Before lunch we set off to the Grand Teton N.P. traversing the Wind River Indian Reservation from Riverton to Dubois.
It's Friday and the full-hookup RV park at Colter Bay in the Grand Teton is full, so we pull in next door in the campground, with no water or electricity. We have a reserve tank for water and the generator battery can provide enough electricity for the night.
We are right on the northern shore of Jackson Lake - a marvelous pool of blue water, with a marina and a beach. The water is pretty cold but very tempting. There's a trailhead starting from the marina, so we decide to go for an early evening walk. 1/3 mile into it, a coyote leaps out of nowhere, 15 ft in front of us. Of course, he had seen us much earlier than we saw him. We decide to back off and go back. The coyote starts following us so we pick up some sticks and walk slowly back to the trailhead. He then retreats into the woods but keeps following us back to the marina, where he veers left and sniffing the ground goes deeper into the forest. This was my closest encounter with a coyote in the wild. What a beautiful animal, it looks slightly smaller than a wolf, with a big fuzzy silver tail.
We head back to our house on wheels and decide to go to bed early.
Boysen Canyon from Thermopolis to Riverton.
Train tunnel, still operational - looks right from the Western movies I grew up with!
I had to drive, stop and take pictures all on my own since Petr took his afternoon nap and missed this!
Downtown Dubois. Every single building is made of logs - hence the town name.
We are climbing a pass in the Bridger-Teton National Forest and since there is road work going on, the speed limit has been reduced to 65 mph. Just like on the Mass Pike during rush hour.
Crossing the Continental Divide at 9658 ft altitude.
Entering the Grand Teton National Park.
The first view after we entered.