Grand Tetons/Yellowstone

Last Tuesday, we were on our way to Jackson, WY with a rental car courtesy of the GM dealership who broke the strutt putting it in, and thus had to order another one. (So...the part wasn't defective after all).  Clif and I found a nice hotel to stay in, walked the streets of the town, and turned in for an early night.  Weds, we got up early as to enjoy the fullest day possible at the Grand Tetons.  This day did not let us down.  We had decided to drive the loop, take one small hike, and ride the air tram to the top of Rendezvous Mountain.  The dealership called when we were waiting for the tram ride down that the car was ready!  Perfect timing.

The little blue Hundai was our rental car. We were surprised it did make it through the pass!




A herd of elk were grazing in the pasture at the base of the Grand Tetons. It was a small hike we took to see the remanents of a homestead that once existed in the area.


 Here is the house on the trail.



This is what I call a picture Postcard!  We stopped at this overlook because you are supposed to see beavers and otters.  Instead, we caught this beautiful view!



We took a short 1.5 mile hike along another lakeshore to enjoy the views.  It was breath taking.





We even spied a deer.



A family heading back our way from the second lake showed us their video of a black bear getting out of the lake and following them. Clif and I decided to head back to the car.  This was the lake the bear was video taped at.




Had Clif and I had more time, we would have rented kayaks and navigated the two lakes.  There were many kayakers doing so, and it looked like so much fun.

On our way to our next stop, we spied some moose!





Next, we ventured to the top of Rendezvous Mountain via the Air Tram.  This is the south view of the Tetons.



This is the north view.




While waiting for our ride down the mountain, we got our call.  The car is ready!!!!




Finally, we headed off for our original destination...Yellowstone!  We spent 4 nights in West Yellowstone going into the park daily.  After the first day, we were wondering if this was all to Yellowstone.  At first, rather disappointed with the road construction, sights to see were barricaded because of the construction, advice on hiking trails were the most congested ones, etc.  Clif finally broke down and bought a hiking book.  This was a gem because it gave recommended hikes.  We found several, and took advantage of them.  They were not so used, therefore, they were more tranquil.

I wasn't too keen in sleeping in a tent in grizzly bear country, so Clif agreed to splurge.  We got a deal on a 2 bedroom condo that was cheaper than the nightly rate at the Comfort Inn!  Of course the decor was Northwoods, so I was excited to get some more decorating ideas.



On our way to the North Loop, we immediately spotted elk.  Those who know me, know I can't resist a picture.



For those of you who haven't yet been to Yellowstone, know that the west side of the park is mainly volcanic activity via "hot" spots of all sorts; mud pots, hot springs, geysers, etc.  As for me, there are only so many of these to look at. 






I do however LOVE waterfalls!  The first few, I was frustrated because they are on the main road.  Therefore, there were too many people.  But after Clif bought the hiking book, we found some less crowded Falls to see.  Tower Fall is located on the NE side of the park.



Clif and I decided to hike down to Yellowstone River. What a slippery steep slope it was that last 50 feet! Well worth the slip and slide though. :)



We decided to see the Canyon Falls before heading back to our condo as it was just south of the cut through back to West Yellowstone.



    The Lower Falls offered us a much better view.  We didn't hike down the 380 something stairs to get the best view of the Upper Falls.  Seeing how many people were on the stairs was deterent enough for us.



These next 2 falls are located on the Southwest Loop of the park.

                                                            Fairy Falls
              

                                                                    FireHole Falls


We did stop and see Old Faithful.  You can't go to Yellowstone and not see it.  One word of caution though.  Traveling to that area from West Yellowstone before 7:00am is quite foggy.  It never occurred to us that 41 degree air temperature that meets steaming springs and geysers makes for thick fog.  Our intention was to get there to see her blow before the crowds gathered.  It worked.  Not many people were around for the first viewing.

                                                 The Fog....


                                                             Old Faithful



We took one grand hike to Mt. Washburn.  This is an area know for Bear Management.  So I told Clif I wasn't going to hike unless we talked to a Ranger first.  The Ranger let us know it is open for hiking, the bears are staying in the valley on the east side of the mountain.  We were hiking up from the west.  Whew, but Clif took the bear spray just to be safe.  This hike is 6.4 round trip and strenuous because of the incline.  I am happy to report, I made it up and back in the recommended amount of time.  The view was well worth the huff and puff to get up.  The temperature when we started was 40 degrees.  We shed our first layer before we cleared the first bend.  The last of the layers were off by the 3 bend.  By the time we reached the top, I had to put it all back on.  It was freezing there!




        We're hiking up to that Fire Tower at the peak of Mt Washburn.  This was taken after about 4 bends before we could see it in view.






                          The View, simply amazing on a clear day. :)


                            You can see the Grand Tetons in the background.


We did hike to Cascade Lake before heading East toward home.  I was nervous hiking because we were the first on the trail.  How many are out hiking at 7:30 in the morning?  Then as we got a mile into the hike (which was a 5 mile roundtrip hike), there were warning signs of bear activity in the area.  This only heightened our senses.  Clif had his bear spray, so we felt good to go.  Usually Clif and I are silent when we hike so we can see wildlife.  Not on this morning.  We were chanting, singing, and saying all kinds of silly stuff of nervous chatter.  My first puzzlement was this loan beast....



I know there are buffalo in the park, but this was not in the typical area we had been seeing them.  As a matter of fact, far from those places.  This buffalo kept a watchful eye as we passed by speaking sweet sounds to its ears.

The next wildlife encounter, I thought was a bear out of shear startlement, but when I calmed myself, and found the head, it was a humungous bull moose who was equally as startled as I was.  It pranced into the woods, but in the clearing was its family.  It was then I was calm enough to take out the camera a snap a shot.



We finally arrived at out destination, Cascade Lake.  I would like to know how it got its name because there was no cascade in the area.  I was just thankful I didn't see a bear.  Although, we did run into an overnight hiker who said a bear was at the lake the evening before.



On our way back to the car, we ran into a Park Ranger.  He asked us if we saw any bear.  We let him know although we didn't see one, an overnighter saw one last night.  He said to just keep vigilant watch on our way out as a precaution.  His duty today was to scout the trails for bear activity. Hmm.
It was a productive 4 days.  So much to do and see. :)

An early morning

We decided to get up at 5:30 this morning so we could at least get in a 1/2 day of sightseeing in Eastern Idaho before taking the car in for repair.  We are so glad we did.  On our way to the Mesa Falls, there were 2 moose on the roadway.  I tried to get a picture, but those animals are fast.  They galloped off like horses, so all I got was a brown blurr.



It's a moose, trust me!  At the Falls, we had a hummingbird buzzing around us.  It too was too quick for a picture.  Now these Falls are worth the scenic drive to get there.  They have upper and lower.  We were the only ones at the park being it was only 7:30 by the time we arrived.  The air was misty and cool.

                               These few pictures are of the Mesa Upper Falls.

 

      The next few are taken at the Mesa Lower Falls.

I think this is a marmot scurrying around the tuffs.  He had a hidden stash of pine nuts.


This is the view on our way back to Idaho Falls of the Grand Tetons across the valley.



Well, the technician just came in.  The bad news, the part that came in from Denver is defective.  We are now on our way to rent a car so we can at least go to the Tetons for 24 hours before another part gets overnighted in from another area of the country.  Will let you know as soon as we are able to resume a "normal" part of our trip.  All I can keep telling myself is, "God has a plan, and He is guiding our steps to keep us safe, and give us the opportunity to maximize the pleasures of His beauty."  God knows best, and I put my trust in him. :)

Update on Vacation 2012

We were able to get our car right into the dealership in Layton, UT.  They were so kind and helpful.  The problem with the car is one of the front strutts.  The good news, it can be fixed.  The dilemma...they only have 1 available in the region, and that is in Denver!  The dealership along with most businesses are also closed on Tuesday because of Utah's Pioneer Days (their State Holiday celebrating the anniversary of becoming a state).  So, why was the dealership so kind?  They contacted another dealership in Idaho Falls, ID that will do the work, and ordered the part to be shipped there.  It's supposed to be in by 1:00pm on Tues.  Our car is still driveable, so Clif and I ventured to Idaho to see some sights.  When we got into the car, they had put 2 ice cold water bottles in the cup holders to enjoy along the way.  How sweet is that?!

We are now settled into a hotel in Rexburg, ID.  There are some unexpected fun things to do here.  We first visited Yellowstone Bear World.  It is a drive through wildlife refuge.  You are warned NOT TO OPEN YOUR WINDOWS.  We saw lots of wild animals, including grizzly bears!  I would much rather see one from the car, then meeting one face to face on a hike.



They also had lots of black bears that just roamed right around you, and weren't fenced in like the grizzlies.  You just had to keep your car moving, and they would eventually move back into the shoulder area of the road.




They also had a nursery.  Six cubs were born in January on the reserve.  They were playful little buggers!





And the store, well, let's just say I was in hog heaven.  Bears and moose everywhere.  I purchased a cute little moose to go above the kitchen cabinets to go along with the bears I have there.  So, siblings, that's the end of my "decor" gift card you got me for my birthday!  Thanks, I had a ball spending the money on Northwoods decor!!!



The next thing we did was tour the Teton Flood Museum.  That was really interesting.
Lastly, we meandered over to Porter Park.  What a gem of a park.  Clif has refused to go horseback riding since our honeymoon.  Needless to say, we froze riding horses through the snow.  Sooo, this was the next best thing...





Yep, that's right, a wooden carousel right at the edge of the park, and next to the Spray Center.



Small towns have such a nice flavor to them.  We finished off our day by having a picnic dinner in the park.  Chef's salad, courtesy of food left over in the cooler. :)

Thank you Lord for keeping us safe, and continue to do so as tomorrow early morning we are going to adventure to the Upper and Lower Mesa waterfalls before heading back to Idaho Falls to get the car fixed.  Pray for us that all goes accordingly.

Summer Vacation 2012

Clif and I have completed 1 week of our vacation out West.  Although we have had a few snafoos, we are having a great time.  We started out July 14 and headed for Dallas to visit Aunt Bev, and Cousin Jim and his wife Jane.  We had a wonderful visit.  The problem....our camera dropped on the concrete, and after much trying to get it to work, we gave up.  You can see it in the picture!




Then it was onto the Grand Canyon South Rim.  We camped at the Ten X Campground outside the park.  What a wonderful place.  Our next snafoo was all our electronic equipment died, and no way to charge it!  No cell phone, computer, camera, etc.  The camera officially died after this pose.  We had to buy a disposable camera to take the rest of our South Rim pictures. :(



After our 3 days here, we went to Flagstaff for some much needed supplies..ie: a car power inverter as well as a new camera!  When this was taken care of, onto the North Rim we went, staying here for 2 days.  It was so much more tranquil.  The hikes were so much easier too.



We were going to spend 1/2 day at Zion National Park.  This place is an absolute ZOO!  I am so glad we bought a National Park pass good for the year, because if we had paid $25 only to spend an hour I would have been livid.  The problem you ask?  No Parking ANYWHERE, not even on the pullouts.  People were stopping cars in the middle of the road just to get their photos.  A very hazardous situation indeed.  The good news...we saw Mountain Goats.



Over toward Bryce Canyon we ventured.  We stayed at the Red Canyon campground.  We were a little nervous as the sites are in the valley along a dried riverbed.  The host stated that only 6 times last year they had campers stranded in the campground due to flash floods.  He says, "if it happens, just know in 7 hours, the river will be low enough to be able to exit the campground!  I said my prayers.  Thank you God for answering them!



It was great being so close to Bryce Canyon NP because we were able to be in the park by 9:00 and enjoy 4 hours of hiking through the hoodoos.  They say, "take a walk through the Labyrinth (sp)."
They weren't kidding!







We are now headed north toward Yellowstone.  But, the snafoos continue.  Going through Salt Lake City, the car started making a squeaking noise over any bump we went over.  It sounds like something that either has to do with the suspension, or the axles.  We have overnighted here, and will be taking the car into the Chevy dealership first thing in the morning.  Good thing it's still under warranty!  Clif and I both agree that having this checked before venturing into more "mountain" driving is a good cautionary measure.  We are also grateful to have chosen to stay in a hotel rather than camp because a nasty weather system has moved in with gusting winds, rain, and lightning.  Aaahhh, the comforts of a room!  We even got much needed laundry done.  Yeah!

Don't know if I'll have another opportunity to post before getting home.  But we will continue to check in with the boys each time we reach a new destination.  It is awe inspiring to see all the Wonders God has created.  It is absolutely magnificent.  To all Glory be to God! :)