The morning started even before it was time to get up. Dick looked out the window at first light and found that not only was the Grand Teton silhouetted against the early light of the sky but that Venus was brightly shining in the nearby sky. What a wonderful surprise.
A Sunny day AT LAST. We woke up ready to get up into the mountains from the West side and see some lovely sites.
Thankfully, a nice volunteer from the Teton Geotourism Center had given us a couple of tips of great hikes, and so we headed off just down the road to Teton Canyon. First, we went on a really nice path called The Sheep’s Bridge Trail. We crossed the bridge within a few hundred yards. Teton Creek was really high from the snow melt, passing just a foot under the bridge.
The path on the other side of the stream passed from deep woods to open meadows. We could feel the springy feeling under our feet as we walked on the pine needles covering the trail.
The chatter from the trees alerted us to the presence of a pair of red squirrels. They were alerting others to our presence. They stayed in trees on opposite sides of the path and seemed to be talking with each other while watching us. What a treat!
Along both sides of the path was a virtual garden filled with so many different wildflowers. It took us a while to walk it (even though it was just a couple of miles) because we had to stop to take pictures so often. Flowers, flowers, flowers!
Then we drove another couple of miles down that same gravel road and found an area that was marked by signs as “congested”. Well, these folks had apparently not seen what it is like over on the Eastern busier side of the Tetons because it still was so quiet. At the end of the road was the trailhead for the Teton Canyon Trail. We met some nice people in the parking lot, including a really nice family with 20+ people of all ages hiking. They were having a family reunion this weekend and wanted a hike with just their immediate family to start off the weekend. We also met a few others on the trail…but mostly it was just us and the wildflowers and the scenery. This was a much more maintained trail than we had been on earlier.
Oh, and the waterfalls. Yes, there were several waterfalls just coming down off the cliffs. Stunning and lovely, again! The air was warming but smelled so fresh, filled with the scents of the trees and flowers.
Oh, did we say we saw more flowers? There were so many beautiful flowers. We took so many photos, here are a sample from this hike.
When we reached the area where we planned on turning around we found a large ice field that was melting in the sun, allowing alpine flowers to bloom in the freshly uncovered earth. We were surrounded by snow-covered peaks. Wow!!
We walked may about 6 miles round trip there, and were sad to have to come back to our car. There were some areas where there still was snow, but mostly GREEN and filled with flowers. What a great hike!
But we needed to come back because we also needed to get up on the top of one of the mountain to the ski resort. We had been up there a couple days earlier, as the storms were moving in. Dark and dreary then. Today, SUNSHINE!
But first, we had to stop for a better look at a large patch of scarlet paintbrush that we had seen as we drove to the trailhead. When Dick went around the little lake to get a better view and closer photos, he discovered a hummingbird was feasting on the nectar in the many flowers. What an unexpected blessing.
We had a lunch out on the patio of the ski resort, and then hopped on the chairlift to go up to the top. A little scarier than the enclosed gondola that we rode on the other side of the mountains in Teton Village, but a very nice, safe ride.
At the top, it was chilly! We went from 55 degrees F down below to 44 at the top. We both wished we had brought another layer of clothes.
But still, it was a great view. The closest that we had been able to see the Grand Tetons, especially the Grand Teton, Middle Teton, and South Teton,-the three tallest and most famous of the mountains. From the observation platform, we could look at them and stare and soak in the majesty.
We had a great talk with a local family where the father had climbed the Grand Teton, as well as hiking, at least 12 times up a lower mountain called the Table Mountain that we could much closer to the peaks. It turns out that that hike (maybe taking about 10 hours) was something that the local Boy Scouts and High School Wrestling and Football Teams, would all do each year to prove their toughness. We were impressed. We talked with them for quite some time. Always neat to understand the local customs.
Dick was delighted to see his first Golden Mantel Ground Squirrel of the trip. This one was quite willing to pose for a photo.
Then we spent some time in the nature hut talking with the naturalists and trying to identify flowers that we had photographed. Very fun. Then chairlift back down, and back to our Airbnb house. A quick detour to pick up some groceries and carry out Chinese food completed the day.
As the day ended we could see the color of the sunset casting a purple hue to the Grand Teton. Dick went outside to capture a photo of the final stages of the sunset. Glorious! We adore this side of the Tetons and will be back.
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