Fri., May 16, 2008--Arriving at Grand Tetons

Thursday night we had a great view of a colorful sunset out the front window of the rv!

We knew we were only staying one night in Landers so we left the car hooked behind the rv. Bob checked it Friday morning to make sure it was still ready to tow.

We left Lander and headed for Grand Teton National Park. Along the way we stopped for an entire school to cross the highway. They were on a field trip to Ft. Washakie, Wyoming. It reminded Joyce of the evacuations one year at Discovery Elementary!

As we neared DuBois, WY we stopped at a pull-out to let traffic pass and spotted this moose out for a morning walk.

A little further down the road we saw more of the red sandstone that leaves red dust everywhere after a mild breeze.

We finally started the long climb through the mountains. We were traveling along Wyoming Scenic Highway! You can barely see the sign for the snow!
A semi stopped on the downhill portion of the road. We had to wait for road repairs. A landslide took out a portion of the road about 1/4 mile ahead of us.

Not long after we made it through the repair area we got our first glimpse of the Tetons. Look at all that snow!
We still had a long, steep downhill grade to go before the road leveled out at Grand Teton National Park.

We took a quick break at the entrance sign near Moran Junction. We were headed to Colter Bay Campground north east of Jackson Lake.

As we drove in the entrance we saw a sign listing the campgrounds---Colter Bay was CLOSED!! We drove to Teton Park Road and headed south toward Gros Ventre (grow von) Campground at the southern end of the park. We hoped there were sites available.

We arrived at Gros Ventre to find that of the 7 loops for campers, only 2 were open. We unhooked the car and drove it through the campground to find a good site. Many of the sites were too small for our camper, but we did find 3 open that would do. Site 194 was our choice since it was long enough and it was not covered with trees. The sun would be able to hit the solar panels for most of the day. None of the sites at Gros Ventre have water or electric hookups. Our solar panels are getting quite a workout.

After we set up, we drove the car back to Teton Park Road to check out Jenny Lake. We wanted to kayak across the lake to the Hidden Falls Trail. Well....that won't happen unless the lake melts in the next few days! This is where we would launch the kayaks!
As we were getting in the car, we saw 2 guys watching something in the trees with binoculars and their zoom camera. We quietly walked over and saw this moose. Bob waited for it to come out of the bushes before snapping its picture. It is eating the new growth from the bushes.

Next, we drove the Jenny Lake scenic drive. The lake was frozen on the east side, too! But we did have some great views of the lake with the Tetons behind it.
Our last stop was at the shuttle dock. In the summer months, a boat shuttle takes people across Jenny Lake to the trailheads for Hidden Waterfall and Cascade Canyon. I don't think the shuttle will be running any time soon! The area around the dock has thawed, but not the lake. It was peaceful and calm. The trees were reflected in the lake. I hope we can see the mountains reflected in the lake before we leave the area.