Grand Tetons and just a taste of Yellowstone

Hello August - Grand Tetons we six coming at ya

 When we left Liv's we went out Hwy 2 to Sandpoint then continued on to Hwy 200 which runs south along the Clark Fork river. Our next destination was Grand Teton National Park. We wanted to get there before the weekend started knowing the campgrounds would fill up. I opted for a long day the first leg. Then find a spot to camp where we could leave early and get to the Tetons early Friday morning.

It's the reverse route we had taken on our year 2000 motorcycle trip from Colorado to Washington. As usual we chose scenic over speed. This is one of the most beautiful routes in the Northwest part of the US. Part of the beauty is that it's mostly unknown to travelers so it's traffic free until you get to Missoula Montana. At Missoula we got on the freeway for a short 5 miles or so and then continued on hwy 93 south and back into Idaho. Again we were driving virtually traffic free in some awesome country. For this route you stay on hwy 93 until you get to Salmon then veer left onto hwy 28. When we got down into this area we began looking for campgrounds. The map did not show too many and Denise's app. was not helping much either. I didn't want to get too close to the Tetons as the cost would go way up. Here in the back roads costs are much better as is availability. 

 Shortly after turning onto hwy 28 I spotted a sign for a campground. We were about 250 miles from Grand Teton so roughly 3 hours drive in the morning. Denise couldn't find any info but we decided to turn around and check it out. Luckily we didn't have to go far to find a place to get the trailer turned around and back we went. The camp ground was BLM land. It's called McFarland and it was a hidden gem. It has 10 campsites and cost is only $5.00 or in our case half of that. $2.50 for a nice spot. It was our best price for a pay site. There was no electricity but there was water. We didn't really need either as we had water in the tank and of course the batteries for light. 

 We left the trailer hitched to the truck so that we could get an early start.

McFarland pretty much our choice of sites.

The pad was pretty level - We stayed hitched to the truck

 

 

We got there in enough time to get dinner cooked before sundown. I took Pata to do some exploring. We were on the banks of the Lehmi river and the area was nice. It's arid there but with water in the river it made for a nice stay. The neighbor had been fishing and caught a cutthroat trout. There was a big sign on the information board stating that cutthroat we protected and to be released if caught. I guess he didn't read that.
 There were some horses across the highway so I went over there to say hi. The were very friendly and I enjoyed talking to them and petting them as the sun slid down in the west. It was not  a spectacular sunset but was very pleasant. After a 90' day it cooled of rapidly and we had no need of air conditioning.

Barn in the field alongside the campground

Bridge over Lehmi River

Ranch adjacent to BLM land

A couple of the horses across the highway

Brewers Blackbird

 Almost sundown

Another herd of horses on our side of the highway

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Sunset and then back to the trailer to go to bed for and early rise 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Sunrise at McFarland after a rainy night. Onward to Grand Teton NP 

 

 

We got on the road Thursday morning before 7:30 for the drive to Grand Teton. Going down hwy 28 you veer to the left at Mud Lake where the hwy number turns to 33. Also known as the Teton Byway. We stopped at Victor to fuel up get some propane and a few supplies before getting to the park.  The road makes a hard turn south at Tetonia. Here there were a lot of new houses that had gone up in the eighteen years since we had last come through here. This is on the west side of the Tetons and is considerably drier here than on the east side. After you pass Victor and enter Wyoming the highway again changes numbers this time to 22. You also begin to climb. You must go over Teton Pass in order to get to the park. The pass is 8431' and has a maximum grade of 10%. It's very pretty but does require you to pay attention to the road not the scenery.

 On the other side of the pass the park begins. There is no entry booth until you get to moose junction however. We took the road to Jackson and went through town heading to Gros Ventre Campground . We had stayed here a couple of times in the past and it's usually one of the last campgrounds to fill up. We got there and got into line. The new thing at Tetons now is to go to the office and they will tell you which, if any sites are open. You then select it before going and setting up. We got a ADA  site at the back of one of the loops. It was still early, before noon so we had time to set up and then do some exploring. We got a site for 3 nights.  Not what you want to really see the park but we were on a time schedule now so it would have to do. It was very hazy here from all the forest fires in California and probably some from Canada as well. Visibility is poor and there were times when you had to be right below the mountains to see them. You will see this in the photo's that follow. We didn't get out of the haze until we reached New Mexico.

Mormon Fritillary 

Mountain Chickadee 

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Scarlet Gilia

Mormon Fritallary

The haze from the forest fires is clearly visible at this time of day.

  Sagebrush Sheep Moth- Hemileuca hera

Pronghorn Antelope 

This one was just across the walkway from where I was standing. I put the camera to my eye focused and

Hello! This young fellow walked right up to me. I had to back off the zoom to get him in the frame. I try to give wildlife their space but sometimes they get into your space.

He's a cute little guy. 

 

 

 After we ate dinner we drove to Mormon Row to see what we could see for the sunset. It cooperated nicely!

The smoke in the air did give us nice sunsets 

 

 

We both liked the area around Mormon Row and that became our ingress and egress from Gros Ventre to the rest of the park. There is a gravel road that goes through it that cuts about 5 miles off the hardtop road that loops around to the campground. As usual it got very little traffic also plus it was home to a myriad of wildlife.
   

American Goldfinch was right outside the trailer at the campsite

Red-tailed Hawk on Mormon row

Red-tailed hawk

The peaks early morning mostly smoke free

Red-tailed hawk

Receding glacier

Mountain Bluebird

Elk on the road going up Signal Mountain

View from top of Signal Mountain

Mormon Fritillary

Richardson's Geranium

Monkshood

Mourning cloak

  Dark-eyed Junco- Junco hyemalis

Song Sparrow

Canada goose

Western Yellow Pond-Lily

Western Meadowlark

Western Kingbird

Pronghorn along Mormon row

Pronghorn

American Kestrel

Western meadowlark along Mormon row

 

Cow Moose seen at Gros Ventre campground while walking Pata

 

Black-capped chickadee 

Moose

 

 

Time of course blazed by and  all too soon it was the last day. Denise had been asking me where I wanted to hike. She knows that this is what I love to do and even though she is unable to make the distance but she generously not only allows me to do it she encourages me. I don't like leaving her because I never know how long it will take me to do a hike and she has to pick me up. I try to estimate the best I can but you never know what side trips might appeal or how much time will be spent taking photo's. I really wanted to hike the cascade canyon trail but it's 14.6 miles and I knew I would not be able to complete it in the 9 hours that the guide book says. I always add at least 2 hours to a long hike for photos and that is sometimes short of actual. I finally decided on Jenny Lake loop which passes Cascade Canyon on the backside of the lake. I thought that if I was making good time I could maybe go a mile or so up the canyon just to see part of it. It's 7 miles around the lake and it's estimated to be 4.5 hours so 6.5 by my estimate. Denise dropped me at the boat launch and off I went. There are no trails in National parks where dogs are allowed so Pata had to sit this one out. I like taking her hiking but I do have to agree with the no dog rule in crowded places. Too many people think that their dog is just fine and where there are dogs allowed they will let them run off leash regardless of what the rules are. What they don't take into account are other dogs that may not be as friendly as theirs. I hate hiking and having someones off leash dog come running at me and Pata and then I have to hold her back. Sometimes they aren't nearly as friendly as their owner thinks either and next thing you know you have a dog fight going while hanging onto a leash. Not fun.

 The hike was great. Just enough up and down to make it challenging and many interesting things to see all the way around it. It was fairly crowded in the beginning but halfway around there is a dock where a ferry lands. There are two ferries that make continuous trips back and forth from one side to the other until 5:00 or 6:00pm. Many of the hikers went back on the ferry and that lightened up the trail. True that some more came over on the ferry but I think most of them just explored the area around the ferry and then rode it back. The second half of the hike was a lot quieter.

 One of the things I like to see and photograph are wildflowers and unusual plants. There were plenty of them on this hike so I did spend a fair amount of time with the camera work. Denise dropped me off at 9:00 am so my target time to return was 3:00. When I got to the approximate halfway mark at the ferry dock I knew I would not have time to go even a short distance up the Cascade Canyon. There is also a short trail there that lead to a waterfall but unfortunately it was closed. The extreme numbers of hikers take a toll on these trails and they undergo a lot of maintenance to keep them hike able. Thee were a couple of sections of the main trail that were also closed and they had detour trails around these areas. 

 I was feeling tired as I rounded the last section of the walk but I kept going and skipped lunch so that I could try and keep on schedule. At almost 3:00 on the dot I walked into the parking lot where Denise was in the truck waiting for me. It was a good hike and I'm glad I did it but next time I hope to do the Cascade Canyon trail. Many thanks to Denise for having the patience to wait for me while I did this. 💋

  Striped Coralroot- Corallorhiza striata

  Nettle-leaf Giant Hyssop- Agastache urticifolia

 

Golden-Eye - Viguiera dentata

  Asters and Allies - Tribe Astereae

Giant Red Indian Paintbrush - Castilleja miniata

This mamma moose was below the trail in the aptly named Moose lake.

The baby was up the hill from mom but came down to join her in the water

Weidemeyer's Admiral - Limenitis weidemeyerii

Woodland Pinedrops - Pterospora andromedea

  Western Cone-Flower - Rudbeckia occidentalis

  Common Cowparsnip - Heracleum maximum

  American Mountain Ash - Sorbus americana

 

  Star-flowered Lily-of-the-Valley - Maianthemum stellatum

Bear scat. This was on the path it was fresh but the bear was nowhere in sight. 

 

The ferry making its return trip

  Red Baneberry - Actaea rubra

Flat-top White Aster - Doellingeria umbellata

  American Fly-Honeysuckle - Lonicera canadensis

Cascade creek. There was a waterfall just a little ways up but the trail was closed.

 

Fireweed - Chamaenerion angustifolium

 

The trail was right at the foot of Grand Teton Mountain. The views were awesome

Monkshood near the hanging gardens

Monkshood - Genus Aconitum

  Pink Monkey Flower - Erythranthe lewisii

 

I look for these whenever I'm near a small stream in the mountains. These were the first I saw on this trip. Always a pleasure to see. Somewhat rare though. 

  Hoary Comma - Polygonia gracilis

 Osprey - Pandion haliaetus  

 

There were at least two youngsters  in the nest. I could see them flapping their wings 

  Pale Swallowtail - Papilio eurymedon

Looking back towards the mountain. The osprey nest is in the snag left center of the photo.

About 3/4 of the way around Jenny Lake trail

  Callippe Fritillary - Speyeria callippe

  Coronis Fritillary - Speyeria coronis

  I'm not 100% positive of  ID on this one 

 

Green Comma - Polygonia faunus  

 

  Mormon Fritillary - Speyeria mormonia

Woodland Pinedrops - Pterospora andromedea

Ruddy Copper - Lycaena rubidus

   

Mountain Bluebird - Sialia currucoides

 

 

 

This was a great stop. Not long enough but enough time to get some great memories. We did go to Yellowstone National Park briefly. Denise wanted to see some bison. We drove up to the Old Faithful Geyser but did not go to see it. It was 90 miles one way to get there and we just didn't have the time to spend. We also did not see one bison. Kind of a disappointment but there's always next time. Yellowstone does not hold the attraction it once did however. The crowds of ignorant touristas are a huge turn off. You cannot get around wildlife there without mobs of people stopping in the middle of the road and actually harassing the animals.
  All in all though this was a worth the time spent and it's always beautiful even with the haze from forest fires.