Last day in the Tetons and coming home.

9-4-12 & 9-5-12

On our last day in the Tetons Sandy and I decided to take the motorcycle and drive though the park. On this 3-week trip we put 1074 miles on the motorcycle touring the National Parks.



Our first stop was at the National Museum of Wildlife Art that is just south of the park. We looked around the outside and then went into the lobby area. We did not go into the gallery section, so we will go back when we visit here again.



The sky was clear for our ride and taking pictures today.



Another stop we made was the drive up to Signal Mountain summit, which we had never done before. From a height of 7593 feet you can get a great view of Jackson Hole (the valley) and of Jackson Lake on the other side.

 





When Sandy and I got back to camp, I took Jane out for the ride that I had promised her. Once she figured out how to get onto the trike it was “all systems go”. It was too bad the wind was blowing as hard as it did because high winds do not make for a real pleasant ride.





If we ever wanted smoked bison we had our chance as we were leaving the Tetons on Wednesday the 5th of September. The smoke was pretty thick on our way out of the park.



Our original plans were to leave by way of Dubois, WY then to Riverton, Thermopolis, and Buffalo before catching the roads east for home, with a quick stop in Aberdeen to visit Sandy’s family. But, we had a last minute change and went up to Yellowstone and came out the East Entrance of Yellowstone and drove though Cody.

On the way out of Yellowstone we passed a Papa, Momma and Baby Bison.



Then later we came upon this lone bull. It’s a much more comfortable feeling to get this close to the buffalo in the motorhome than on the motorcycle.



This picture was taken in the Big Horn Mountains.



It seems I have to clean the windshield quite often so Sandy can get good pictures without too many bugs in the foreground.



The south route through the Big Horns has the highest pass at 9666. The next time we come out I think we will take the north route as it’s a little lower (9033), and I think the scenery is better.



When you come UP a grade like this, your gas mileage is 1.5 to 3 MPG.

 

But as you go DOWN it’s nice to see the “Scan Gauge” go to 9,999 MPG.



I am writing this last post of our trip on 9-9-2012 which is Sandy and My 40th wedding anniversary. As I think back on our trip west and about the Tetons in particular I recall that the first time I saw the Tetons was on the 10th of September, 2002. That was the day after our 30th anniversary and we were on our way back from picking up this 1964 Chevelle Malibu 2 door hard top in Albany, OR on the 8th.



With the help of our friend, Jerry, helping me with the mechanical portion and with Lynn and Randy of Lynn’s Auto Body and Restoration doing the body and paint, it took us until July 2004 to get this project done.







I have had a very fortunate life to have have met you, Sandy, and hope we get to have another 40 more years together.

Now on the 18th my two brothers Glen and Joe along with our friend Dale are headed to the Ozarks for 8 days of motorcycle riding. Then on the day after we get back, Sandy and I are going to Hayward, WI to spend a week with our friends Terry and Elaine to fish, eat and play a few card games and dominoes.

Until next time,

Dave and Sandy 

Kayaking the Snake River.

9-3-12

This morning at about 6:30 two young moose came right behind our motorhome. The pictures we took out the window did not turn out ok, so Sandy went out and got the 2^nd and 3^rd pictures a couple of campsites over.

 





Ron took Jane and I over to the Snake River so we could kayak downstream for a couple of hours. After Ron dropped us off he headed down the road to take pictures of us where the Snake comes close to the road.

Ron is getting the kayaks ready to take down to the river.



Here I took a picture of Jane paddling downstream.



Then Jane took one of me paddling downstream with Mount Moran in the back ground.



Once I got downstream from her, Jane decided she needed to take some more pictures, so she told me to paddle back upstream towards her. I guess she wanted to see me sweat a little as the Snake was flowing pretty good just below the dam.



Ron took the next five pictures of Jane and me. This whole section that we kayaked was pretty calm with just a couple of very mild rapids.







That’s Jane and I coming around the bend in the distance.



About a quarter mile down the river Jane and I saw a Grizzly bear that was on the shore. It was too bad the Grizzly got back into the brush before we could get the cameras out. And then again, maybe it’s better it went back into the brush instead of into the water after us. Then again, I was on the outside. Rule #1 when seeing a Grizzly, always have someone between you and the Grizzly. Just kidding Jane!!



Now the pelican was more receptive of us as we paddled by.



And the Sandhill Cranes were kind of in between with their patience of us trespassing in their area.





After a couple of hours on the river it was time to pack it all up. Thanks Ron for dropping us off, picking us up and also for taking those great pictures of us.



Until next time,

Dave and Sandy

Supper and Hiking to Taggart Lake.

9-1-12 & 9-2-12

One night a guy named Levi joined us for supper. He was four weeks into a five-six week motorcycle trip. Levi is from Pennsylvania and had never been out west before so he was really enjoying it out here. The group for supper that night was Levi, Nancy, Gil, Ron, Jane, Dave, Celeste and I. Sandy was taking the picture. All 4 of us couples have Lazy Daze, and there are 3 more in the campground. It looked like a Lazy Daze convention.



The night before a yellow jacket had been on a plate and flew off with a piece of meat but no one could get a camera on it in time. So tonight when one showed up there were three cameras ready to catch the action. It’s amazing how easily we are entertained.



Once it had cut a piece loose, off it went. We all thought we should put out the warning that “meat eating yellow jackets” were invading the Tetons.



After supper we all headed back to our RV’s as the storm clouds were coming in.



On Sunday, several of us took a hike to Taggart Lake. We took the 1.6 mile trail to the lake.

As we drove towards the trailhead we could barely see the Grand Teton through the fog that had settled into the Jackson Hole valley overnight.

 

The water was still flowing strongly down this creek.



As we were hiking up to the lake the fog and clouds are starting to thin out. Now we can see the middle of the mountain but not the top.



Here is part of our group hiking up the trail. Steve, Nancy, Celeste and Dave.



Taggart Lake is at an elevation of 6902. The calm water gave off some nice reflections.





Coming back we took the long way (2.6 miles) back on what is called the Beaver Creek Trail.



We heard a elk calling up in the hills but could not spot it.



So I took a more relaxed position to see if that would help. It seems I had more than one person taking a picture of me looking for that elk.



Until next time,

Dave and Sandy

Leaving Yellowstone and heading to the Tetons.

8-30-12

When we left West Yellowstone for the Tetons we had to drive through Yellowstone. We were lucky as the smoke from the wildfires were gone from the park while we were there, but as you can see the smoke was starting to come back in.



This was the first bull elk that we saw in Yellowstone.



Along with the bull there were several cows. One of them had a tracking collar on her.



While driving out of Yellowstone we crossed the Continental Divide 3 times.



We are now back entering Grand Teton National Park.



It was smoky down in the Tetons which made the view of the mountains muted.



This bull moose was just sitting in the river as we drove on the road to the campground. We hope there are moose in the campground again this year.



For those like me who don’t speak French, Gros Ventre is pronounced Grow Vaunt.



Jane said, take me for a ride on the bike and I will take you for a ride in the kayaks.



We got into camp just in time for happy hour.



Until next time,

Dave and Sandy