Day 13

Driving through Idaho en route to Grand Teton National Park we stopped for bagels for breakfast. HUGE mistake. They were the absolute worst bagels I’ve ever had — chewy, dry, and salty. No one does bagels like NYC and the surrounding areas.

We entered Grand Teton from the south via Jackson Hole. It was a cute little town. If we had time we would have stopped to walk around, but we wanted to spend the day in the park so we kept driving. The landscape in Idaho was flat and bland. Once we entered Wyoming, mountains rose up around us and the scenery turned pretty. However, it is another hazy day, not good day for photography. All my pictures will look washed out.

We stopped to have a picnic lunch at Jackson Lake. It was a quiet, pretty, and peaceful place to eat.

It is not haze. It is smoke. A Ranger said that the smoke is coming from a wildfire. The fire is contained but the smoke is seriously dampening our experience. We can barely see the mountains we came to look at and photograph. Oh well, one more disappointment. At least we got here.

G3 and I took a three mile hike in the northern part of the park. There was so much horse poop on the path it should have been called Poop Trail. The horrible smell combined with our constant vigilance not to step in it detracted from the enjoyment of the hike. But I still had fun being with G3. Kati didn’t join us for fear of melting since the temperature hit 90 again today.

Following our hike, the three of us drove a few mile north, changed into our swim trunks, and went for a quick soak. The water was too shallow to swim, but it allowed us to rinse off a layer or two of sweat and grime. Lakes are a camper’s bathtub and we all felt refreshed after our dip.

To get back to our campsite we drove north through Yellowstone. We stopped at the Upper Geyser Basin to visit Old Faithful. After a few false starts, it erupted. I was happy to see it but it wasn’t as awe inspiring as I expected it to be.

Seeing the smaller geysers erupt was far more exciting. G3 loved walking through the geyser basins and examining each of the geyser pools as closely as he could. It was late, so there were hardly any other people out which was wonderful and made the experience more enjoyable. Plus it was cooler.