Hello and welcome to part 2 of Lingon and Mushroom's great American summer adventure. We did Grand Teton over 2 calendar days. We tried to knock out most of the stuff in the lower part of the park on the first day, and pretty much succeeded. We did not do it in the most efficient manner, but thankfully that did not cost us more than 30 mins of driving time, but it still annoyed me.
The smart thing I should have done was to start with Mormon Row, since it was by itself on Antelope Flats Road to the east of the main highway. Mormon Row was kind of interesting. I suppose early Mormons settled here, and the remnants of their buildings and settlements remained. Apparently this is the most photographed barn in the world, by TR Moulton, who may have been the first settler here.
Then we should have headed to Schwabachers Landing off the main highway. The photos I saw online were much prettier than mine. This is basically a spot with a river meandering through, and there is the lower and upper landing.
Going back in the opposite direction leaving the park and re-enterint at a different entrance on Teton Park Road, the Chapel of the Transfiguration was probably the most special thing to me in this park. A mere log building, the setting of the chapel, with the Tetons in the background, was simple yet magnificent, with a large glass window framing the mountains. Imagine going to service, sitting there, listening to the word, and looking out at one of the marvels of the world.
After that to Jenny Lake. I got it in my head that Inspiration Point was a thing to do, but since we did not want to hike around the lake, we paid $15 each for a round trip boat ride to the landing across the water. $15 well spent, though I maintain it is very pricey. There were 2 hikes to do here, Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. Normally one can get to/from each place, but the park was doing some work so we had to loop back to the boat landing area to the other point. Nice views from Inspiration Point, but by the time we got to the falls I think we were both quite tired and ready for dinner. My GPS said 3.36 miles for both hikes.
This concluded our first half day in the park.
On the second day, we headed up the main freeway, US-26,
We first went to Oxbow Bend, which is part of the Snake River. I read there would be animals, but no such luck. Still very pretty with the reflection of the Tetons in the river. By the way, there is some really high quality beef from somewhere called Snake River Farms, which I presume is in Idaho. We first heard of it at Wakuriya, a Japanese restaurant in San Mateo in the Bay Area, and our post on that restaurant is here.
Finally, we drove up Signal Mountain and Colter Bay, but by this time we were Teton'd out, so I did not take any photos worth sharing.
I had some great expectations for Grand Teton National Park, and I'm glad it lived up to my expectations. The only thing we did not get to do was Phelps Lake, but we ran out of the time the first day, and then I was too lazy after. Gotta save something for next time.
See here for part 1 of this trip in Jackson, WY, and part 3 in Yellowstone National Park.
The smart thing I should have done was to start with Mormon Row, since it was by itself on Antelope Flats Road to the east of the main highway. Mormon Row was kind of interesting. I suppose early Mormons settled here, and the remnants of their buildings and settlements remained. Apparently this is the most photographed barn in the world, by TR Moulton, who may have been the first settler here.
Then we should have headed to Schwabachers Landing off the main highway. The photos I saw online were much prettier than mine. This is basically a spot with a river meandering through, and there is the lower and upper landing.
Going back in the opposite direction leaving the park and re-enterint at a different entrance on Teton Park Road, the Chapel of the Transfiguration was probably the most special thing to me in this park. A mere log building, the setting of the chapel, with the Tetons in the background, was simple yet magnificent, with a large glass window framing the mountains. Imagine going to service, sitting there, listening to the word, and looking out at one of the marvels of the world.
After that to Jenny Lake. I got it in my head that Inspiration Point was a thing to do, but since we did not want to hike around the lake, we paid $15 each for a round trip boat ride to the landing across the water. $15 well spent, though I maintain it is very pricey. There were 2 hikes to do here, Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. Normally one can get to/from each place, but the park was doing some work so we had to loop back to the boat landing area to the other point. Nice views from Inspiration Point, but by the time we got to the falls I think we were both quite tired and ready for dinner. My GPS said 3.36 miles for both hikes.
This concluded our first half day in the park.
On the second day, we headed up the main freeway, US-26,
We first went to Oxbow Bend, which is part of the Snake River. I read there would be animals, but no such luck. Still very pretty with the reflection of the Tetons in the river. By the way, there is some really high quality beef from somewhere called Snake River Farms, which I presume is in Idaho. We first heard of it at Wakuriya, a Japanese restaurant in San Mateo in the Bay Area, and our post on that restaurant is here.
Then we stopped at the Jackson Lake Dam.
Finally, we drove up Signal Mountain and Colter Bay, but by this time we were Teton'd out, so I did not take any photos worth sharing.
We tried to go to Leeks Pizzeria, and thought it was part of the Signal Mountain Lodge, but when we got to the lodge this thing did not exist. Just as well, since we got there way before it was supposed to open. It had really good reviews, so I must admit I was a bit bummed. A little later on, we saw a sign that said "pizzeria", and lo and behold we found Leeks Pizzeria, though not at all at Signal Mountain Lodge. It had some nice pizzas, menu here, definitely a nice option in the park, and I was glad that we found it. We got a small BBQ chicken pizza for maybe $15, and enjoyed that very much.
See here for part 1 of this trip in Jackson, WY, and part 3 in Yellowstone National Park.
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