We travelled all the way through Yellowstone NP from the
north entrance to the south entrance to the Grand Tetons, which is still in
Wyoming. We stopped at Grant Village
Visitor Centre and found out about the 1988 wildfire which destroyed so much of
the park’s forests. 25 years later we
could now see how the trees have re-seeded themselves. The Lodge Pole Pine tree produces two types
of pine-cones. One is sealed in resin
which requires the temperature of a fire before the seeds are released. Thus even after fire the trees can grow
back. Aspen trees reproduce via their
underground root system. This is one of
the few national parks where you are allowed to collect fire wood from the
ground, for your campfire as this helps clear the area of some of the dead
trees.
As we drove into Grand Tetons the road parallels Jackson lake,
except ……….. where was all the water?
For about a mile all we could see were puddles and a gully of
water. The water level must be about at
least 50 per cent below its normal level.
We called into Colter Bay campground to discover that 250 of
the 350 sites are closed for maintenance and all the other sites were
full. So we opted for Plan B and
continued down to Gros Ventre campground at the southern end of the park where
we were told there was a Moose cow and calf that frequent the campsite on a
regular basis.
10th September Jenny Lake
In the morning Alison chatted to a neighbour, Hobo-Ken, who
said he saw the Moose and her calf in the campground earlier.
We drove through the park admiring the Teton Mountain Range
in the sunshine. After a picnic lunch we
hiked part way around Jenny Lake and up to Moose Pond. Unfortunately there were no Moose to be seen. We drove up Signal Mountain and enjoyed extensive views across the valley to the east and then drove down to Signal Lodge by the edge of the Lake where we could see just how low the water level was.
Back at the campground we chatted to another British lady,
Angie, and her husband who were travelling with 5 dogs!
11th September Jackson
We had thought to take the kayak out on one of the lakes
today but the weather was too breezy so we drove into the town of Jackson just
10 miles south of the park. After a stroll
around the shops and Art and Photo Studios we had lunch and then drove up to Teton Village, which has the famous Jackson Hole ski resort. In the summer they use the runs for mountain
biking and we watched as people go up in the ski-lifts and then hurtle down the
slopes on their bikes. We had noted
there were a number of bike lanes in the area and throughout the park.
Unfortunately we never did get to see the resident Moose in this campground.
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