Our campground is surrounded by forest, with many trails to hike. Jackson Lake is a few hundred yards away, where visitors can kayak, canoe, fish, or take a lake cruise. We have seen elk, prong-horned antelope, bison, and moose here. There are also bears, which we have yet to see, but that's okay with me.
Grand Teton National Park is small in comparison to Yellowstone. It is another one of those small gems that I like so much. Yellowstone can be overwhelming, just because of its size. One would have to stay there two or three weeks to see it all. The Tetons can be explored in a couple of days, but linger a few days longer to hike, bike, kayak, fish, or climb to truly experience it all.
The Grand Teton mountain range is spectacular. It is about 50 miles long, and was pushed up many thousands of years ago when the Farallon plate pushed its way underneath the ancient inland sea. In a series of violent earthquakes, what became the Tetons rose on the west side, while the sea floor sank 4000 feet on the east side. In the example below (from a park exhibit), the yellow represents the sea floor. The left side rose while the right side sank. This is why, today, there is such an abrupt demarcation between the flat plain on the east and the mountain range on the west side of the fault zone.
Next, erosion took place. Glaciers carved today's peaks and valleys. Then weather (rain, snow, and freezing and melting temperatures) were added to the mix. Plants and trees, by spreading their roots, made additional changes to the landscape.
The Grand Teton mountain range is spectacular. (Did I already say that? It cannot be said enough.) The rugged mountains that make up the range are solid rock. And they are always changing. As we drive, hike, or boat, the vistas constantly change. As the sun moves across the sky, or as clouds come and go, the mountains change.
My favorite mountain is Mount Moran, but that is probably because I know a little bit about Thomas Moran, after whom it is named. Moran was known for his landscapes, and particularly for his landscapes of the American West. When Ferdinand Hayden led a U.S. expedition to the west to survey "the territories" in 1871, he brought along William Jackson, photographer, and Thomas Moran, painter. Their jobs were to document what they saw. Since photography was black and white in those days, Moran's skills were essential to document the splendid colors of places like Yellowstone. Jackson's photographs and Moran's paintings were used to convince Congress to preserve the Yellowstone region, and Yellowstone became the first national park in the U.S.
We are staying at the RV campground in Colter Bay Village. Colter Bay is a very protected harbor on Jackson Lake, and is named after John Colter, the first person of European descent to discover Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons when he explored the area in 1807-08. (Colter was first a member of the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery in 1804-06, but is best known for his later discoveries.) No matter where you are in the park, the Tetons are always the majestic backdrop:
There are three Teton peaks, so named by early French trappers. Grand Teton, already mentioned, is the highest in the range. The other two are South Teton and Middle Teton.
Now for a series of the Teton mountain range taken at various times of day and under various conditions:
Jackson Lake, by the way, was named after William Jackson, Hayden's photographer:
The photo below is of a sailboat on the far side of Jackson Lake, at the foot of Mount Moran. What a fantastic view the people on that boat must have had! The boat is sitting in a sliver of sunlight.
Sunset through the clouds! This is the most awesome sunset I have ever seen, and is deserving of more than one photo:
One cannot help but fall in love with these mountains. The first or second day we were driving on the highway that runs through the park from south to north, parallel to the mountain range. As we drove, the sun would disappear behind a mountain peak then reappear as we passed a valley in the mountains. I saw several sunsets that day!!
