So now I present to you a National Park to LOVE. I absolutely went crazy when we drove the short 20 mile drive from Yellowstone to the Grand Tetons National Park. The mountains were exquisite, the campground rugged and filled with deer and the lake pristine and great for canoeing. Sorry for the many shots of the mountains but I couldn’t get enough during our visit.
What a cool little town. It’s as charming as can be. We had lunch at a second story bar and restaurant overlooking the town square. That’s the archway into the town square that you see made of antlers. No animal was killed to make this since the deer (or elk) shed their antlers each year. The town of Jackson Hole is a ski destination and if you want to get away from the crowds of Colorado or Utah this is the place. Don’t miss the National Museum of Wildlife Art. I never thought I’d be so enamoured of scenic wildlife paintings but the artwork here is stunning. There’s even a sculture of horses by the artist who did Mount Rushmore. The special exhibit contained many of the original drawing of Dr. Suess for the book The Lorax. We could only take photos of the outside sculptures and the few pieces in the lobby. I highly recommend this place.
On my adventure I have been hiking, biking, camping and rafting. It was time to try something new. So Kathy and I went canoeing on Jenny Lake. This mountain lake was in backyard of our campground. We rented a canoe and rowed for over an hour to the opposite shore. I was obviously obsessed with that stump of a tree. I turned out to be an upside down tree in full with the roots showing on top of the water. This was my kinda place. I also loved the canoe ride even though the water was REALLY cold so we made sure not to fall in.
Leaving Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons brought us to the Big Horns, an offshoot of the Rocky Mountains. Climbing up the very steep drive to the Medicine Wheel was a breathtaking view of the valley, rock formations and scary cliffs. The Medicine Wheel was a Native American installation that was created somewhere between the 12th and 15th century. It has 28 spokes and measures about 80 feet in diameter. This is a sacred place to not only the Native Americans but to many spiritual visitors. There are a number of different symbols of the visitors that have made this mile and a half pilgrimedge to the top of the mountain. It was a long hike but worth the trip. On the way down we came upon a family of deer on the hillside. Our next stop was a night at a hotel in Sheridan, Wyoming. We were deep in the west.
There’s a really bizarre protrusion in the Wyoming countryside that rises over 1200 feet from the surface called Devils Tower. It was formed as a result of erosion and makes a great statement. On the approach to the tower we encountered a field of holes – home to the many prairie dogs that hung out while all us humans couldn’t stop taking photos. Set amongst the prairie was a piece of sculpture meant to “frame” the tower from a distance. Just loved that. Once we got into the park we were able to see a few climbers through intense binoculars. Take a close look and you can see them on the rock.
