Entry #4
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GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK
Quite possibly my favorite mountains in the world (right up there with Idaho's Sawtooth Range^, Wyoming's Wind River Range^, and California's Sierra Nevada Mountains) are found in the Teton Range^. The only drawback is the amount of people who are there each year. It was a tough time this year as the amount of bugs rose proportionately with the amount of traffic we encountered. The sunrise shots at the famous Barn^, Mormon Row (pic 1^ and pic 2^), and Schwabacher's Landing^ (including the beaver lodge^) saved it for me. Unfortunately for Jessie (who enjoyed sleeping at 4 in the morning while I stumbled out of the sleeping bag), there wasn't the magic we experienced at Glacier (see below for pics of Glacier). We did enjoy sundowns at Oxbow Bend^ and from near the summit of Signal Mountain^ (which had some pretty fields of lupine^ scattered beneath the lodgepole pines) together.

We did enjoy a day hike to the VERY popular Hidden Falls^, which comes from Cascade Canyon^, eventually draining into Jenny Lake^.

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
We also enjoyed a day in Yellowstone National Park, where we saw some sweet hot pools (hotpool 1^, hotpool 2^), including the Morning Glory Pool^. The pools rise up through the thin crust (this area is a "hotspot") to make scalding pools and geysers right next to snow-fed rivers^! As we watched literally hundreds of people (no exaggeration!) Ooo! and Ahh! while Old Faithful^ blew her cork, Jessie and I preferred the venting of Castle Geyser^, which spews every 13 hours or so.

One highlight was the chance to see Lower Yellowstone Falls (pic 1^, pic 2^) in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone^, which I hadn't seen since I was a boy.

WIND RIVER RANGE
Leaving the Tetons a day early, we headed for the relatively unknown Wind River Range^. It's an outdoorsman's paradise, and most people just don't know it's there. Seven of the ten largest glaciers in the lower 48 states are found in the Wind Rivers. Mid-summer isn't the best time for tent camping (the best stuff takes some backpacking to see), but we did enjoy camping at the Green River Lakes (Upper^, Lower^). We enjoyed a solid 10-mile day hike to see the Clear Creek Natural Bridge^, viewing Clear Creek Falls^ along the way. Even in mid-summer, the wildflowers in the Wind Rivers were very pretty (pic 1^, pic 2^).

The COOLEST THING was that while we were on the trail to the natural bridge, we met a wonderful couple from Idaho who happened to be believers who happened to have a canoe. Jessie and I had said how we'd wished we could take a canoe out into the lake not two hours earlier! They offered their canoe (no, we didn't even hint at it!), and we had a peaceful time on the Lower Green Lake^. We truly thanked God for the gift! He keeps doing that for us this trip-- it's been so rad!

And if you're reading this (Bruce and Jan): THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! You lifted our spirits and brightened our day!

ROCK SPRINGS SETS A RECORD
So here I am, typing away in Rock Springs, Wyoming at a Super 8 Motel. Today was the hottest July 16th on record. Lucky us.
Oh, and don't order the Pizza Hut-- go for the AppleBee's up the street.

MORE PICTURES
Li'l Critter^ (who had joined me early one morning as a took some sunrise shots)
Upper Mesa Falls^ (in Idaho), which we experienced as a side trip on our way from Glacier to the Tetons.


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