Grand Teton
August 8 – August 10, 2021
Please enjoy some properly majestic music as we discuss one of the most beautiful, majestic places in America.
From our campground east of Yellowstone, we hauled our rig through the park itself, heading out the south gate directly into Grand Teton National Park.
It was a scenic drive, and we stopped for a picnic lunch on the shores of Yellowstone Lake.
We exited the northern section of Grand Teton and arrived at our stop for the next three nights, Fireside Buffalo Valley RV Park. This park was not terribly impressive, but it does hold the distinction of being the most expensive campground we have ever paid for at around $93/night, which is why we only stayed here for three nights.
It at least had a convenient gas station on site where we fueled up for $4.09/gallon of diesel, which felt exorbitant at the time, but writing this in April 2022, I’d gladly pay today.
After setting up, we had some time to head back into the park. First, just past the park entrance we got our inflatable kayak inspected for zebra mussels and received a permit to allow us to paddle it inside the park. Then we visited the Colter Bay visitor’s center, picked up a Junior Ranger workbook for Izzy, and paid for additional boating permits.
The next day, we set out to explore. Grand Teton has plenty of wilderness and wildlife, but not like Yellowstone. The big draw for the park, in my humble opinion, are the gorgeous mountain views. Distant wildfires had been putting a haze in the air for the last few weeks, but had just cleared up, so we were actually able to see the Tetons.
One of the sites to visit in the park is an old barn. It doesn’t seem to be terribly historically significant, but it is well preserved, looks old and rustic, and has the mountains behind it, which is enough for it to claim to be the most photographed barn in the world (famous for being famous?) and to have it’s own Wikipedia page. Izzy was not impressed and is still quite vocal in her dislike for the old barn if you ask her about it today.
Next, we stopped by Kelly Warm Spring. At only 80° F, it is too cool to be a hot spring, but it is the right temperature for tropical fish. Over the years, some people have dumped their aquariums out here and there are now exotic fish you’d normally find at the pet store living in the spring.
After about a week straight of picnic lunches, we headed south of the park into the city of Jackson for lunch. On the way back, we stopped at the Jackson National Fish Hatchery to see some bigger, native fish. They have a little pond on site and allow fishing, so bring your pole if you visit.
Heading back into the park, we drove past the Jackson Hole Airport which is the only commercial airport inside a national park. I’d love to fly in someday, I’m sure the views are amazing.
We then explored the area around Jenny Lake.
Then we drove up Signal Mountain and ate a picnic dinner at the peak.
After dinner, we popped into Signal Mountain Marina to check it out for our planned kayaking trip the next day. On the way out, Izzy spotted this bull elk, one of the few big animals we saw at the park.
On the way back to the RV, we stopped at Oxbow Bend to enjoy magic hour.
The next day, we headed out early to get a parking spot at the Signal Mountain Marina. We inflated the kayak and hit the waters of Jackson Lake. Our little inflatable kayak moves like a brick through the water, so after some tough paddling, we stopped for a break on the rocky southern shore of an island called Donaho Point.
Despite the lack of vegetation there were a bunch of curious bees hanging out there, so we quickly put back into the water. Our views were fantastic as we were paddling towards the mountains. The weather was also great as it wasn’t too hot despite the sun.
Our goal was to make it to Elk Island, but due to moving so slowly, we never made it. Instead we stopped at what we think was Marie Island. It’s so tiny it doesn’t even show up on most maps. We ate the lunch we packed with us and hiked around a bit.
After lunch we headed back to the marina. The wind had picked up and luckily was pushing us back to shore which allowed us to make the trip in half the time. If we had to paddle against it, I’m not sure we we would have made it!
Several hours paddling in the sun left us exhausted, so after we hauled out we headed back to the rig to start packing up. Our time in Grand Teton was short, but very memorable!
Until next time, see you down the road.