Saturday, May 18, 2013

About That Teton National Park (May 12 - 18)

Dear Family and Friends,

Roger, Bear and I have completed our second week at West Yellowstone. We have loved having the opportunity to ride our mountain bikes in the Gallatin Forest and Yellowstone. The bikes are heavier than our road bikes so we do not go as far, but we did get a 20 miler in Yellowstone on Sunday. Thankfully the bison and elk were napping in the meadows and not on the main road.

Those mountain bikes get dirty!



Monday was a day trip to Teton National Park. We left West Yellowstone at 7 am in hopes of seeing animals in Yellowstone Park and then in Teton National Park. Our trip east and then south through Yellowstone rewarded us with lots of bison and elk. In fact we saw two male bison ramming each other with their horns.



On the way to the south entrance of West Yellowstone (part of this road was recently opened)

Yellowstone Lake
Ice is still visible on the lake.


Falls in Yellowstone

View of the Teton Mountains from Rockefeller Memorial Parkway


Hello Grand Teton National Park

Teton Lake
This national park is very dramatic in it's abrupt rise of jagged peaks from the Jackson Hole valley.

Pair of Pelicans



Hooray, we have a moose!



Jenny Lake (one of my favorite places in the U.S.)


Feeder stream into Jenny Lake (the water is crystal clear)


On the way back to West Yellowstone, we drove over Teton Pass. There were lots of hairpin turns and two 10% grades. Gorgeous views!

Our trip into Yellowstone on Wednesday was one that concentrated on seeing the sights of the southern  ring. We drove out to Old Faithful and had a great view of the geyser erupting.





It was fun to see a very large male bison very close to the Old Faithful Inn. This fellow is scratching his head on a tree. There are signs everywhere not to approach the wildlife. You can see in the second picture how close the bison is to the sign and Inn.


Our drive continued south to Yellowstone Lake. Parts of the lake were covered in ice, though the lake is warming.

We stopped to take a look at Kepler Cascade along the way back to West Yellowstone. With the snow melting, the falls in the park have quite a dramatic look.

 The other side of Keplar Cascade shows a steep drop off into the canyon.


What an incredible week at Yellowstone. Thank you for taking the time to read our blog. Although we have another six days in Yellowstone, the next blog will come from Anaconda, Montana. We are working our way North to Polson, MT for the month of June.





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