After driving up from Salt Lake City, as I described in my last blog, it was time to explore the lovely little town of Jackson, Wyoming and its next-door neighbor: Grand Teton National Park.
We decided to stay at a bed & breakfast for this part of our stay, and what a great decision that turned out to be. The Teton View B&B was just a little way outside the main downtown area of Jackson, and the lovely hosts Carol and Franz were fantastic. The room was cozy, we had access to a nice semi-private balcony and hot tub, and the homemade breakfasts were outstanding.
We paid $325/night out of pocket for this section of the trip, because there really weren’t a lot of good points-based options to choose from in Jackson; even low-end chain hotels like the Springhill Suites (Marriott) and Hampton Inn (Hilton) were running in the mid-$300s per night, with corresponding high-point redemption requirements. In the end, it was a bit of splurge for us, but given the good location & great breakfasts, we felt it was worth it.
Once we’d gotten situated at the B&B, we headed into town to explore the Jackson Town Square and to get our obligatory Antler Arch photo. (And no worries, animal lovers…the elk shed their antlers naturally each year. No elks were harmed in the building of these arches!)
We also swung by the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, where “bellying up to the bar” actually meant saddling up — their barstools all have real saddles on them. The hubby was a fan.
The next day, we woke up quite early so that we could beat the crowds into the Grand Teton National Park. Our first full day in town would be a hiking day, and we took on portions of the Jenny Lake, String Lake, and Leigh Lake trails, knocking out a total of 10 miles before taking the ferry back across Jenny Lake to the Visitor’s Center from Inspiration Point.
Along the way, the scenery was just breathtaking. Here are some of my favorite shots:
And then, to cap our adventurous first day, on the drive home we spied a mama moose and her fawn. Very cool!
Our second day in Grand Teton was similarly jam-packed. The day started with another hike, this time to Grand View Point, a 3.5 mile round trip hike that ascends over 1,000 feet in the mile directly before the summit. The incline was killer, but the reward was great too — one of the most panoramic views of the Teton range, as well as two of the nicest glacial lakes: Two Ocean and Emma Matilda Lake.
After our hike, we decided to reward ourselves with lunch at the nearby Jackson Lake Lodge. The view from the Lodge was awesome, and the food was pretty good too.
Next up, we had about 30 minutes to kill before our “big” activity for this day, so we headed over to the Snow King Ski Resort, which is conveniently just outside of downtown Jackson. There, they have a number of summer-time attractions such as the “alpine slide”, where they repurpose their luge track as a fun slide for people of all ages. While I didn’t get a photo of us on the slide itself, here’s a shot from the top of the lift.
And then came the day’s main event: whitewater rafting.
I’ve never been whitewater rafting before, so I didn’t really have much to compare it to. But our trip in a 12-person raft down the Snake River with Mad River Boat Trips was thrilling, exhilarating, exciting…and terrifying. Our guide Wooly was utterly fantastic, but we came very, very close to having our entire raft flip on what’s called the “Lunch Counter Rapid.”
Part of the issue was the water level. Anything over 15,000 cubic feet per second (CFS) is considered “high water levels.” Our day on the river, the water was at 22,500 CFS. Pardon my French here, but HOLY FUCK. I will not be signing up for whitewater rafting again, at least not in high water conditions like this.
That being said, it was still a very cool trip. And the best part was that this was actually the “dinner trip”. And by “dinner,” they aren’t talking hot dogs and chips. Mad River put together a legit 4-star meal, cooked on an outdoor kitchen along the river, including venison, lake trout, charred brussel sprouts, honey glazed carrots, a delicious salad, cornbread, and berry cobbler. So my recommendation if you’re ever in Jackson? Definitely call up Mad River, but perhaps inquire about their *float trips* with a meal option, instead of the rafting ones.
Finally, our last morning in Jackson dawned, and we said goodbye to our B&B hosts after another fantastic breakfast. This morning would be all about driving to Yellowstone, but before we left the confines of the GTNP, we made a few more stops for key photo opportunities, like:
The Mormon Barn:
The Chapel of the Transfiguration:
Cattleman’s Crossing:
And with that, our time in Grand Teton came to a close. Next up is Yellowstone, so stay tuned for part three of the trip!
