Day 15 - Grand Teton Day 2

Day 2 with the Tetons! We spent this one full day in the park, and made the most of it. After seeing so many close-up deer in Rocky Mountain and then the bison herd when we arrived in Grand Teton, we were excited to spot more animals and left early to start searching. Big fail. Antelope Flats? No antelope. Was that brown thing across a field an elk? Even with our binoculars, we couldn't tell. Distant bison. In one win, eagle-eyed Ruth spotted a huge bird flying with a snake in its beak. We were glad we saw the bison close-up yesterday or would’ve been really bummed with the lack of animals today!

We looped up to Colter Bay at the north side of the park for the Visitor Center, gift shop, and lunch at a restaurant where we had our first huckleberry ice cream of the trip. Thumbs up all around on the huckleberry, which Zadie put into her “top 4 flavors” and likened to the classic Michigan flavor Blue Moon.

After lunch, we made our way to crowded Jenny Lake and lucked out with a parking spot. We took a ferry across the lake, which Zadie was slightly nervous about first and then loved. The guide told everyone that there had been many black bear sightings today on this exact hike but not to freak out – the bears see hundreds of people every day and aren’t scared of us. He warned us that we’d be more likely to injure our family by using bear spray than to actually protect anyone from bears, so to stay chill.

The short hike up to the falls was pretty, but Zadie was not in a hiking mood. She refused to continue further, so she and I played by the icy river while Ruth and Bill continued up to Inspiration Point. Another tourist showed Zadie little gold flakes in the water, so she happily searched for gold (or “gold”) while we waited. Ruth and Bill had more excitement - a kid passing them on the trail said that a black bear had been lumbering right behind him on the trail, so they were likely just a few minutes from being in that situation themselves. They did not see that bear, which would have been especially stressful given that the trail was mostly a narrow rocky path on the side of a cliff! 

After the return ferry, we waded in Jenny Lake and realized it wasn’t too cold, enough so that we decided to visit another nearby lake to swim. After the cold plunge in the river at Rocky Mountain, Ruth was ready for a dip in a mountain lake. We drove over to String Lake, a smaller lake nearby, and made Ruth’s mountain lake swimming dream a reality! Beautiful location, warm and sunny afternoon. The water was chilly but not freezing, and even I went swimming. 

We headed back to camp to dry off and have dinner (Thai curry with tofu/veg/rice tonight), then more games of spades. Parents finally won! Our neighbors for the night included an excited group of 37 Mormon teenagers on a church trip. Fortunately, they all respected the campground quiet hours so everyone could sleep. I helped make the bathrooms less creepy for everyone by mass murdering all the daddy long-legs (sorry/not sorry!).