The Grand Tetons

A trip through Grand Teton National Park down to Jackson WY was our destination.  We started out at 6 a.m. and drove the length of Yellowstone National Park.  The park is alive in a different way during that time of the morning.  With hardly any other vehicles around, the wildlife was out and easy to spot.

As we drove through Mammoth Hot Springs we spotted the bear taking a walk along the white mineral deposit landscape.  Two elk seemed unaffected by the bear.

Hayden Valley was full of buffalo and they were in no hurry to get off of the road.  You can see the frost on the back of this buffalo.

It was a foggy morning in the valley and the sunrise cast an orange glow all around us and the buffalo.

We left Yellowstone and entered Grand Teton National Park and could see the majestic peaks immediately.  These are much different looking than the peaks in Yellowstone.  They were formed by the movement of tectonic plates and pushed up skyward.  There are no foothills so these jagged mountains just loom over you.  

This is looking out over Jackson Lake.

Here is Doug almost touching the top of Grand Teton - that's the biggest.

We made our way to Jackson Wyoming, a skiing town with plenty of shops to browse.  We had lunch outside at a cafe built in 1910.

These arches are made of elk antlers that are collected
by the boy scouts each year.

Here is a view of Jackson and the ski slopes.

On our way back the Tetons were obscured by darkening weather and we watched lightning flash off of the peaks.

It was a good thing that we had seen the mountains earlier with the blue sky all around.

On our way back through Yellowstone we had a close encounter with a buffalo.  Doug didn't really pat him on the back but he came close as you might be able to see in the side mirror.