2019: STARTING OVER AGAIN! The Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks Part 2
Part Two:
Leaving Rexburg that Friday morning, found me heading east by way of Idaho State Route 33, or ID 33, getting ever closer to the Teton mountain range. While traversing the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway, one can see these majestic peaks, for a short distance, after you pass the Upper Falls. And I did get my chance to visit Alta so I could gaze upon the mighty Tetons the night before. But as you come out of Rexburg and head toward the rising sun the mountains become real. A few miles past the town of Tetonia, ID 33 turns south, and you get a really great view of the back side of the Tetons as you travel through Driggs and Victor, Idaho. For those of you who remember the television show Gilligan’s Island, Dawn Wells, who played Mary Ann, called Driggs her home for many years. I got to meet that wonderful lady about ten years ago when she was doing a promotional for her nephew in Nashville. She was just as sweet as she was all those years ago on that deserted island. On that little jaunt through that picturesque countryside I was able to stop along the side of the road and take some great pictures of the Teton range from Idaho, but I have always considered the vistas from Wyoming as the best ones. I could hardly wait for my first views, from Jackson Hole, on the east side of that magnificent mountain chain.
At Victor, ID 33, once again, turns east and becomes WY 22 at the state line. It travels over Teton Pass before entering the city of Jackson, Wyoming, which is the gateway to the Grand Teton National Park. I did not, however, take the 10% grade going over Teton Pass that you must traverse in order to take the shorter route to Jackson. A more scenic and easier grade can be found by taking ID 31 southwesterly to the small town of Swan Valley, on the Snake River, and then U.S. Hwy 26 which follows the Palisades Reservoir southeasterly to the Wyoming border. As we found out, later, when my brother and I went this way in early October, the area is a pretty good place for fall-foliage viewing. U. S. 26 combines with U. S. 89, at Alpine, a small Wyoming town just inside the border, and travels northeast through Hoback Junction before turning north to Jackson. The Jackson Hole/Snake River KOA is just north of the junction.
Jackson is a great place, but very expensive. When I was last there, in January 2008, I paid either $29.99 or $39.99 for a night at the Motel 6. This past summer, the cost was over $150.00 per night. And, that’s not one of the more luxurious hotels. Jackson has become home to some of the wealthier Americans. Some of the more acclaimed are Sandra Bullock, Brad Pitt and Han Solo himself, Harrison Ford. The Jackson Hole & Greater Yellowstone Visitor Center is on the northern outskirts of the city, and from there it’s only a few minutes until you enter Grand Teton National Park. The visitor center is a great place to stop for information, advice, maps, and souvenirs to remind you of your visit. While taking U. S. Highway 191 north, which will take you all the way to Yellowstone National Park, you pass the Jackson Hole Airport (JAC) on the left. This is the only National Park in the entire country that has an airport inside its boundaries. I flew into this airport in 2008. It had only one runway, but would take the smaller jumbo jets, such as a 707 or maybe even a 727. A few miles further, brings your first views of the Tetons.
There are two main arteries through Grand Teton National Park, an outer road and an inner one. The Teton Park Road takes you closer to the mountains, and the views are nice, but my favorite vantage points are on the outer, or main drive, of the park. This is U.S. Hwy 26/89/191. The inside passage takes you up, and close to, three pools of water known as Jenny, String and Leigh Lakes. The views of these magnificent mountains, directly across Jenny Lake are very nice, and there is a Visitor Center, as well as the Jenny Lake Lodge, on the eastern shore of the lake. Continuing north along the Teton Park Road will find you skirting the southern portion of Jackson Lake, the largest body of water inside the park, before eventually ending at the main thoroughfare of this national park. Before you reach that spot, however, there is one side trip to the right, or east, of the Teton Park Road that I must mention. This is Signal Mountain Road, and the view of the park, not just the Tetons but also the entire valley known as Jackson Hole, is well worth the extra time it takes to travel the five miles to reach the top. Signal Mountain, at 7,720 feet, stands about 800 feet above the valley below, and it is about 10 miles from the mountains, so it truly gives you an unimpeded view of the valley, Jackson Lake and the Grand Tetons.
After descending from Signal Mountain, one continues northward a few miles until you reach the main conduit between Jackson, Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park. If you head east, this will take you to Moran Junction where you can either turn south and traverse the main corridor, of the park, with all of its great views of the mountain chain, or you can continue east and leave the park, where you can journey on to the next great range of mountains that Wyoming has to offer. These are the Wind River Mountains, and I will be bringing you an article, along with the photos, of our journey there this past fall. The road, south of Moran Junction is known as U.S. Hwy 26/89/191. North of the junction, it is called U.S. Hwy 89/191/287. If you continue north, you will pass over Jackson Lake Dam, skirt the eastern side of Jackson Lake, including Colter Bay, and eventually out of the park. Yellowstone National Park is approximately an hour’s drive north.
On this trip, I had decided that I would have one day to get down to Rexburg, Idaho, another for the Teton mountains, a third day for Yellowstone and then the final one to go back home. So, on this second day, Friday, June 27, I went up the inner, Teton Park Road, crossed over to Moran Junction and came back down the main passage, U.S. Hwy 26/89/191, to Jackson, where I had my dinner at a Dairy Queen. I stopped for photo opportunities along the way. After I ate, I went back up the highway because I wanted to get some sunset photos from, my favorite place in the world, the Snake River Overlook. That night I slept in my car at a pull-out along the way. During June, it doesn’t get fully dark until about 11 PM. And the sun starts coming up by 4-4:30 AM. It’s not really a sunrise until around 5 AM, but rather what I would call a “lightening of the dark” when facing eastward. Just like my trip to Glacier National Park a few weeks earlier, I wanted to be at the Snake River Overlook at first light to see what the sunrise would look like from that point. Although I didn’t get anything spectacular, it was still worth it.
