June 28, 2013 Teton Bound

June 28, 2013:  Teton Bound

 The sun does not go down till after 9:00 pm, and it isn't dark till after 10:00.  Crew is wanting to see a super starry night but with the super moon we just had and the late sunsets, it just hasn't happened for him.

 It was a chilly morning, and we got up early and readied Hannah for departure.  We left the Bates Motel of RV Parks and headed north.   We heard that if you get to the Grand Tetons early, you can get a spot with electricity, but not with water and sewer.  And since all the full hook up spots were booked (probably years in advance), we thought this would be a good option.  From the Grand Tetons, we can easily go to Jackson Hole and Yellowstone.  So we decided to stay a full week.  We filled Hannah with water so we can cook and actually shower (although we must be smart about how we fill our tanks), and we are right near the park bathrooms so, for the most part, we are good there.  We can use our own head, but if we can avoid uprooting Hannah to take her to a dump station, that would be best.  So the head is essentially for middle of the night deposits.  The RV spots are quite decent.  They are level, and have a picnic table, trees and a fire pit.  Spouse has already collected wood pieces that are far too big to go into the fire pit.  So if you hear of the next midwest fire - the Grand Teton fire, it was probably Spouse feeding his supersized branches into the firepit!

The ride from Alpine up to the Grand Tetons is only about 70 miles through some of the most beautiful scenery nature can provide.  The Snake River winds along the road and the mountains and meadows are magnificent.  Rudy was content to sleep on my lap.  It seems his wound is a little better since Spouse 'depussified' it.  We fueled up and made sure we had some provisions and headed to our new home. 

There is road construction EVERYWHERE.  Jackson is a mess.  When we got to Grand Teton National Park, Spouse has a senior lifetime pass.  As he showed his ID, Rudy tried to go out the window.  Spouse stopped him, but it was a little scary.  We have a cat carrier at home and we don't want to get another one if we can avoid it.  He is so good riding in the car, we are hoping we don't have to get another carrier, but one more episode like that and we will have to rethink this.  Once inside, more road construction.  And we wait... and wait... and wait.  We finally get to Coulter Bay and get our site and set up.

 Then we set out to explore.  First we went to the visitor center at Coulter Bay.  Watched a Yellowstone film on wolves.  They had a telescope set up to look at a sunspot.  Not only could you see the sunspot, but you could see tiny eruptions on the sun surface.  It was pretty amazing.  We then went and explored the park. 

The Grand Tetons tower over rivers and meadows.  Glaciers line the crevasses of the crags.  There are lots of turnouts to admire the views.  We took a turn and ended up at a trailhead for Lupine Meadows.  Being that it was a little late in the day, we only hiked up about a mile, but it was a beautiful mile.  Lupines grow wild (imagine that!).  And for all of you wondering... yes, a bear does shit in the woods!