Grand Tetons National Park

August 2, 2005

This was our favorite view along our loop drive through the Grand Tetons National Park. This view was from the location called Oxbow, where the Snake River makes an oxbow bend. There were heavy storm clouds over the mountains and occasional lightning and thunder.

As we entered the park loop road from Jackson the view was of lovely green tree-dotted hills over the valley of sage. We could see a thundershower in the distance. Even with the showers, this valley is classified as a high desert because its glacial morraine structure quickly drains the water from the thin layer of soil.

The thundershowers intensified as we drove along, so this was obviously going to be a different view of the Tetons than our previous trip.

At a turnout early on the park road we got this wide view of the Tetons. Brenda is standing in the sagebrush which covers the valley floor. As the view of one of the glaciers at right shows, the mountains were dark and forboding with the heavy storm clouds.

We got nice views of the Snake River through the trees in this setting of nice green hills.

This was our favorite spot in this area, a wide oxbow bend in the Snake River with views of Mt. Moran and the surrounding Tetons. There were lots of birds on the water, ducks, geese and some black birds I didn't recognize.

We drove around to the Jackson Lodge. You get a great view of the Tetons through the picture windows of the Lodge. Outside the Lodge was a great viewing area for the wide sweep of the Tetons.

We spent some time relaxing on the benches outside the lodge. You looked across a willow flat to the Jackson Lake and the mountains beyond. A bunch of people were out there with binoculars watching a moose grazing on the willows in the distance.

Even with the dark thunderstorm conditions, the outline of the Tetons above Jackson Lake is a dramatic view.

We drove on around to the Jenny Lake road which gives closer views of the mountains. Brenda wanted to take the shot at right because it is the location of one of Jeff's favorite stories about the '82 trip. Rod was so excited with the views here that he pulled out of the turnout without stopping at the stop sign - with a Park Ranger sitting right there. The Ranger pulled him over and asked "Didn't you see that stop sign?" Jeff's version of Rod's reply is "Yes, but I didn't see you!" We didn't get a ticket, and the views of Grand Teton above left and Mt. Moran above right are some of the greatest in the park.

We drove to Jenny Lake as another nostalgia point. You can barely see the shuttle boat delivering people to the point where you walk to hidden falls and Inspiration Point. We had ridden the boat across and hiked to Inspiration Point in '82 and it was one of the more memorable moments of the visit here. It is now the busiest location in the Park according to one of the Rangers at the Visitor's Center in Jackson.

We looped on past the Moose Visitor Center where we were to come early in the morning. Brenda had booked us spots on the scenic float down the Snake River, and had booked us a tiny room in Jackson for the night. We settled in for the night after a very full day.