yellowstone
a nature paradise

Our visit

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click on a photo to start Lightbox, that lets you see the series of photos one after the other in a bigger size, plus legend.
 

Grand Tetons - Jenny Lake

the snowcapped range tof the Grand Tetons

The first day in the Grand Tetons, we drove from our Togwotee Lodge to the National Park. We first went to Jackson Lake, a big reservoir that keeps up water for the agricultural lands on the opposite side of the Tetons in green Idaho.

The French trappers that came here in the late 18th and the 19th century called these mountains 'les grands tétons', the big tits. It was a predominantly male community, so some feminine fantasy kept the men happy...
The French king sent his first expeditions to Canada (Québec) in 1534 and 1535. The fur trade (castor or beaver) became important from the early 17th century onward. European trappers traded with indigenous people and set up trading posts along the rivers.
French names seem a bit out of place here, but besides the Grand Tetons, there is a Shoshone tribe called Nez Percé (pierced nose, also the name of a county in Idaho) and East of Jackson Hole lies the city of Dubois, another French name.
slopes full of yellow Arnica flowers on the way to the Park the Grand Tetons green meadows with the Tetons as a backdrop Buffalo Fork, another tributary of the Snake River another Arnica slope Grand Teton entry booth at Moran green hills, quite eroded

Jackson Lake

Jackson Lake is fed by the Snake and Lewis Rivers that we followed downstream the day before. The Snake River then follows the East side of the Tetons all the way down to Jackson, then turns West and flows to Idaho Falls. It continues all the way West to Washington State where it joins the Columbia River. It is more than 1600 km long and should in fact be called Salmon River. The S-like hand movement Shoshones make to represent swimming salmon was misrepresented as being a snake...

a neat row of big mountains the contrast between the Flats and the Tetons the dam on Jackson Lake the Snake River downstream from the dam kissing couple near the dam... damn! the travellers with 'Trouble In Paradise' Ms Jackson awaiting reclamations Jackson Lake Juliette near Jackson Lake Jackson Lake panorama Grand Teton indeed!
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Jenny and Leigh Lake

We continued to the Jenny Lake Visitor Center and started out for a short hike in the direction of Leigh Lake. The lakes are named after fur trapper 'Beaver' Dick Leigh (from England) and his (Shoshone) wife Jenny, who assisted the Hayden expedition that explored the region in 1872. Signs warned that bears might be wandering in the neigbourhood, so we once again started to sing and make noise while advancing along the trail (see Bears page).
glacier leading into the lake a big Teton reflected in the lake
the bushy plain on the way to the Visitor Center always the mountain range as a backdrop one of the most imposing rocks a glacier winding down the mountain paddling canoes on the Cottonwood Creek on a paddleboard seems less comfortable... beautiful panoramas along the track alpine ski anyone? postcard view of lake and mountain bear dancing among the trees footpath bridge over the Cottonwood Creek the Cottonwood Creek what a nice cap, sir! the Cottonwood merrily tumbling down its path Touché on a clearing in the wood, it's nice in the sun, but there's snow in the shade romantic view over the lake trees reflected in the lake romantic couple at the lakeside a young elk at the side of the road Guy at the lakeside Jenny Lake and the mountain
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Indian exhibition at Moose Visitor Center

After our Jenny walk, we continued by car South over the Flats to the Moose Visitor Center and tried to find the exhibition about the Indians that lived in this region. It turned out that the exhibition consisted of only a few windows with artefacts in a part of the Center. We had expected something more consistent...

On the other hand, even if it was rather small, the exhibition about the Native Americans in the Tetons was quite interesting and comprehensive. It showed how the Indians made clothes and utensils, how they used plants to make colours, and coins and other materials brought to the region by the Europeans to make ornaments, etc.
a male elk foraging another white rear... panorama

After seeing the Indian exhibition we rode back home. On the way, we saw our second elk male, that was quietly grazing somewhere off the road.
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