During our RV road trip across the West, we visited Grand Teton National Park in northwestern Wyoming, a majestic place where blue, snow-streaked mountains rake the sky above a scenic valley.
The Teton Range was formed along a fault line, where, 10 million years ago, colliding tectonic plates uplifted ancient sedimentary rock into the mountains we see today. In geologic time, the Tetons are among the youngest mountains in the world. During the Ice Age, glaciers scoured the valley floor and created picturesque lakes at the base of the mountains.
In mid-May, many of the trees at Grand Teton had not yet leafed out. Their white trunks and branches are pretty against the russets and tans of wet meadows.
Gorgeous scenery
We drove in from Yellowstone, where we stayed for 5 nights, meandering south through Grand Teton to the town of Jackson Hole and then heading back to Yellowstone that evening. Along the way we stopped often for wildlife watching…
…taking photographs, and hiking a few easy trails.
Mountains, lake, and sky
Water is abundant at Grand Teton, whose valley has many lakes and ponds as well as the Snake River.
We spotted what looked like a beaver lodge in one pond.
At another, I observed a Canada goose sitting on her nest, which was built in shallow water like a moated island.
She stood up to nudge her eggs and turn them.
Getting things arranged just so
And then she settled back on her eggs to incubate them.
Grizzly bears live in Grand Teton, and we carried bear spray on our belts every time we set out on a hike or stroll.
You never know when you may encounter a bear, so be prepared.
But mostly we saw birds.
Like this Audubon’s warbler, a subspecies of the yellow-rumped warbler
Another look
And these male and female common goldeneye ducks
Female common goldeneye
Grand Teton must be a terrific place to go birding.
We also saw a few elk grazing on a hillside.
Mormon Row
Mormon settlers established 27 homesteads in Grand Teton in the 1890s, and some of their buildings remain today on what’s called Mormon Row. What a view they enjoyed, although conditions would have been harsh.
Even one outhouse still stands.
Mormon Row outhouse
Log cabin on Mormon Row
Aspen trunks
The John and Bartha Moulton barn
Corrals for their horses or dairy cows remain too.
The Mormons moved on, but a colony of ground squirrels still enjoys the place.
John and Bartha Moulton’s salmon-pink stucco house was inhabited seasonally until the late 1980s.
A roar filled the air, and I looked up to see a United airplane descending toward Jackson Hole’s airport, soaring alongside the craggy Teton Range. It must have been quite the view for passengers on the right side of the plane.
Jackson Hole
We drove to Jackson Hole, a western resort town just south of Grand Teton. Four massive arches made of cast-off elk antlers mark the entrances to a park in the town square.
Time was short since we had to get back to Yellowstone that evening, so we didn’t have time to really explore Jackson Hole, but I’m glad we stopped by.
And then we began the drive north through this breathtaking country again.
Up next: Our final stop on our national parks tour, Glacier National Park in Montana. For a look back at Part 3 of my visit to Yellowstone, click here. You’ll find links to Parts 1 and 2 at the end of each post in my Yellowstone series.
I welcome your comments. Please scroll to the end of this post to leave one. If you’re reading in an email, click here to visit Digging and find the comment box at the end of each post. And hey, did someone forward this email to you, and you want to subscribe? Click here to get Digging delivered directly to your inbox!
__________________________
Digging Deeper
Come learn about garden design from the experts at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, and authors a few times a year in Austin. These are limited-attendance events that sell out quickly, so join the Garden Spark email list to be notified in advance; simply click this link and ask to be added. The Season 7 lineup can be found here.
All material © 2023 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
The post Majestic mountains, wildlife, and Mormon Row at Grand Teton appeared first on Digging.
