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Published: July 26th 2006
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We pulled into Colter Bay by 11am. Ed and I had a really nice quiet drive as we let the kids sleep in our bed when we pulled out. We have done this periodically over the summer and it works out nicely as we get a few quiet hours to enjoy the scenery and they get the extra sleep which they seem to need. We saw lots of wildlife but didn’t choose to stop. The coolest was when we saw an entire herd of buffalo in a valley, dozens if not up to a hundred. The views on the way down were terrific, mountains and lakes, valleys and flowers.
We explored Colter Bay Village as the site wasn’t quite ready when we got there. Our campground was on Jackson Lake, there was a nice marina for rentals, a great visitor center with an Indian Museum, the requisite gift shop, a restaurant, and a Laundromat (which I used 4 machines at a time to catch us up). We explored and enjoyed then set up our campsite along the end of the campground. This turned out to be an awesome sight in the end as we were feet away from the beach
and picnic area. We immediately noticed that the temperature had risen quite a bit. What we didn’t know was that it was a country wide heat wave that would take out the power in quite a few places across the country. All we knew is that it had definitely gotten hotter than we had been experiencing. At night in Yellowstone, the temperature had been dipping into the low 40’s most of the nights. This is when we couldn’t turn the heat on as the campsite has a no generator policy during the evening. Now that we had full hookups, I am not sure it dropped below 60 degrees.
We left the campsite and headed down to Jenny Lake to reconnect with the Beaulieu’s. They had checked into their hotel for one night, returned their RV, and picked up their rental car. The plan was that the next day Alan and Ed were returning to their respective jobs for the week and all the girls would see the Grand Tetons. So, for the last day, we took a stroll/hike around Jenny Lake. We found our required water stop which we really needed this day as the weather was just plain
hot. Danielle found a trove of butterflies which Alan showed her could be held (so she did). It was pretty cool for her and fun to watch. We took the ferry back to the other side as a few of us younger ones had reached their limit and then we all drove down to Jackson for dinner and a swim at the hotel. When we finished, we headed back to Colter Bay with Shannon and said our goodbyes to Allen.
The next day was bright and beautiful but a little strange. Ed and I rented a canoe from the marina for a 2 hr peaceful paddle around the lake. Shannon stayed with the kids in case any of you was wondering. Then it was time for Ed to say goodbye to the kids (Shannon took him down to the airport). The kids were not at all happy, especially Danielle and it was a difficult goodbye for her even though he would only be gone for 5 days. As much to distract as anything else, I took them into the village for lunch and wandering and after a while that seemed to do the trick. We just played locally until
Shannon showed up and then we played locally some more until Nancy and the kids showed up (after saying goodbye to Alan).
No one was much in the mood to go far which was good because that is when we found out how close we were to this beautiful picnic spot/beach on Jackson Lake. It was a rocky beach but all of the kids love to collect and play with rocks so it was perfect for them and for us. With the snow covered mountains as backdrop and the lake at our feet (by now we were sitting in our chairs in the lake), it was a good day. We augmented the experience with floating logs for the kids to play on and a great bottle of wine and snacks for the big kids to enjoy. It turned into that perfect idyllic time; kids having a great time, adults having a great time, everyone enjoying each other, beautiful scenery, great weather, beautiful water, no expectations, relaxing; basically, it was what we came out here for.
After a great dinner, the older kids joined with Shannon and went to sleep in the permanent tent village (bunk beds) and the
younger kids stayed in the RV with Nancy and me. We all cuddled down and went to sleep (finally).
Our last full day at Colter Bay started very early when Shannon and I left with Jacquelyn to go horseback riding. Nancy graciously agreed to watch the little ones and Michelle and took them to Jenny Lake for some rock climbing. We got to the ranch early and then waited quite a bit for our 2 hr trail ride. Jacquelyn rode Rusty, I rode Blizzard, and Shannon got Wolf. All I can say was that Jacquelyn had a huge time. We climbed a large hill (with a lot of flies) and had a great view of the Tetons. However, that is not what rocked Jacquelyn’s boat. She figured out how to hold Rusty back a bit and then once the guide was ahead of her, she had Rusty trot to catch up. Well, let me tell you, a lot of fun was had by both her and the boy behind her. They trotted this way and that and just laughed and giggled for the last hour once they figured this out. I enjoyed myself more as well because Blizzard did
not move for much but would at least try and catch up sometimes which helped my ride. When we were finished, the family of the little boy thanked us for bringing Jacquelyn. We went back happy and dusty and waited for the rest to join us at the campsite.
When the troops arrived, Nancy was a bit tired having had to carry Danielle for a half a mile after she fell and hurt her knee. Shannon and I decided to kidnap the kids and take them to a swimming waterfall. Well, after we stopped for ice cream (which is mandatory on hot days when looking for waterfalls) we found the waterfall but it was big and it was scary and Shannon was the only one who was going to be able to pull it off so we headed back into the car a little bummed. Good news came though less than 15 minutes later as we headed over the Snake River on a bridge and I thought I saw a good swimming place. We turned around, pulled into a parking lot, and immediately saw a group of river otters playing on the following shore. They were a kick to
watch and true to our prior experiences, once we stopped and pointed at them and played in the water, plenty of others followed suit and we had a crowded beach. Shannon taught the kids how to float downriver and I have great videos of them doing just that. Eventually, we grew tired (actually the kids and Shannon got very cold) and we headed back to Nancy and the campsite. We showered and ate and tried to go to the evening Ampitheatre show but the ranger spoke so softly we couldn’t hear him so it was back to the RV and the tents and to sleep again (late again).
We were sad to pack up our Colter Bay site but this part of our trip was at an end and it was time to head down to the town of Jackson.
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