RV trip 2006 - day 21

Day 21 (September 10, 2006) - Grand Teton N.P.

I can say with pride that I biked Grand Teton - one-way - from Colter Bay to Moose Junction, almost the entire park length taking the inner, more scenic route. And what a scenery it was! We timed it so that Petr would get to Moose Junction around the same time as I, and off I was. I took my camera with me, certain that I would stop along the way to snap some pictures. It did not take me long before I pulled in at an overlook and I took out my camera. But I had forgotten to put batteries in it! Rats, I just hoped that Petr, following the same route would stop and take them. In a way, it worked well, I stopped anyways, taking mental shots of what I saw, allowing the views to sink into my brain better than through a viewfinder. It was a total of 32 miles, great pavement and pretty flat, the backdrop was simply amazing. I had to wait 40 minutes for Petr to show up with the RV, then we both agreed that we had to go back to Jenny Lake, it was simply too beautiful to just pass it by.

I quickly changed into hiking stuff, had a snack and we hit the trails. We decided to loop Jenny Lake, on what seemed a 6-mile trail. Two major points were on the way: Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. We climbed a portion of Mt. Owen to get to Insipration Point and it rewarded us with a stupendous view of tranquil, peaceful Jenny Lake. The small detours cost us an extra 4 miles, so by the time we got back at the parking lot we had hiked 10 miles in 4.5 hours. Not too shabby. The snack shop had just closed its doors for the day so I couldn't have ice-cream... Oh well, we are leaving the park for Jackson, WY.

The visitor center right at the beginnig of town is excellent. They have an exhibit of the wildlife around here: bears, wolves, elks, bighorn sheep, deer, otters, coyotes, eagles and other volatiles, plus a small cinema showing a documentary on Yellowstone. I bought a biography of Crazy Horse in the bookstore. We thought we would spend the night in Jackson, but all campgrounds in town were full, so we decided we would go for dinner, fill up our propane tank and drive back into the park to spend another night at the campground in Colter Bay. I relied again on my guide book and picked the Snake River Brewery for dinner. Lots of vegetarian options, I couldn't resist the first organic-certified beer this microbrewery produces, while I picked the Snake River ale for Petr. The first had some fruity aftertaste which I didn't care much for, but Petr's was excellent (for a Czech to say that about a non-Czech beer, you must believe it). Jackson is a beautiful western town, slightly glamorous but not pretentious. I can imagine the ski crowd it attracts in winter. It's definitely a place where I'd like to return.