Colter Bay, Grand Teton WY
Driving to Grand Tetons area took us through northern Utah and Idaho border, then into Wyoming. It goes along Snake River and the Bridger-Teton National Forest. Finally, we got to Jackson, it was familiar from our last visit there in 2016.
After passing the Moose Visitor Center, we got into a traffic jam. The bison were crossing the road and they did not want to be rushed. The babies seemed to be confused by the vehicles and few went back and forth, but moms nudged them along. It was amazing watching these huge animals make their way across the road.
We made it to Colter Bay Village and to the RV Campground. It’s tucked into the trees, so you can’t see it from the Visitor Center or the General Store. It’s close to Jackson Lake, there’s a swim beach and Marina. There’s also Campground is designed very well, with mostly pull through sites, which makes landing and setup very easy.
Next morning I decided to join the Ranger walk early in the morning. Luckily, I was the only one attending, so I had Ranger Steph to myself! We did 2 mile walk on Lakeshore Trail, learning about the geology of the area, changes in the environment and history of the park. Grand Teton mountains are very young, just 8 million years old. They are formed by a fault line which rises the mountains and lowers the valley. Even though the mountain range is young, the rocks within it are some of the oldest, 2.7 billion years old. Ranger Steph pointed out metamorphic rock gneiss, which reminded me of my geology class in college. My professor used to say that “Bronx is gneiss, but Manhattan is full of schist (another metamorphic rock)”. If you have time, see Ken Burns’ National Parks episode about Grand Teton to see how the park came to be.
Anthony arrived in the area and we decided to meet at Jenny Lake Visitor Center for another Ranger walk, this one to Moose Pond. The parking during high season is a disaster, even though we arrived at 8:30am, we had to park along the road, though close to the Visitor Center. It was great to see Anthony after all his travels to get West.
Ranger walk was great, we learned so much. For example, how to tell the difference between pines, firs and spruces. Pines have their needles in packets, you see two connected to the branch, firs are friendly, soft to touch and spruces are square, the needles are square shaped and prickly to touch. We learned that aspens form communities, multiple trees grow from the same root system, they support each other. So if you see a group of aspen of similar size, it’s probably same community.
Of course, the best was the moose at Moose Pond. The young bull was just wading through the water and munching. Did you know that moose can dive up to 20 feet underwater? Things you learn.
Both rangers were young and filled with enthusiasm. I love to see them so committed to teaching and preserving this wonderful place.
We decided to continue the hike around Moose Pond. It was a wonderful walk through meadows with some wildflowers still in bloom, then a pine (or fir or spruce?) grove with a small stream through it.
Once we completed that loop, on to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. I’m pretty sure we did this on our last visit, but Jenny Lake and that trail is just so beautiful. It was more crowded than I remembered from our last visit, but you can’t beat the views. We made our way up to Inspiration Point, took our pics and made our way down to the boat for return to the Visitors Center.
Along the way, Tom’s knee started acting up and he ended up having major discomfort. We decided to go to Jackson for lunch at Snake River Brewing , but Tom wanted to get a brace for his knee and did not join us right away, so I got him Pig and Peach Pizza, which he devoured!
It was warm the next day, though still hazy due to fires in California and Oregon, so swim beach was a good place to spend time. It is relaxing to watch kids playing in the water, there are paddle boarders and kayakers. I saw a group of birds fishing by driving the fish and then diving under. Later in the afternoon we took a ride to some of the overlooks including Signal Mountain, and to Jackson Lodge for some ice cream, remembering our last time here.
Anthony and I (Tom could not hike), hiked Great View Point, armed with our bear sprays. We met few folks on the trail, it was short and steep passing through pine forests then open meadows with last of the wildflowers. The views from the top were great, there are two overlooks, one facing Jackson Lake and second looking over Two Ocean and Emma Matilda Lakes. Great hiking afternoon and no bears!
Now we are ready for the next adventure, we are off to West Yellowstone and Yellowstone National Park!
