Dubois WY –> Grand Tetons National Park–> Flagg Ranch, WY

We woke up and admired the mountains around us and the cute atmosphere of the Branding Iron Inn. We were greeted with our first chilly morning that needed additional layers! We packed up the car and checked out, I took some photos from across the street, where there was a gas station that claimed to have the largest Jackalope. Seeing that I am a sucker for roadside attractions, I wanted to go in, however Billy wanted to get on the road. Having this conversation on opposite sides of the road, Billy eventually begrudgingly agreed. There were lots of cool memorabilia all around and souvenirs, Jackalope merchandise, wall mounts, and a huge wall size mural in the back of the store stating “Jackalopes are real”. The largest Jackalope looks like a furry mule with deer antlers. Another tourist trap for the win!

For those of you that are not familiar with the Jackalope, it is a North American piece of folklore, it is a mythical creature that looks like a jackrabbit with antelope antlers. Wyoming has even considered using the jackalope as its official mythological creature. The folklore of the jackalope has been around since the colonial times of America. It is said that the jackalope (or “warrior rabbit”) can imitate the human voice, and run up to 90 miles an hour. There is much debate as to whether or not jackalopes are real, where the horns of the jackalope are actually tumors caused by a papilloma virus.  You can go Jackalope hunting in Douglas, Wyoming with a special hunting license on June 31^st from midnight to 2AM (if your IQ is under 72), make sure to lure it out with some whiskey, it’s beverage of choice!

Cue on the road again. Traveling through Wyoming we began to see the mountains getting higher and higher, and saw our first sights of snow-capped mountains in the distance. It really is something to see those first mountains that have a covering of snow on top in the middle of the summer. To think that the snow stays there most of the year is really something else! We did a quick stop at Tie-Hack Memorial along the Wyoming Centennial Scenic Byway, a statue to commemorate the railroad workers that worked on the Transcontinental Railroad. We admired the scenery before we continued the drive along the scenic road into the Tetons. The experience of seeing a massive snow-capped mountain pop up above the mountains in front of you, peeking up was an unreal experience. The kind that give you chills, and not just because the temperature is steadily dropping.

We took the obligatory sign photos in front of the park and made our way in. Mount Moran with its multiple glaciers stood majestically in the background, impossible to miss. We stopped at the picturesque Oxbow Bend for our first look at the mountain range, reflected in the late morning water. A quick stop at the Chapel of the Sacred Heart for both a bathroom break and some quick photos, then we stopped at a Mount Moran Turnout just because we couldn’t help it, the mountains were so captivating. The scenery that surrounded us was one you didn’t want to take your eyes off of. We then decided to drive to Jenny Lake to attempt making it across in a shuttle boat to hidden falls and inspiration point before it got too hot. The parking lots at Jenny Lake were already full, and people were starting to park along the side of the roads, even though it was before 10AM! On our way into the visitor center, we were stopped by a park employee who asked us if we wanted to use one of their GPS trackers to help them with their research with park visitors, which was pretty neat! Honestly, it made me feel a little bit of relief having a GPS tracker on in the park, especially with the fear of grizzlies and black bears! We went over to the visitor center, got our stamp and postcard, and I was convinced we needed bear spray. The park rangers highly recommend having bear spray in the park, since black bears and grizzlies are found there. Since we knew we were going to Yellowstone and Glacier over the next few days, it would also just give us (primarily me!) peace of mind. As the park rangers explained it, it’s cheap insurance! After a quick tutorial, Billy was manned with the bear spray and we walked to the edge of the lake to get on the shuttle boat.

On a side note, I was wearing an Ithaca College shirt, and am convinced that no matter where I am, I run into someone that either went there or knows someone who did, or lived in upstate NY. The theory did not disappoint today, as one of the men that were loading the boat said his brother went there! Later on, a park ranger stopped us and asked what year we graduated, and then told us that she graduated in 2017.

We made our way across the lake going straight toward the huge mountains. It took about 7 minutes to get across the pristine deep blue water to the other boat dock on the other side of Jenny Lake. The cool wind felt good as the sun started beating down as we approached the noon day sun. We got off the boat and followed the trail up the mountainside toward hidden falls. A steep incline, combined with the strong sun and a bit more elevation than we are used to made the climb a bit difficult. The reward of making it up to Hidden Falls paid off, but it was very crowded. We snapped a few photos, but wanted to get out of the crowds.  We crossed the river via the bridge and started a very steep incline to go up to inspiration point, however that did not get us away from the crowds in the least bit. As the afternoon sun started beating down and we hadn’t had much lunch yet, we decided to not to go all the way up to inspiration point. We did get to an overlook that looked out across Jenny Lake. Inspiration Point is a unique view of the park because it actually does not overlook the Teton Mountain Range, it looks over the water- so I guess it’s like you get a birds-eye view of what the mountains see! We walked back down to the boating area, and waited in line for the boat with probably around 30 other people, and took the boat back across the lake. The cool breeze and mist coming off the lake felt amazing with the blazing sun beating down. 

After we made it back to the car, we decided that it was time for a real meal and decided on a picnic lunch. We attempted to go over to the String Lake picnic area along the Jenny Lake Scenic Drive, however the place was jumping with people and we could not find a parking spot. So instead, we decided to be adventurous and picked a random pull off along String Lake. We walked down the trail a bit, then a little toward the water before we parked it on a rock and made some epic sandwiches. Buffalo chicken and avocado sandwiches with an apple, as we sat and watched the lake with Grand Teton and its snow-capped top in the background. Although the meal was simple, I’m sure the atmosphere and the hunger made everything taste 1,000 times better! We enjoyed the view, the food, and the company while only mildly being afraid a bear was going to jump out for a snack.   

With full stomachs, we made our way down along Teton Park Road to the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center. They had some neat exhibits about the park, the wildlife, the early explorers, and the native Americans that lived there first. They also had some exhibits on the artists that had first photographed and painted the area, with Ansell Adam’s picture of the Snake River and Grand Teton, and other photos of Schwabacher Landing and Oxbow Bend. The visitor center overlooked the Teton Range, with floor to ceiling windows. One of the really neat things they did in this visitor center was that on the ground they had arrows that pointed out each mountain, listed their elevation, and other various facts about the mountain range. It was one of those things that you could easily miss if you didn’t know to look for it!

Our next stop was Mormon Row, which would include some exploring of unpaved roads. It turned out that a quick drive on Antelope Flatts Road got us to the main part of Mormon Row without any crazy unpaved road driving. Mormon Row was inhabited by Mormon homesteaders, who clustered their farms close together so they could share the labor and community, unlike the stereotypical homesteaders in the early 19th century. The picturesque barns still stand in the flat lands at the base of the Teton Range. The rustic wood of the barns perfectly framed the mountain ranges, truly capturing a picturesque western moment. This was one of those places that when you take a picture, you look at it on the camera and just think, “wow, that looks so unreal!”. Then you look up and realize that the picture doesn’t capture the immense size and beauty that is laid out in front of you.

We traveled up the John D Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway to stop at the Snake River Overlook to try to harness our inner Ansel Adams to get pictures of the Snake River with Grand Teton Mountains in the background. Compared to the picture that Ansel Adams was able to capture in this same spot, it now showed the changes in growth of the pine trees since he was there in 1942. We couldn’t see as much of the snake river due to the tree growth, but it was pretty neat to see the same sight as the iconic photo.

We continued up the road and drove to Colter Bay Village and Visitor Center, and decided on a short walk from the marina to part of the lakeshore trail. However, since it is us, it turned into more of an adventure with wanting to see more and more of the sites. The lake was an extreme blue and the sun started setting, we rock scrambled/tree scrambled down to the shore and were able to walk along the water to get a picture of the lake in front of Mount Moran. Wildflowers lined the shore on the way back towards the car with the mountain range in the background. We explored a few of the stores in the Village, and then starting driving up toward the lodge. It turned into one of those rides where you wanted to stop to see everything, we finally realized that we were going to get to the lodge in the dark, and we didn’t really mind. We stopped at a pullout along the side of the lake to get some pictures of the setting sun, then continued on to the lodge. We got another opportunity to see the snake river, with a dramatic sunset, and finally arrived at Flagg Ranch as darkness was setting in. We stopped by the lodge store and picked up some Teton Range IPA, since it seemed appropriate for the day’s adventures, and enjoyed them in the expansive room at Flagg Ranch while eating a late dinner.

Flagg Ranch turned out to be the only lodging we stayed in within the park boundaries on our trip west, but it did not disappoint. It is located between Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. Our cabin had rocking chairs outside on a small porch, and was located within the campsite of the lodge, but somehow made it feel very woodsy, nestled within trees and was surprisingly quiet despite the number of people. One of the things we appreciated was that since it was part of the National Parks, it did not have a TV because they encourage visitors to get outside and explore. With such a nice place to stay, we would have loved to enjoy it for longer, but we wanted to get the most out of our time at both Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. I would definitely love to come back again, with being so close to both parks, I could definitely see staying at least a week!

~GW