Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Postcards from Grand Teton Nat'l Park

We spent Memorial Day weekend in Jackson Hole, WY. We took a local teenager (the daughter of an EMT DH works with) to help with the girls -- I think the original plan was for DH and I to spend one of the evenings on our own, on an actual, real live date, but that never happened. We had loads of fun all together, though, so no problem!

In town we enjoyed a bevy of local restaurants, the (overpriced) Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum, and portions of Wild West Days. But the best parts of the trip by far were those we spent in Grand Teton National Park.

A boat like the one on which we crossed Jenny Lake, Grand Teton National Park, 26 May 2007
We took a boat ride across Jenny Lake and hiked some trails on the other side.

Dos and Uno enjoy a windswept boat ride on Jenny Lake, Grand Teton National Park, 26 May 2007
It was windy and cold on the water, but as soon as we got to the shore we had a perfect day -- sunny but not too hot.

DH carries Uno and the girl we invited on our trip as a helper carries Dos for a while on the hike, Grand Teton National Park, 26 May 2007
Hiking away! (That's our Girl Friday carrying Dos.) Actually, the little girls insisted on doing most of the hiking themselves. They're tough like that.

DH dwarfed by the majesty of nature, Grand Teton National Park, 26 May 2007
DH doesn't like to have his picture taken, so this non-closeup is the best we're likely to get.

Dos -- with a gleam in her eye -- prepares to throw a pebble into a stream, Grand Teton National Park, 26 May 2007
DH showed the girls how to skip rocks in a stream ... and for the entire rest of the trip, Uno and Dos were picking up rocks everywhere to throw in whatever water was handy (including puddles on city streets).

Dos and (yes, sadly) me on our hike, Grand Teton National Park, 26 May 2007
I don't like to have my picture taken either, frankly, though I recognize it's important to be part of the photographic record. I think one thing we can glean from this picture is that jackets tied around pg bellies are not flattering.

A scene along the hike, Grand Teton National Park, 26 May 2007
Trees, trees, everywhere!

A panorama I stitched together in Photoshop from several different photos (the quote by Rachel Carson reads: Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts), Grand Teton National Park, 26 May 2007
I stitched together several photos in Photoshop to get this otherwise impossible panorama (my eye couldn't take it all in, let alone my camera lenses!). I think I need to work on the color of Uno's jacket, and I wish I had some detail in the waterfall, but otherwise I think I did a decent job. :-)

Uno looks over the dock at Jenny Lake as we wait for the return boat trip, Grand Teton National Park, 26 May 2007
Uno waits for the boat ride back across Jenny Lake.

Wildlife: Bison grazing (I really need a zoom lens on my camera), Grand Teton National Park, 27 May 2007
Wildlife! I was hoping to see some moose (mooses? meese?), but no such luck. We did, however, see several herds of bison.

A view out the car window as we drove through Grand Teton National Park, 27 May 2007
A quick shot taken from the car window as we drove through the park.

Jackson Lake, Grand Teton National Park, 27 May 2007
A look across Jackson Lake, where DH has tentative plans to take his dad fishing when he comes to visit at the end of next month.


I've got plenty more photos (I ended up with 204 after deleting the obviously bad ones) but I think these give you the general idea. Jackson and Grand Teton were absolutely gorgeous. I'm not even much of an outdoorsy / naturey girl, but I loved it. Everyone should go when they get the chance!


~RCH~

2 comments:

anna jo said...

oh my goodness. how beautiful. I am slightly jealous! how come I couldn't have been your local teenager, brought to help with the girls while you and hobear went on a hot date? (too bad that never actually happened, but it looks like you had fun anyway!) maybe we should have a family summer vacation there!

RCH said...

We would have loved to have you come, but you're neither local nor a teenager! Very sad. But yes, you and your boyfriend should definitely vacation in Jackson Hole and/or the campgrounds around the National Park (if you like that campgroundy sort of thing, which I'm guessing you do way more than I do!). It's AMAZING up there.

The hike at Jenny Lake was my favorite, and the girls loved the boat ride (their first!). But you can also hike around the lake if you're not carting the 4-and-under set with you and don't want to pay the boat fare; I think it's 2 miles-ish to the point where we started our hike (and then we went about a mile and a half up to that waterfall and back to the boat dock). They've got trails that range from easy (ours) to difficult, whatever you're in the mood for.

Anyway. Big thumbs up from me! We should all go together sometime! :-)

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