Escape

Day 1

It was 4 weeks post-surgery and I was itching to get out of town.  After all the medical testing, surgery, and recovery, I felt like I had missed half of summer.  We couldn’t afford anything fancy, so we knew this would be a camping trip.  But that was okay; we love to camp.  We decided to head for one of the most beautiful places in the west—Grand Teton National Park.

On Monday, we watered the garden, loaded up our clothes, food, bikes, and camping gear, and then we said goodbye to the dogs and were on our way.  And it wasn’t even noon yet!  For us to be on the road that early is nothing short of a miracle.  Lunch was at the Wendy’s in Mountain Home, about an hour from our house.

Driving along I-84 in southern Idaho is not the most exciting of trips.  Mile after mile it’s almost nothing but sagebrush.  The mountains in the distance were partially obscured by smoke, mostly from the Halstead Fire in central Idaho, plus some more local fires.  Periodically we stopped at a rest stop to stretch our legs.  We pulled into our motel in Jackson, Wyoming, around 8:00 p.m.  After checking in we drove to the center of town and began walking to find a place to eat.  The town was full of tourists, many with cameras, and it appeared that it was essential to have one’s picture taken in front of one of the four elkhorn arches at the square.  We didn’t.  We finally settled on a Tex-mex restaurant called The Merry Piglets—I really enjoyed my fish tacos.

Day 2

We were up fairly early the next morning.  Breakfast was muffins and coffee, and then we hit the road and arrived at Grand Teton National Park around 9 a.m.  Our goal was to find a campsite at Jenny Lake but we were already too late—the campground was full.  So we headed to the Signal Mountain area and drove through the campground.  We were assured there would be campsites available so we drove around again.  And again.  And again and again.  Finally, we found a large campsite at the highest point in the campground.  Unlike most of the other sites, ours had a view of the Tetons plus a bit of a view of Jackson Lake.  How lucky is that?  We proceeded to unpack and set up camp.  Although we had planned to go do something, we ended up staying in the campground.  We relaxed and read.  We located the bathrooms, water, and amphitheater.  The bathrooms, with flush toilets, were down a steep hill via a little trail—this ended up being a major source of exercise for us.  We took a short walk down to the convenience store and bought ice cream bars.  Bob put up the hammocks and we took naps.  Dinner was leftover salads out of our icebox.  After a small campfire and s’mores, we walked over to the amphitheater for a ranger-led program about earthquakes and the geology of the park.  It was a good day.

Day 3

Wednesday was the day for bike riding.  I was excited to do this because I bought a new comfort bike 2 days before we left home.  We parked at South Jenny Lake (along with hundreds of other people).  After talking with a helpful ranger in the Visitor Center there, we located the multi-use path and headed out.  The path is paved, smooth, and mostly level.  Although the air was rather smoky due to wildfires, the path runs between the main road and the Tetons, providing great vistas.  My spirits soared as I pedaled along this magnificent mountain range which rises 10,000 feet straight up from the valley floor.  We stopped a few times to read the tourist information signs and to take photos.  We biked approximately 7.3 miles to the Visitor Center at Moose.  After locking up our bikes, we spent some time viewing the exhibits inside the center.

Rested, we mounted our bikes for the return trip.  We could have gone on to Jackson via the trail but we had no desire to leave the park.  The first part of this return included a very steep section which allowed me to test the lowest gears on my bike.  When we reached the top we were rewarded with a beautiful view of the Tetons.  In fact, I think the ride back afforded us a better view of the mountains.  Our bike outing was the best part of our day.

Day 4

Thursday was a good day to stretch our legs a bit.  We put on shorts and laced up our hiking boots, and drove to Two Ocean Lake.  The lake is not far from our campsite, but the trip did require driving on dirt roads—most of the main roads are paved.  We decided to take a short walk on the trail that runs along the west side of the lake.  The vegetation was lush with some lovely wildflowers and berries; obviously there were many more flowers earlier in the summer.  As we walked, we periodically clapped our hands so any bears in the area would hear us coming and not be surprised.  This is bear country.  You don’t want to surprise a bear, especially one with a cub.  The view of the lake was limited through the trees so after a while we turned around and headed back to the parking area.  We pulled out our food and sat down at a picnic table for a late lunch.  While we ate, a group from Rhodes Scholars—grandparents, parents, and kids—returned from a canoe outing on the lake.  We chatted with a few of the grandmas for a bit.

After lunch we hiked up another trail towards Emma Matilda Lake. This trail was much more open, with vast expanses of grass and green-gray sagebrush interspersed with a variety of evergreens.  Once we reached the crest of the hill we could see the lake in the distance, but the trail actually bypasses the lake.  The Tetons rose in the distance, but sadly, due to the smoke they were barely visible.  When the trail began to turn downhill and away from the lake, we decided to turn around and hike back to the car.  Next we returned to our campsite for a little reading and relaxation—it was another satisfying day.

8/9/12