This National Park tends to be at the top of our list. It and the surrounding areas seem to have such a laid back feel with the benefits of an organized, well maintained, beautiful park.
We did have to wait in line (in our vehicle) for 1 1/2 hours for a camping spot, but it was well worth it. We are quickly finding that many National parks have just a couple campgrounds that take reservations, while the rest are first come first serve. If you research you can even sometimes find a typical time frame they fill. I knew we wanted to try Gros Ventre (gro-vont) campground because they usually didn’t fill before 11:30am. (Some of the others are as early as 8:30am). There is also dispersed (free) camping in the surrounding areas but you take your chances on availability and accessibility (usually bumpy gravel roads…).
We were assigned Loop A site 46 which allowed the use of generators (they offered no hook ups). Luckily we had filled our water tank beforehand and emptied our gray and black water tanks. We were good to go! It did reach temps in the high 80s so we used our A/C a few times. Our campsite had decent shade and even two perfectly spaced trees for a hammock.
Our “neighbors” across the way were friendly Phoenicians (as they referred to their Arizona roots). We visited for an hour about places to see in the U.S. as they had travelled extensively. This is quickly turning into our favorite aspect about full time RV-ing – the people!
Bob found a welder in town (Wilson) that would fix our weakening bike rack that very day. We took him up on it and dropped it off mid afternoon. Since he needed a few hours we scouted out Teton Village, just a short 15 minute drive up the road.
We lucked out and got in line for the (free after 5pm) gondola ride to the top of the mountain, where we had previously inquired about hikes and knew we’d try out the 2 mile Casper Ridge Loop. As we rode the gondola our ever increasing span of views was breathtaking. Then again, our hike took our breath away as we climbed higher (and the oxygen became thinner). Many wildflowers were in bloom on the mountain and spans of lush green and jagged rock were our views looking out.
Welder Troy recommended a place for dinner once we picked up the newly fixed bike rack so we head just blocks down the road and ordered burgers and fish tacos at Stagecoach. As we were waiting outside on the lawn we are 99% sure Woody Harrellson was enjoying his meal just 20 feet from us. That area is known for celebrities…
Friday brought some fun adventures as we headed off with mountain bikes in tow to a “moderate” MTB path on Shadow Mountain. It wasn’t well marked but we felt confident that as long as we stuck together we’d have fun. We started off in long grasses with a 4″ wide “trail” only to be swiftly on our way up with ever increasing grades. We soon found ourselves off our bikes and walking them up along this narrow (but beautiful) path. In the rare occasion we straddled our bikes for an attempt at pedaling we soon found it wouldn’t last. Hiking our bikes is what we did for one hour, only to run into a few bikers (going the opposite way, or downhill) who encouraged us to turn around and take the loop the other way. Struggling with the feeling we didn’t want to give up and logic, we finally turned our bikes around, hopped on, and hung on for the steep, but fun, decline! We had never tested our brakes so fully to the max before. Between giggles and nervous grunts as we hit loose gravel and sharp rocks, we were back at the van in just 10 minutes. 10 minutes! We had climbed over an hour and just like that we were back. It reminded me of the dinner you spend over an hour making only to be enjoyed and inhaled in minutes. Or a ride at Disneyland you spend an hour in only to have the excitement happen for 60 seconds. But something was different – we worked hard and that made the ride down even more enjoyable. Although we bickered a bit through the struggle it was quite the bonding moment. Now all we have to say is “Shadow Mountain” and a smile of a challenging accomplished memory floods back.
If that wasn’t enough there was still a hike I had arranged for us to take. Now it was afternoon and the sun was at its peak. The temp climbed and so did we up Taggart Lake Loop. We purposefully took the long way to the lake so it would be our reward, knowing it was a shorter return hike. It was beautiful. The lake was surrounded by trees and mountains, reminding us a little of Lake Moraine in Canada. Bob and Marin dove in the chilly waters as Sophie and I enjoyed a calm wade. Sunning and drying off on a large rock afterwards rejuvenated us to continue the loop. The girls must have had their energy return as they hopped, skipped, and did handstands for the camera with the Tetons as their backdrop.
I had promised the girls if they would complete a (free) mountain bike trail we’d consider going back to Teton Village to buy lift tickets for the downhill mountain bike trails. As we remembered Shadow Mountain we knew they had earned it. Back to Teton Village for us and a whole day – 7 1/2 hours of biking to be exact. I sat and worked on our blog for the most of it and enjoyed the sun and fresh mountain air. The smiles and pink cheeks every time they came down the mountain was reward enough. For being a Saturday it was only busy from 12-2pm. We felt we had lucked out big time.
Our last morning was the Sabbath so it seemed only right to visit Mormon Row. A late 1800s group of (originally) 33 homesteads and now there are 6 left to view. The iconic barns have been photographed by many. They brought in irrigation to the area and helped each other farm. These settlers knew how to pick a spot with a view!
