Advertisement
Published: April 2nd 2012
Snake River Overlook
My version of Ansel Adam's famous picture of the Tetons.Lewis and Moose Falls
Today is the day for Wyoming’s other national park,
Grand Teton.
Before going there, I had to drive out of Yellowstone.
Since all Yellowstone roads are scenic, it provided one last taste of Wonderland.
First up, I crossed the Continental Divide again, this time for the last time in a while.
Other than the sign, I would not have even noticed the pass.
From there, the road ran along the shore of
Lewis Lake.
In many ways, the lake appears like a much smaller version of Lake Yellowstone, blue water surrounded by pine trees with mountains in the background.
Finally, the road passed
Lewis Falls, another wide curtain waterfall.
Lewis Falls is near the road, so lots of people stopped to see it.
After Lewis Falls, the road ran along the rim of Lewis Canyon.
Breaks in the pine trees gave a view of a narrow ravine surrounded by basalt.
Going south, these views are somewhat frustrating because there is no safe place to stop for a picture.
Finally, the road passed
Moose Falls.
Like other waterfalls in the park, this
Lewis Falls
Lewis Falls in Yellowstone National Park. To get this view, hike the short trail south of the bridge. one was running high.
A broad curtain of water fell over a ledge.
It reminded me of many of the other waterfalls in the park at this point.
The bottom of the falls has little shiny rocks imbedded in the walls.
These little rocks are
obsidian, a type of volcanic glass.
Along the canyon, the road also passed through a burn area.
In 1988, Yellowstone National Park dramatically showed the limits of fire policy at the time.
Until then, the park service put out most fires.
This allowed deadfall to accumulate until a bone dry summer combined with severe lightning storms (and some careless hunters) caused blazes so large nobody could put them out.
The fires
burned for three months until winter snow finally doused them for good.
Ultimately over a third of the park burned.
Surprisingly, these areas the following year looked like a Christmas tree farm surrounded by burned trees.
Lodgepole pines are adapted for periodic fires, and only seed after large ones.
The park service now lets lightning caused fires burn, unless they directly threaten built up areas.
Near
Moose Falls
Moose Falls, in Yellowstone National Park. the southern end, the road passed a dirt road that leads to several back country trailheads, including one for
Union Falls.
This waterfall, one of the largest and most impressive in the park,
requires an all day hike to reach.
I ultimately dropped it from the schedule to make time for things later on.
This proved to be a good idea, because the hike requires fording several rivers, which are currently impassable due to flooding.
Grand Teton National Park
Soon afterward, the road entered Grand Teton National Park.
The centerpiece, of course, is the
mountain range itself.
They are one of the few tall mountain ranges with no foothills, so they are dramatic.
The first sight of the classic saw tooth peaks is an overlook on the road across a large lake, Jackson Lake (actually a reservoir).
Of course people stop to look.
Further down, the road provides more overlooks, until it reaches one of the major visitor’s centers, Coulter Bay.
Coulter Bay offers a quick taste of a part of the park fewer people see, the lakes.
The center is the hub of a network of trails that follow the lakeshore
Grand Teton Shoreline Trail
The Grand Teton view few see, Jackson Lake from the Shoreline Trail. and the swamps behind it.
I hiked the
Shoreline trail, which follows the edge of a little peninsula in the lake.
The trail offers awesome views of the Teton peaks reflected in the lake, along with lots of pine trees and wild flowers.
Jackson Hole
Just south of the lake starts one of the most famous parts of Wyoming, Jackson Hole.
The Hole is a
large valley completely surrounded by mountains.
The Tetons on the west side are the most dramatic.
The road forks after the lake, with one branch following the western side of Jackson Hole and one following the eastern.
I planned to circle the valley, so I went east.
The first sight is the
Oxbow, a huge curving lake that used to be part of the Snake River.
Then, the road gives a huge view of the valley with the Tetons in the distance.
The view lasts throughout the drive.
The next major sight is
Cunningham Ranch.
Like the Great Smoky Mountains (see
Roaring Forest), the federal government bought out a number of settlers to establish the park.
Cunningham Ranch was owned
Grand Teton across Jackson Lake
The Grand Teton view nearly everyone sees, from across Jackson Lake at the Coulter Bay visitors center. by one of them, Pierce Cunningham.
Not much is left, just a single three room cabin which just happens to be one of the oldest buildings in Wyoming.
Ranching here was a hard life, with brutal winters, tough soil, and precarious markets.
The trail has interpretive signs that cover it all.
Next up is one of the most famous sights in Jackson Hole, the
Snake River Overlook.
In 1948,
Ansel Adams took a famous picture of the Grand Teton range with a bend of the Snake River in the foreground.
The Overlook preserves the exact spot.
I happened to have a copy of the picture in a book, so I pulled it out and compared the two.
The trees are much higher, otherwise the view matches.
Ansel Adams was a master of light and shadow, so his picture is better than the view.
After the overlook, the two roads that split earlier merge.
I turned north at this point.
The road along the eastern part of the valley runs very close to the heart of the Teton Range.
Pyramid shaped granite peaks rise
Cunningham Ranch
The main cabin at Cunningham Ranch, one of the oldest settler's cabins in Wyoming above in all their glory.
On the other side, a nearly treeless plain stretches away in the distance.
This is yet another road where an open car is a serious hazard, because it’s nearly impossible to pay attention to regular driving.
Several times, I pulled over to shoot panoramas.
Current visitors owe much of that view to one man, John Rockefeller Jr.
When Grand Teton National Park was established in 1929, it only covered the peaks themselves.
This was due to the political machinations of local ranchers, who did not want to lose their livelihoods.
Park managers saw the valley being developed in the future, and really wanted to prevent it.
They caught the attention of Rockefeller, an heir of one of the largest fortunes in the United States.
He quietly worked to buy land, square miles worth.
When he announced his intention to
donate it to the park, it set off a political firestorm.
He required decades to overcome local resistance, but much of Jackson Hole finally became part of the park in 1950.
Since developers have now overrun much
Teton Range
The central Teton range, from the south end of Jackson Hole of the remaining private land in the area, this action was ultimately quite prescient.
The most scenic part of this very scenic mountain range is the section near
Jenny Lake.
The road gives a distant view of a glacial valley between two walls of mountains.
It’s possible to get closer.
A narrow spur road runs to the lake.
The view from shore reveals a glacial lake with the mountains towering directly behind it.
The valley starts behind the lake.
Unfortunately, the wind was blowing so I did not get the reflections seen in so many photographs.
Signal Mountain
The last main site for today was Signal Mountain.
The drive through Jackson Hole revealed a low mountain ridge in the upper middle of the valley.
This is
Signal Mountain.
It should have an incredible three sixty view of the entire valley and mountains.
A narrow and slow road climbs to the top.
The view was somewhat disappointing, because the top is forested.
It did have an overlook of the eastern half of the valley, which also showed a field absolutely covered in
Jackson Hole
Jackson Hole, looking southeast from the overlook on Signal Mountain. yellow wildflowers.
The view is nice, but not the overwhelming experience I was expecting.
Down the road a ways was a trailhead.
This trail went along the ridge.
It eventually reached an open field covered in even more wildflowers with a good view of the Tetons.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.121s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 12; qc: 25; dbt: 0.0603s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
