Grand Teton National Park - 8/21/14

The day started out rainy, chilly, and, clearly (no pun intended) not the best weather for a visit to the Grand Tetons. But our friends from many years ago (Lynn and Peggy) who had stayed at the beautiful Old Faithful Inn the last couple of nights, had reservations in Colter Lake Cabins at Grand Teton National Park and invited us to join them for a one-day tour.

Lynn lives in MT and has visited this beautiful park many, many times. In the last several years, Peggy (from SC) has met Lynn here to hike, float down the Snake River, and enjoy the beautiful scenery and wildlife at the Grand Tetons. We didn't want to pass up the opportunity for a guided tour with friends, regardless of the weather! And what a wonderful time we had.

Colter Bay

Chipmunk.

Jackson Lake.

Jackson Lake Lodge: This lodge was originally looked like an out-of-place, modernistic, cement structure when it was build in the late 1950s.Today, the surrounding grounds and interior improvements have made it quite lovely. Be sure to check out the photos in the hallway at the top of the stairs in the lobby where there are photos of the original building and famous visitors including: JFK, Lady Bird Johnson, Richard Nixon, and others.

Also, the gift shop shop on the second floor has beautiful items for sale. Lynn found a small carved wooden wolf there that was exactly what I wanted ... after seeing one in the wild last night. The lobby has large floor to ceiling windows that provide an awesome view of the lake.

And two large fire places provide the cozy atmosphere needed on a rainy day!

Jenny Lake: Here are some photos of the beautiful lake with the mountains shrouded in clouds.

Loved these berries.

The Episcopal Chapel of the Transfiguration: The chapel was built 1925 to frame a view of the Cathedral Group of peaks in a large window behind the altar (instead of the traditional stained glass).

It is a log structure with an entrance canopy that houses the chain-pull bell and a sidewalk leading to the entrance.

Chapel.

Interior.

Two stained glass windows can be seen upon entry to the chapel.

Mormon Barn ~ 1908.

View from Mormon Rd.

Beautiful weed (Lynn is teaching me how to take better photos!)

Schwabacher Road: After parking in the lot, we took a walk down the path along a branch of the Snake River. As you can see by the photos, the weather had considerably improved. This was our favorite stop of the day...just spectacular!

There are multiple beaver lodges and dams here. (See the lodge in lower middle of photo?)

See the tall tree on left?

This is what the beavers are doing to the bottom of it...

Chubby ground squirrel.

Lilies center left.

Close up of lilies.

Reflections.

Love this place!

Snake River Overlook.

We ran into road construction on the way back to Colter Bay to pick up our car (Lynn was both tour guide and driver!) We met this cute young man who worked the summer at the park. He starts his senior year next Monday. Good luck to him!

Leeks Marina: We ended the day with pizza and Greek salad at the restaurant at Leeks Marina and ate on the deck with a good view of the marina and lake. The food and companionship were both great.

Sincere thanks to Lynn and Peggy for a fabulous day. We never would have seen so much in such a short period time on our own. We will definitely visit this beautiful national park again in the future, but we were so glad we were able to see some of the highlights during our stay at West Yellowstone. (It was approximately 2 hours each way.)

There are seven lodging areas in the Grand Tetons as well as RV and tent camping sites and a variety of restaurants, general stores, visitor centers, and gift shops. Check out their web site for details.

Website: www.nps.gov/grte