Monday, September 12, 2016

The Grand Tetons and Beyond!




After narrowly escaping with our lives from the aliens we left Yellowstone National Park and headed towards the South Entrance and the Grand Tetons.  This entrance had been closed for more than a week due to forest fires but it was reportedly supposed to open the day we were leaving. As luck would have it, it had just opened before we got down there!
The smoky haze that covered most of Yellowstone intensified the further south we drove. Soon we were driving through the remnants of the fire and observed first hand what had kept this road closed.  Fire crews were still out in force hitting hotspots and several uncontained fires were still visible in the distance.




Fire fighters lined the roadway
Our destination for the day was one of two boondocking spots that we had received from a fellow fulltimer that was recently in the area. The first one was in mostly open terrain and close enough to the fires to keep us moving. A few miles down the road just outside the boundary of the National Park we found the second spot we had been directed to and were not disappointed. The views from this spot were incredible!

Our boondocking spot
Sunset from our campsite
You will notice that most of the pictures in this post are of the Teton Range itself, but with mountains this incredible it is really hard to focus on anything else. Instead we embraced them looking for different areas to photograph them from and playing with our camera settings to see what we could create. The smoke played havoc and created an almost constant haze but we made the best of it. Some of the pictures worked out, some didn't.

The brown grasses and the yellowing of some of the trees showed the first signs of fall. At one point we came across a herd of horses with the mountain as a backdrop that we just could not pass up.


The next morning we got up early to take advantage of the clearer skies and headed to a nearby historic Mormon community with barns and homes from the late 1800's/early 1900's. Again we experimented with various views, angles and settings on our cameras. As we were taking pictures of the barn below we noticed a coyote walking through the grass searching for its next meal.









Our photography appetite satisfied we continued on to Jackson where we stopped at the Snake River Brewing Company for a sample of each of their home brews!



89 miles to the west of Jackson is the city of Idaho Falls. We had never been to this city before and really liked it. It is a fairly big city but has a small town charm to it. We spent two nights in the Cabela's parking and as luck would have it, the state fair was in town! It has been a while since we have been to a fair, for us the highlight was walking through the livestock area and watching the sheepherding trials.
Look what we found!!!!!!
The Midway, we didn't do any rides

Who wouldn't want to win a pile of crap?!








No fair is complete without hitting the craft shed!


Having our fill of the hustle and bustle of the city we drove another 87 miles west to Craters of the Moon National Monument. This volcanic rift in the middle of the vast desert-like terrain is just bizarre. The 618 square mile lava covered area contains lava rivers, scattered islands of cinder cones and also a number of caves that the public can explore after getting a free permit.




A cinder cone island

The cone itself could fit a school bus!






Only one more adventure before we return to Salt Lake where we started this journey last April. Next up we are headed near Idaho City where are meeting our daughter Jessica and her family to work their mining claim for a few days and spend time with the grandkids!

24 comments:

  1. Looks like you definitely saw all the animals that would have been on "Old Macdonald's Farm" !!!

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    1. You know now that you made me think about it, we did not see any chickens, ducks, geese....no farm birds at all.

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  2. Great pics!! And good luck with the mining!!

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  3. Craters of the moon looks pretty cool. I think we have driven by that but we need to stop next time. How much fair food did you enjoy?

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    1. So much fair food to decide from! We ended up with a Tiger Ear, a burger and some deep fried potato chips.

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  4. Really liked the picture of the barn in black and white. Another good write up Jim.

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    1. Black and white is really perfect for this setting given these barbs have been there for over 100 years!

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  5. Nice job on the different photo settings. Too bad about the fires in such a beautiful park.
    Safe travels!

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    1. It certainly does produce some unique shots we normally wouldn't have tried. There is so much to these cameras, I bet we only use about 10% of their capability.

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  6. Yes, that was an incredible spot to boondock! What a jaw dropping view:) We've only visited the Tetons on two motorcycle trips. Of course, this was the best way to really view this area. I so need to return to hike. Your photos were awesome! Love the barns and the mountains...great job! How sweet of the coyote to pose for a photo:)

    Craters of the Moon is definitely unique. I was excited to stop here for photos to use in my classroom. Once again we were on a motorcycle trip when here. I love the lava tube caves and the roping.

    Can't wait to hear about the mining experience!

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    1. Mining was very interesting, I never knew there was so much to it!

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  7. You scored one of the best campsites near the Tetons ... love it! Nice collection of photos. Craters of the Moon is so much prettier when the wildflowers are out in full force. Bizarre place none the less.

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    1. I bet Craters of the Moon is incredible in the spring when the wildflowers are blooming. We found it very interesting even without them.

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  8. Can you share your Teaton's boondicking site? It looks great.

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    1. There are no spots right in the NP butthere are several in the National Forest lands around the park. I don't know the name or coordinates of the one we stayed at but it as well as several others can be found in Campendium.com

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  9. Mike did win Judy a pile of crap. She gave it to a little boy they know. She showed me a picture, I thought it was a Hershey kiss. We miss you!

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    1. Ha, Mike has been Judy crap most of his life anyway so why not! So good to hear from you, we miss you too!

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  10. We love the Tetons and your pictures are awesome!

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    1. Thanks guys, we had never been there but will definitely be back!

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  11. we visited Craters of the Moon in the spring when the wildflowers were blooming, an amazingly unique place. Love going to fairs, always something different to see.

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  12. Great pics! In spite of the haze! I've never even heard of some of these places! So much still to learn and see!

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    1. That's why we read all these blogs, to find new and exciting places to go!

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