As we mentioned at the end of yesterday’s post, we wanted to get an early start to Grand Teton — despite it being so close — because we knew we’d have to battle for a campsite. We were up and on the road before 7 AM, and arrived at the park before 11 AM. (This marks our first two-time visit, and it was so worth it!)
The first campground we got to (Jenny Lake) was already full, and so was the second (Signal Mountain). Grrrr — early morning for nothing? The third campground (Colter Bay) didn’t seem full, but it had quite the line waiting to check in. While waiting, we realized there was another campground (Gros Ventre) that was closer to all of our points of interest — and was one that “normally does not fill,” according to the Park’s newspaper.
We headed south to Gros Ventre, got ourselves a site without issue, and headed to the nearby town of Jackson to explore.
We walked around, shopped (new ornament for the Christmas Tree, etc.), and then stopped at Snake River Brew Company for lunch.
After refilling, we continued to walk around. We found a place called “Vertical Harvest” which is exactly what it sounds like — a garden on 1/10 of an acre that grows an amount of food equal to 5 acres of land!
Soon enough, though, we were exhausted and went back to camp for a snooze. Once rejuvenated, we headed back to the Park to explore.
Though the clouds looked ominous, we really wanted to have our dinner in the shadow of these greats so we stuck around for a bit. What a great decision that turned out to be.
Over the course of the next hour, we saw quite the storm front move in across the mountain range, start dumping rain on us, then continue on to the northeast.
The result was an incredibly complete and vivid rainbow, and striking contrasts in the sky around us.
After the storm clouds passed, we cooked up a complete dinner of grilled chicken, potatoes, and zucchini.
With our bellies full, we enjoyed the sunset and made our way back to camp. No fire tonight because we’d be up early again tomorrow for a day full of hiking.
Arco, ID to Grand Teton National Park, WY – 170 miles (3.5 hours)
-Ally and Patrick
