Grumpa Joe's Place

Every once in a while Grandma Peggy and I get the itch to see some stuff. A couple of years ago we took a trip out west. The destination was Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. The plan was to visit the US National Parks that Peggy has not been to, and then to cross the border to see the things I have missed.

We left on Friday morning and  headed toward Grand Teton National Park by crossing Illinois, and Iowa into Nebraska. We wanted to spend our first overnight in Lincoln, but there were no accommodations to be had. Nebraskans take football seriously and the team was playing their homecoming game.

The last time I visited Grand Teton, I was on a bicycle with my friends. Five of us drove to Yellowstone and then unpacked our bikes to spend a week sightseeing  by bicyle,, and finally ending at Jackson Hole. Another time we camped at Jackson Lake campground as a family. The five of us took a boat across Jenny Lake to hike in the mountains hoping to spot some wildlife. My son Michael was only six at the time and newly diabetic. We hiked as a family for as far as we could when Barb stopped and told me to go ahead with the older kids. She would stop and rest with Mike to make sure he didn’t use up all his energy. It was a wise move. She and Mike sat along the path and waited for us to return.  A half hour later we returned to find two of the most excited people on the face of the mountain. While we continued our search for wildlife, a male moose with a rack the size of our car walked down the mountain and stopped to graze within a few feet of Barb, and Mike. They froze until the big guy ambled off down the mountain. We came back within five minutes of the event. We had not even seen a ground squirrel on our venture up the hill. We had a nice hike back to the boat landing and crossed the lake. It was still a short hike back to our campsite when Mike’s insulin kicked in and used up the sugar he had left in his blood. Barbara instantly turned into paramedic. She ran, carrying her son, to the nearest camper to ask for sugar. Luckily, she found some and stuffed it into his mouth to keep him from passing out.

Luckily, this trip was less eventful than our family camping adventure, but the sights were totally different from the last time. Grand Teton mountain was bare. Every photo on every calendar of the Grand Teton is one with a snow cap. The mountain is not as spectacular without snow. Another difference is that we experienced a grey cloud cover with rain. I have been to this park four times and always saw super blue skies with billowy white clouds; rain came in the late afternoon and lasted for only an hour.

Nevertheless, Peggy and I toured as much of the Park as we had the energy for. I wanted to stay at Jackson Lake Lodge, but that is not a place you can book on a short notice. It is such a popular place, tourists book a full year ahead. Getting a room two weeks before you arrive is like winning the lottery. After striking out, we chose the Painted Buffalo Motel, a two star accommodation in downtown Jackson hole. That is another difference from before when I slept in a tent, and in a cheap motel with a bunch of guys.  The Painted Buffalo is older and worn, but super clean. Most importantly, it is affordable and only two short blocks from all the touristy shops, bars, and restaurants in Jackson Hole. Parking in the town is a premium, and we walked everywhere we could to avoid moving the Avalon. (I still called it the Avalon back then because it hadn’t been recalled for runaway acceleration at that time.)

Jackson Hole brags about having thirty frost-free days each year. We experienced a light frost which disappeared rapidly when the sun appeared. It was September, and we wanted to see quaking aspens reflecting into Jenny lake against a snow-capped Grand Teton. We didn’t see the picture i visioned.

Here is some of what we did see:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Related Articles

• Jackson Lake Lodge: Culinary Surprise in the Grand Tetons (gadling.com)

Filed under: Biography, family, Memories, Travel | Tagged: Alberta, Banff National Park, Grand Teton National Park, GrandTeton, Iowa, Jackson Hole, Jackson Lake Lodge, Nebraska, Wyoming |