Before I get into it, I started getting really annoyed with car living. I was finding that I needed too many things during the day, making it hard to organize things in such a way that I didn't need to move extra things out of the way to get to the things that I needed at that time... it was very stressful, I made this very clear to ML on my near-daily phone rants. Having a better system of organization would have gone a very long way, especially in such a compact space.
Big Springs, ID, I need to love ya & leave ya. Another early rise, as this time it was 2-fold: getting into Yellowstone early enough, as that was my pass-through route to get to my next camping location.
I made sure to hit some spots I missed in Yellowstone, and was sure glad I did.
I was out of Yellowstone by noontime, and on my way to another part of Wyoming! Colter Bay Campground is located within the limits of Grand Teton National Park, and had the most available camping sites out of all the options.
Colter Bay was located on the east bank of Jackson Lake, overlooking these beasts:
I set up camp as soon as possible to get down to the lake. Now, I should mention at this point that I was visiting my 8th National Park, 3.5 weeks into a more or less "backwoods" experience, and I had done so... without bear spray. Every park recommends this, and even though I never needed it, I wish I had it. Especially at this point, as the path from the campsites to the lakeside were not properly marked. It turns out that there are tributary footpaths that lead from each grouped campsite to the lakeside. I began down one, took a turn, and ended up in what I best thought was the correct direction to the water. I was on high alert, reacting to every sound I heard, even the ones made by myself. The forest became so dense that I couldn't see through the trees, only the path ahead that would get lost in the weave of the roots. After what felt like hours of walking, I heard the playful splash and shout of a child. I soon came to the water's edge, and took in the sights.
The view of these mountains over the lake was momentous, moving, encapsulating... I was drawn in for the remainder of the afternoon. I sat there with a few snacks and the remainder of the 6-pack from Oregon, laying witness to the sunset appearing over the most entrancing things I'd ever seen.
The next morning, I set out for the southern side of the park. I had heard that Leigh Lake was supposed to be secluded and off the beaten path, holding some treasure-like views. I also wanted to hit Signal Mountain, for the advertised view. Unfortunately, the weather was about to get in the way of both these items. I decided to pursue anyway.
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| This view shows a lot! |
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| Quail |
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| artsyfartsy |
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| A view to the canyons beyond the mountain faces |
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| Where a glacier probably was. |
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| Perhaps light!? |
The sun eventually came out for a little bit, so I decided to race back to my campsite to dump my car and get back to the lake's edge. It wasn't as outrageous as the day before, but enough for me to write the rest of the day off, once again. After all, this was it - I would be traveling by car for the next 3 days straight, with only brief stops before reaching my Simmons Beautyrest back east. I had been on the road for almost a month!
I prepped my car for the big haul home after returning from the lake. I kept out only what I needed, so that when 6AM came around, it was a pack n' go situation. The sun hadn't exactly made an appearance on the day yet, but I could see the light begin to illuminate the trees and roads. I drove my way to the lakeside once more, where I had first made a stop two days prior when entering the park. There were some boat docks at the lake's shoreline, one of them being marked as private - no trespassing. There were some beautiful colors emerging, and I wanted to get a good picture, without the boats or dock in the picture. After a self-bout of whether or not this was the right thing to do, I stepped over the dangling chain and made my way to the end of the private dock. I was just trying to live my best life.
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| See, the boats don't need to be in this view. I'm glad I jumped the dock. |
On my way out, I wanted to get a sunrise pick at Jackson Lodge. I recalled the day before, stopping into the lodge for services n' such. It was like a scene out of some 1980's Chevy Chase comedy, the lodge/hotel had a very distinct vibe to it. Walking to the back of the lodge are these large, cathedral height windows that provide a view to the faces of all the mountains at Grand Teton.
I saw these mountains in my rear view for the next hour, no joke.
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