Entering Teton Park

Tuesday, August 22. Grand Teton RV Park to Colter Bay, WY.

The rest day of just 20 easy miles to Colter Bay was delightful, as anticipated. We had a nice leisurely breakfast at Buffalo Valley Cafe, where we appropriated a napkin depicting all the local brands (as in cattle brands; this has been a topic of great interest lately). We didn't even roll out of there until almost noon. Since there were six of us, and the cook was working on a 24" grill, our food came out in batches; that was fine, since we were all still just talking and enjoying each others company.

As we were getting ready to roll out, a couple rolled up to the cafe; he was a Brit, she was from Colorado. They are doing the Continental Divide trail, which I can hardly fathom - it means mostly dirt track trails, lots and lots of climbing, and some stretches without services of over 100 miles. They were stopping for lunch, which gives you a good indication of how late we got out of there.

The road to the Grand Teton National Park entrance was easy to ride, and as usual Nancy and I lagged behind. As we approached the entrance, we found the Fab Four waiting for us, having arrived there a few minutes beforehand. They were discussing the entry fee of $12 per person, contrasted with the $25 per car (including SUV's and large vans) carrying many more people. In one case we saw a car with two bikes on the roof and two more on the back go through, with four occupants; we knew they had paid just $25, but four people on bikes would have to pay $48. It didn't seen very fair.

One of the purchases Nancy and I made in New York was an annual park pass, which got us in to the Vanderbilt estate and the Franklin Roosevelt estate in Hyde Park, as well as other national parks along our route. The card would get us in for free to any national park in the country. I looked at the back of the card, and it said specifically that the undersigned (us) and our CHILDREN were entitled to free entry to parks where fees were required. Hm. Children.

So, we rolled up to the gate, I with my park pass in hand, all of us in helmets and sunglasses. When I handed over the card, the ranger asked who it covered, and I just said "Well, me and my wife, and these are the kids . . .", and left it at that. He asked how far we were going and how far we had come; when I told him, he waved us through, saying, "I'm getting tired just looking at you. Have a nice trip!", and that was that. We were in the park!

Arriving at Colter Bay, we got a good deal on a hiker/biker site for us all and went to get set up. We started by putting all our food and toiletries in the bear boxes near the site, and then went to enjoy the area. Rob went to the visitor center, Jess and Melanie went to the Jackson Lake picnic area, and Deanne went to the beach to read. Nancy and I went to the picnic area to blog and to recreate a picture of me in the same spot (approximately) that I stood about 30 years ago.

We had a nice, relaxing time at the lake and at the visitors center, where we found Jess and Deanne, and later Melanie; we discussed having dinner at the Colter Chuckwagon (which is actually a pretty decent-looking joint) or at the cafeteria-style place next door, but ultimately decided on cooking in camp. We went to the grocery store and picked up some stuff for dinner (and breakfast) and biked back to camp..

We all returned to camp for dinner and conversation, and as the hour got late and the sun got low, Rob left to watch the sun set behind the Teton peaks, while the rest of us busied ourselves in camp. It got into the 30's overnight and I for one got pretty cold - so much so that I had to put my socks back on and tie my bandana on my head like a do-rag. I even pulled my jacket over my sleeping bag like a blanket in a vain attempt to stay warm. Tomorrow night we will try another approach - we will unzip both sleeping bags, lay one out as a base, use the other as a blanket, and snuggle together for warmth. We'll see how that works. As we lay there, we discussed the possibility of going ahead with the Fab Four on their route (the actual Trans-America route to Florence, OR), but realized that we didn't know enough about the route to make that decision right then. We agreed to look at the route when we got to Grant Village and see if it was feasible.

The morning was so frigid that I had on two layers plus gloves and a jacket and was still shivering. In August! It must be the altitude. We actually were pretty organized and had everything packed by 9, having eaten breakfast in the meantime. It was just 19 miles to the Yellowstone gate, where we all agreed to try the same ploy that got us in to the Tetons.

To be continued . . .