigh of relief and started reliving our nail biting adventure.

We didn't realize Colter Bay was the farthest northern area of the Tetons and we would only be 23 miles from the Yellowstone entrance when we booked, but we love the park and it's facilities, right on the water with the mountains rising up on the other shore, we have a gorgeous view.

The Tetons, unlike most ranges, have no foothills, so you see Jackson Lake and then there they are rising straight up out of the water to 13,000 feet. The lake is manmade and holds the run off of over 600 inches of annual snowfall and is a source of water for Idaho. They paid for the construction of the dam and lake and receive 39 feet of water per year.

The lake is over 500 feet deep in the middle. It freezes over each year with a 6 foot ice cap and affords the animals an opportunity to migrate to the other side of the park.

We took a lake cruise yesterday and got right up to the mountains for some wonderful photo ops. Then last night after dinner, we loaded into cars and we went in search of wild life ,the four legged kind, and we were not disappointed. We saw three herds of elk in great numbers, bison, antelope,and the sunset over the Tetons.

Early in the morning, Norm and I went moose hunting and we actually found one. A female eating her breakfast in a river in the moose habitat and we took lots of pictures. Our first moose. Then on the way back to camp, two wolves ran right in front of the car and I was thrilled. My first wolf. So seeing animals is easy.

The group plans to go horseback riding and then to Jackson shopping. The town is alive with many summer tourists and shops and a town square which has an elk antler arch on each corner. The perfect photo op.

We also plan to enjoy an evening chuckwagon dinner and performance of a western band,which has been highly recommended as a must while in the area.
A trip to the National Elk Refuge is also on tap. We love this area and our time will go much too fast.

We feel we have probably saved the best for last on this adventure. The Tetons, Yellowstone,and Rushmore. It is going to be a great JULY.