Day 8-Grand Tetons and Jackson Hole

We tore down camp early and exited Yellowstone through the South Enterance. Our plan was to quickly pass through Grand Tetons National Park on our way to Salt Lake City and, ultimately, Malibu. I had forgotten tht we have 2 nights before Malibu so that will take the pressure off of the 17-hour commute.

I find it difficult to form words that adequately explain my first impressions of the Grand Teton mountain range. At 13,775 feet, Grand Teton rises forcefully and majestically out of the earth and dominates the skyline along with its surrounding peaks. The only comparison I can think of that I have seen is the Austrian Alps. They say that the Rocky Mountains, of which the Grand Tetons is a member is actually higher, but the alps rise more quickly so as to appear of greater altitude.

We stopped at the Jackson Lake Lodge to catch the view of Grand Tetons from the 60-foot window of the hotel. Wow! As with the Grand Canyon, the sight of this range creates a spontaneous sort of reverence. We will post pics but I fear they cannot do justice to the sight in person.

We also found ourselves captivated by the wifi signal that allowed us to catch up on our communication! It has been nice to shed our dependence on modern technology if only for awhile,  but it is also convenient to be able to quickly communicate through our various digital outlets.

We stopped in Jackson Hole for some quick exploration and to grab a bite to eat. The town of Jackson, Wyoming sometimes mistakenly called Jackson Hole, Wyoming carries some significance to me as the location where as a 5-year old on an overnight stay enroute to a camping tripYellowstone, I learned to swim. The valley surrounding Jackson is believed to have been named by trappers descending the mountains into what seemed like a hole. We entered a couple of shops
then settled on a local eatery overlooking the square. The corner borders of the square are entered
through arches made of antlers gathered when the local elk and moose shed them each year. The antlers are solid and fall off as opposed to horns which must be sawed off and are hollow.

After lunch we headed back to the motorhome and began our drive across the Wyoming wilderness back into Utah for the night. Throughout the drive we saw what looked like unfinished and unconnected fences along the sides of the road. The gas station attendant in Kimmerer, Wyoming told us that they are to keep snow drifts from covering the highway. I told him about how we in. Alabama deal with 1-inch dustings of snow in Alabama. He. Was neither amused nor impressed. He said that snow can fall as early as September and still be on the ground as late as June!

Since we didn't have a reservation, we decided to pull in where there was a decent RV park that had wifi so Tessa could continue her online Western Civ class. We found that park about an hour outside Salt Lake in Coalville, Utah. All utilities,limited cable and wifi for $29 a night. Now that's travelin'! I turned in early to try and get rid of a headache that I think is being brought on by hours behind the wheel. Complaining? No Way!

Tomorrow: 7-hour drive to Las Vegas.