So off we go to Wyoming… Did you know that Wyoming was the first state to grant women the right to vote in 1869 (more precisely, women were granted the right to vote so there would be enough voting citizens to meet the population requirement for statehood).
Deb and I enjoyed our stay in the Salt Lake City area and we were both pleased that we decided to come this way. The drive up to the Grand Tetons was amazing. Highway 89 from Brigham City to Logan was nice but after we left Logan, the road became Logan Canyon Scenic Byway… (oh darn). Amazing views along the Logan River, plenty of turnouts to stretch our legs. Stopped at Rick’s Spring along the way…which after reading the roadside placards wasn’t really a spring at all, but a redirection of the Logan river via fissures in the earth. We stopped in Garden City Utah on Bear Lake for lunch. Every diner and restaurant touted themselves as having the best burgers and raspberry shakes in town. Fortunately for us, we found roadside parking for our traveling train and bopped into Merlin’s Diner. Wise choice…biggest milkshake I have ever seen and delicious. An overnight stop in Alpine, Wy. was necessary, we found an RV park right on the Snake River, near the Palisades Reservoir.
Day two of our adventure took us along the banks of the Snake River most of the way to Jackson Hole. A bustling winter ski community, quite congested, Deb and I both agreed, way too touristy for us and a stop here would just be taking time away from seeing the Grand Teton National Park (GTNP). We parked the Black Pearl at the Visitor Center in Moose and unhooked the Jeep for a drive around the park. WISE DECISION. It was the clearest day of the three we spent there. We entered the park at Beaver Creek and enjoyed many turnouts along the Teton Park Road. Jenny Lake, Lupine Meadows Drive, Jackson Dam, Oxbow Bend. So many beautiful viewing turnouts. We drove back to get the rig and headed for our camping destination in Dubois (DO-BOYZ). The KOA we stayed at was right on the Wind River, little did we know that it was a prominent fly-fishing trout stream when we made the reservations. The sad part it was soooo windy we didn’t get much fishing time in.
We had plans to go back to the GTNP but the morning clouds quickly turned to pouring rain and “Plan A” was a total washout. Being only 35 miles from the south entrance to Yellowstone National Park, “Plan B” was quickly put into effect. A short stop at Moose Falls was an awesome way to be introduced to YNP. Our day trip included a drive along Lewis Canyon, a picnic at Lewis Lake and a drive along Yellowstone Lake to Grand Loop Road to the famous bison filled meadows along the Yellowstone River and ultimately the iconic upper and lower Yellowstone Falls. Expecting crazy crowds, surprisingly we found parking at all the viewing vantage points and left overwhelmed at the enormity and beauty of both the falls and the Yellowstone Grand Canyon.
Our return to GTNP was greeted with smoke and haze so bad that from a distance you could not even see the mountains. We had high hopes to photograph the T.A. Moulton Barn and the Mormon Row Historic District in the morning, but the iconic backdrop of the Tetons was not visible. Down the road, Deb and Zeus had an opportunity to get their feet wet in the Gros Ventre River, we picnicked along Teton Park Road and took in some of the vantage points along Lake Jenny that we previously missed. We also drove up to Signal mountain to get a bird’s eye view of the surrounding area, but visibility was limited.
There are many beautiful sights to see between the GTNP and Dubois along Highway 26. Deb and I were both enchanted with following the Buffalo Fork Creek up to the Continental Divide and then following the Wind River down the other side. The North Braccia Cliffs and Pinnacle Buttes West were breathtaking. The moose sightings on our way to Brooks Lake was pretty cool, and walking the Three Scally“wags” on the Wind river was a complete recipe for an awesome day.
That wraps up another AlwaysOnDaFly adventure. Wyoming was a pleasant surprise. Many things still on our bucket list for this area and we are anxious to come back for another visit. Bye for now……
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