Grand Teton NP (English Version)

9/16/2011: Vernal - Jackson
Today was basically a long driving day in order to get us from Vernal (Utah) to Jackson (Wyoming). But of course we also did a bit of sightseeing. We started the day with an 8 mile drive north to Dry Fork Canyon. Here you can find some of North America's finest examples of early native petroglyphs, but reaching them can be a bit of a challenge, as it involves climbing a steep and rocky trail up to the canyon walls.
Next on our way north we came into Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. Flaming Gorge used to be the colourful canyon of the Green River, but was turned into a reservoir, when Flaming Gorge dam was built. The striking colours are still there though and especially in Red Canyon, it is easy to understand, why it is called the Flaming Gorge. The red of the canyon walls here is really stunning. We did a little stroll along the canyon rim and across the campground, which was deserted except for a bunch of bighorn sheep and a few mule deer grazing between the picnic tables.
After lunch we crossed the border to Wyoming and drove through a desertlike and pretty flat landscape to the north of this state. After Pinedale it was finally getting more mountainous again. Unfortunately we couldn't see much of the mountains, as the sky got mostly overcast with clouds and there were even some rain showers every now and then. When we reached Jackson at 6 pm it was dry again though. I'm glad we had made reservations here, as most of the hotels were fully booked because of the weekend and the arts festival. Even finding a restaurant, which was able to accommodate us, was a challenge, but we finally managed to get us something to eat.

9/17/2011: Jackson - Grand Teton - Jackson
On our first day in the Tetons, a mountain range which towers high above Jackson Hole, we started the day with a hike at Jenny Lake. After a short boattrip to the other side of the lake, we hiked up to lovely Hidden Falls, very scenic Inspiration Point and then a few miles into Cascade Canyon. We then turned around back to Jenny Lake and hiked along the lake shore back to our car. Although I had been carrying around my bearspray all day long, luckily we didn't run into any dangerous wildlife on this hike. Actually the only wildlife we saw while hiking were a few squirrels as well as a pika. After a quick sandwich we drove back to the main highway and from there north in direction of Jackson Lake. On the way there we saw plenty of buffalo and pronghorns. At Jackson Lake we turned back south, taking a little detour up Signal Mountain with a lovely view of Jackson Lake, the Tetons and the valley below. We also run into some mule deer on the way up, but weren't able to photograph them, as it was already too dark in the forest. Finally we left Grand Teton NP again and drove back to Jackson, where we arrived around 7 pm. But there was more on the program for today. Coming into Jackson we drove straight to the Rodeo Arena to attend the last Jackson Hole Night Rodeo of the season. It was a fun introduction into the world of cowboys. We saw bare back riding, bull riding, barrel racing and team roping. But the most fun were definitely the little kids trying to stay on the back of a sheep or a calf as long as possible. When the rodeo was done around 9 pm, we went back to the hotel and had a quick meal in our room, before going to bed.

9/18/2011: Jackson - Grand Teton NP - Jackson
Our second day in Grand Teton NP we started with a drive to the northern part of the park around Jackson Lake. On the way there we saw some buffalo and pronghorns again. We did a stroll to Lunch Hill near Jackson Lake Lodge, which offers a beautiful view over Willow Flats, Jackson Lake and of course the Tetons. Unfortunately we couldn't discover any moose munching on the willows of Willow Flats. After a coffee break at the lodge we drove on to Colter Bay Visitor Center en then back to the String Lake Trailhead, where we took a stroll to Leigh Lake and back. No bears or other big wildlife here either. Instead of this we saw a small snake crossing the trail right in front of us. Finally we had a look at the historic settlement at Menor's Ferry, before driving to the parking lot across the street from the Moose Visitor Center. This is the meeting point for the float trips on the Snake River. We were picked up by a minibus of the Barker-Ewing Co., which took us upstream to Deadman's Bar, where our raft was launched. The next two ours we spent with 10 other people plus our guide Travis floating slowly down the river. It was a wonderful experience with beautiful views of the Tetons and even some wildlife: some bald eagles, a mother moose and her calf and even an otter. Back at the parking lot there was another surprise waiting for us. Right across the river from where our raft landed were two male moose conveniently posing for us to take pictures of them. A fantastic experience. After another wonderful day in the park we ended the day with a delicious meal at Bubba's BBQ.

Beste mensen,
We zijn weer online. Het verhaal over Yellowstone NP is echter nog niet helemaal af, maar zodra dit wel het geval is, zullen we het uploaden. Nog even geduld dus a.u.b.!

Liebe Freunde,
Wir sind wieder online. Der Bericht über Yellowstone ist allerdings noch nicht ganz fertig, doch sobald es soweit ist, werden wir ihn hier publizieren. Wir bitten Euch deshalb noch um etwas Geduld. Danke!