Wyoming

GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK
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Grand Teton NP: Wyoming
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Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

	After camping at Grant Village in Yellowstone, and taking some much needed showers the following morning, we headed to Grand Teton National Park, which is just South of Yellowstone.  The parks actually border one another, and the $20 admission price to Yellowstone gains you admission to Grand Teton as well.  Even though the two parks are so close to one another, the terrain varies quite a bit between them.  As you drive into Grand Teton, razor like mountains ranging from 10,000 to 14,000 feet high pierce the blue sky and fluffy white clouds with their jagged peaks.  At the base of these magnificent mountains, the remnants of debris carried down glacier moraines formed large deposits of rock and soil (also known as terminal moraines).  Over the years, water trapped between the mountain and this debris formed Jenny Lake, and large forests grew along the edge of the moraine, now banks of the lake.  As Jenny Lake continues to be fed each year by melting glaciers, streams, waterfalls, rain and snow, some of the water escapes and feeds into the Snake River just a few miles away.  

We actually spent a few hours hiking around Jenny Lake, a few more up to some gorgeous water falls, and then onto Inspiration Point.  From the point, you can look down into the valley, where you have a good view of Jenny lake, the Snake River and miles and miles of plains, while behind you, the mountains of the Grand Teton loom over you.   (For those inclined to be a bit lazier, you can take a ferry across the lake and hike the few miles up to the falls and/or Inspiration Point from there, and then take the ferry back).  

As we drove out of the park through Eastern Wyoming, we saw quite a few bison roaming the plains, as well as some old prairie homesteads. Although we were hoping to catch a moose sighting or two along the Snake River, we did not see one.  But, we did learn some interesting facts about moose.  Apparently, they feed on the willows and vegetation along the banks of the river, streams and ponds.  They can also dive 17 feet under water to feed on the vegetation at the bottom of pond and river beds, and can hold their breath for at least a minute.  Fascinating!
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