Day Six - Truly Grand Teton

The captions are below the photos. Please Click on the photos to enlarge and, if you like any of them feel free to save them to your computer.

Having spent the last day cooling my jets in Pocatello I was more than ready to get on the road. When I pulled onto the freeway for the twenty minute run up I-15 to Idaho Falls the a few stars revealed themselves in the receding darkness and that was a good indication, well, at least for the start of the day, of clear skies. It was also COLD!!! With the thermometer serving up a more than brisk 36 degrees I put on every piece of heated gear I had, turned on the heated grips and the heated seat. Once everything warmed up it was a nice cozy ride. I saw a motorcycle up ahead and when I caught up to it I saw it was a Honda Gold Wing and the rider had an open face helmet. He looked over and nodded when I passed by and I could see that his face was very red and he had a rather grim and determined expression on his face. Hah, motorcycling! It is all about freedom and his way of doing it was putting his face to the wind .... even one close to freezing ... better man than me!! That reminded me of the conversation I had with the barista at Snake River Cafe the day before about freedom and government intrusion in so many aspects of our lives.

I love to see the sun rise on a bike (bicycle or motorcycle) and this one was a good one. The horizon to the west of Idaho Falls is broken up by multi-peak mountains and their silhouettes against the morning light were like a magnet as I turned east towards them.

Off the freeway I took route 26 to Swan Valley where I jumped on route 31 for a short run to Victor where I would join Idaho route 33/Wyoming route 22 for the leg into Wyoming.

Coming into Swan Valley I crossed the Snake River and that drop down into the Snake River Valley was a harrowing three mile crawl in pea soup fog with about fifty yards visibility. I had my hazard blinkers on with my hand ready at the brake. the fog lifted just before the bridge and I slowed a little to take in the river (yeah, I like rivers!). Having gone the last few miles with no cars in my rear view I was startled to see a car right behind me when I looked to my left to catch sight of the view on that side of the bridge. I accelerated hard and got back to the posted 65 in about a second and a half but the driver was determined to keep up and was soon close behind. Not tailgating but close enough.

When I turned onto 31 there was a pickup truck in front of me and the car behind me also turned. I followed the truck on the double yellow and passed on a short dashed section just as the curves were starting. I have enjoyed this road before and that is why I decided on it as a route into Wyoming. The car also passed the truck and then passed me. He was hauling *ss and, since I was on this road for fun, I decided to use him as radar bait. We did go faster than I would have gone had he not been there and though the bike was running well within its limits I had fun nonetheless and we made very quick work of that 21 miles.

The short jog east from Victor took me over the Teton Pass and I started out behind some traffic that was chugging through the corners so about half way up I turned around, rode down the way the road should be ridden and then waited for a break in cars and did the same all the way to the top where I caught up with the cars. I stopped to take in the view (actually, I was waiting for the cars to get far enough ahead so that I could enjoy the descent but the view is spectacular!) of the Snake River valley and Jackson Wyoming.

I did make the ride down fun and at the bottom I filled up the bike and, determined not to repeat the meal-less day from a couple of days back I stopped at a roadside diner right there in Wilson for breakfast. It felt just as cold in there as it was outside! I asked the waitress what she would recommend and she told me it was her first day so she didn’t know all the food items yet but she did mention that she was a vegetarian and that being the case her recommendation was the veggie omelet. Being omnivorous and liking my breakfast meat when I am on the road I had my traveling staple of two eggs over easy, hash browns and sausage.

This is a view of the hills just south of Victor Idaho

From there I turned north towards the Grand Teton National Park. I stopped in at the Laurence Rockefeller Preserve to see what that was all about. The friendly ranger at the parking lot told me that this part of the park was formerly owned by the Rockefeller family and had been their private ranch and closed to the public. It turns out that the John D. Rockefellers, in his determination to preserve the natural state of the valley bought 33,000 acres of surrounding ranches and handed it over to the park service with the stipulation that it be added to the Grand Teton National Park. They still own a lot of land in the area and continue to buy up any land that becomes available with the intent of expanding the boundary of the park.

The preserve had an odd looking building set in the middle of a field an on entering I could not help but notice the workmanship that went into the joinery on the doors and windows and every aspect of the building. Everything in there is the very top notch!! I guess it makes sense that the Rockefeller’s would employ only the best craftsmen to work on anything they commissioned.

This had been a 3,100 acre ranch and one of the places where the Rockefeller family would go to enjoy the bounty of nature and its ability to rejuvenate the spirit. A while back they transferred 2,000 acres to the park and just recently, this remaining 1,100 acres and this is the first year it is open to the public.

It turns out that on the land was Phelps Lake and there is a three mile round trip hiking trail up to the lake. I talked to the ranger about it and she said the views of the mountians were spectacular up at the lake. Having decided to spend the day in the park I took off my riding gear and headed up the trail. Just before heading up I asked if she had a map. She did and as she handed it to me I asked what she was knitting; she said it was a glove and her goal was to one day be able to knit a sweater. I was puzzled and told her that it would seem to me that a glove would be harder to knit than a sweater but she said it was the other way around. I noticed she had knitted mittens with ends that folded back so you could use your fingers without having to take your mittens off so I asked if she made those and it turns out she did but she said she crocheted that and she could crochet anything because that was easy for her. She loved to do it and it is what she does for gifts – gloves, hats, scarves, throw rugs. A close look at the gloves revealed that she is really very good at it and that makes for lucky friends and family! When she wants a new set of gloves she just buys the wool and, presto, in two days she has her gloves.
I headed up the trail along a bubbling brook and really enjoyed the opportunity to get out and walk in the woods. It was a bit brisk but a good pace soon warmed me up. On the way up to the lake I stopped at a couple of clearings to marvel at the view. I ran into my first fellow hiker about half way up and she told me that the north side of the lake was very still and I could get some good reflections. I thanked her, wished her a good morning and started back up the hill.

This moss caught my eye

At the lake the view didn’t disappoint. The pictures tell a lot more than my words ever could so here they are. I saw a couple of women figuring out where to take pictures of each other with the lake behind them and I offered to get one of both, an offer they accepted and they took one of me.

When I went around to the north side of the lake I found a group of three, a man, his wife and their daughter. Up here, so far removed from civilization, the man was on his cell phone!!!!! When he finished his conversation he told his wife he couldn’t believe it worked all the way up here and she said she couldn’t believe he answered it. My thought was why in the world did he have it turned on ...... speaking of which, where IS my phone? Hmmmm, who cares? I am on vacation!

Does that guy look happy or what?

Just as promised, the mountains reftlected in the lake.

Another arresting sight

This is the building, I think it is an interpretive center, on the Lawrence Rockefeller Preserve

When I got back to the bottom I saw the woman who had told me about the reflections on the lake. She was taking pictures of the stream and I stopped to do the same and also thank her for the suggestion. She was from the area and spent a lot of time here taking photos and enjoying the hikes. She told me of a couple of places where I could get really good shots of the mountains and I asked her about one particular road that would take me to the summit of Signal Mountain – she said that was a waste of time. It turned out that her husband was in a class that day, a class that taught stuff about mountaineering in general and these mountains in particular so she was taking advantage of the day alone to get some pictures. Though he is an experienced climber, he is always eager to learn more as he was climbing the Grand Teton Mountain the next day with a group of friends.

I admired her camera, a Canon digital Rebel. I think I know what I am getting myself for my birthday! I had better start saving up!

I took the road she said was a waste of time and I am so glad I didn’t listen to her! The views of the Snake River to the north and the Absaroka Range of the Rocky Mountains behind them were spectacular. I also found the views of the Teton Range to be equally spectacular. Boy, am I glad I didn’t listen to her on that!! I did go on to the couple of places she suggested and the views there were also spectacular. Yes, I am using that word a lot and if you have the opportunity to visit this park you will also find that it is entirely appropriate and, though expressive of extreme wonderment, it is a superlative that doesn’t match the beauty of this place.

The woman who told me about the reflections on the lake also told me not to bother going to the top of Signal Mountain because it was a waste of time but this view and the ones below prove otherwise. This time it was a good thing I don't always listen to what I a told!

The Snake River and the Absaroka Range seen looking north from Signal Mountain.

A part of the Teton Range with Jackson and Jenny Lake in the middle ground.

Looking due east from Signal Mountian - I liked the color of the plains.

Another view from Signal Mountain

The Teton Range as seen from the Jackson Lake Dam

This is a view of the Teton Range from the banks of the Snake River at the place where I was directed by the woman told me not to go to the top of Signal Mountain. It is a nice and peaceful setting!

A southerly view of the Teton Range from the north side of Jackson Lake

I had spent a good part of the day soaking in the Teton Range and, looking at the map, I would have to make tracks in order to get to Bozeman Montana before nightfall.

On up to Yellowstone National Park. I had been warned that the drive up from the south is rather bland, and, it was. At the entrance gate I was in line behind an old Honda Hybrid – I forget the name of it but it was a little two door car from the 90’s. I had my Ella and Louis playing in the CD player and turned up quite a bit. I noticed that they rolled down their windows and were bobbing their heads to the tune. I wondered if I was disturbing others and turned it down. Once through the gate I stopped to put the Yellowstone map in the map holder and while I was doing that the couple in the Honda walked over to ask about the bike. They looked to be holdovers from the hippie days. I think it had been quite a number of years since the man’s hair, head and facial, had seen clippers or scissors. She had a silver Mohawk about three inches wide and two tall and the rest of her head was bald. The Mohawk extended back along the top of her head and ended at a tattoo. Below the tattoo she had a half inch wide braided pony tail with all manner of colored yarn incorporated in it.

She was the only one of them who spoke and she, using the word “cool” a lot, told me about their motorcycles – he has a sixties vintage Flathead and she has a Hard Tail from the seventies. She bought it white but had it painted flat black because that was more her style. She said she has a friend with a BMW and she got to ride it once and her opinion of it was that it was smooth, fast and, you guessed it, cool.

The Lewis River by Lewis Falls in Yellowstone National Park

I wanted to exit the park on the west end and take route 191 into Bozeman so I decided to stop by the Old Faithful geyser. I was SO disappointed; it was like freakin’ Disneyworld!! A HUGE parking lot, a gigantic hotel and stadium seating. I didn’t even get off the bike. Just up the road was the Black Sand Basin and I stopped there to take these photos. This was more my speed, just a few people and wooden walkways to keep you off the hot ground.

A Geyser at Black Sand Basin

I liked the colors in this pool. I wonder how deep it is .....

I wondered how this piece of wood got here given that there were no treen nearby. I was also amazed that the grass could grow so green with such toxic water flowing through. Anyhow, I liked the colors so I took the shot and I am glad at the way it turned out.

There were variously colored mosses in this steaming trickle into the stream.

When you read about how dangerous and toxic the water it makes you think twice about breathing when you walk through the geyser steam! If it can dissolve your boots I wonder what it does to your lungs!

I forgot to sheild the camera from the sun so this shot that was initially a mistake turned out to be one of my favorite.

My first Bison view of the day. It was about 30 feet from the road and, being on the bike, I didn't wait for it to get any closer!

This reflection caught my eye as I headed north towards Bozeman.

I headed on west, slowed a couple of times by elk jams and the sun was well on its way down when I exited the park. Onto 191, the pace picked up as I gunned it north towards Bozeman but, alas, an arrival in the dark is what the cards had in store for me! There were several places along the road with construction going on and when that happens here there is only one lane open and a pilot car to guide you through which means you have to wait for the traffic going the other way to pass. I spent probably an hour total sitting by the side of the road. I checked in about 9:00 and went up the road for Chinese buffet.

The hotel had wireless but you couldn’t get a signal in the rooms. It had been my intention to spend two nights here but, my first room key didn’t work, there were no towels in the room so I had to go to the front desk to get those and then the thing with the wireless. My agitation pushed me to book a hotel in Cody Wyoming. That is not too far east of Yellowstone and would make for an easy day of riding and allow me to take in the park. That done, and email answered I hit the sack.