More than just Grand - The Tetons!

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After so many beautiful days we are beginning to take them for granted, and today was no exception! However, it was a little warmer, which was a nice change from the cold… Last night our abode was another camping cabin—we seem to like them for a couple of reasons… You can back the truck up to the door, don’t have to totally pack and unpack the truck to sleep in the back, and you can cook right outside the door - the only downside being there is no bathroom attached!...

Statistics

Starting Destination: Jackson, Wyoming
Ending Destination: Jackson, Wyoming
Ending Destination GPS: N: 43° 31.220’ W: 110° 50.397’ Elev: 6245’
Miles Driven: 65.1
Miles Biked: 29.5
Feet Climbed on the Bike: 800 (somehow it seemed more than that!)

Taking the Short Cut…

This morning our first stop was not the Park, but Staples! Thankfully the few things we had to take care of didn’t take very long and we could still get to McDonalds before they changed the menu for lunch! By the way it was a very Posh McDonalds, with fancy seats, exposed stone walls and Wi-Fi! We were on our way by about 10:30 and thought we would try this “cut-off” that the people at the campground had said would take us directly to the park without having to go through Jackson. We were warned that there was about 2 miles of gravel road, but that it was in good condition - well it was, except in the spots that weren’t making the trip rather bumpy in places! However, the ride was more than compensated by the scenery, especially all the colors. Fall (Autumn) is more apparent in this area with all the trees and bushes turning wonderful colors of yellow, orange and red. The short-cut took us directly into Moose, where we stopped at the visitors’ center and asked about hiking and/or biking trails without much success in terms of a recommendation. However, we did catch part of a very informative talk about how the Teton range was formed and why it has such a distinctive profile. This area is a recognized center for rock climbing and a book ("Never a Bad Word or a Twisted Rope") written by Glenn Exum (one of the early guides and instructors) caught Maria’s eye in the visitors’ center - it was a story about a girl who climbed Grand Teton barefoot and with only one hand… Having done a little rock climbing herself, Maria thought this was a little incredible. Our next stop was Jenny Lake, we stopped briefly at the visitors’ center and then drove out part way along the Jenny Lake scenic drive to the parking lot for the Jenny Lake Lodge, where we ate lunch and prepared for the next stage of our adventure!

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Going for a Bike Ride

On the drive into the Park yesterday we noticed this sign for the “Signal Mountain Scenic Drive,” and thought that this might be a prime candidate for a bike ride. However, we didn’t see a convenient parking lot at the base of the “mountain” so we thought that the ride out from Jenny Lake would be a great warm up! After lunch we got the bikes out, suited up and took off… First South along the scenic drive and then along the main road - some how the road wasn’t quite as flat as we remembered it to be! It was a good warm-up, however, the mountain road was quite a challenge for our flat land legs - thankfully it wasn’t too steep! The road surface was, however, quite uneven in places - something that we would have to remember on the way down.
At the top of the hill… (1) We were quite proud of ourselves in that we had only lost 3 mph on our average speed… (2) The view was fabulous, but a bit hazy - we were not sure whether it was smoke from fires, UV light or air pollution… On a clear day it would be spectacular!!
(3) We met some people from around Wichita - Carl had worn his OZ Cycling Club jersey for the ride and they commented to themselves and then finally asked us… It turned out that one couple actually lived a few miles down the road from us at one point… The world really is such a small place!
And (4) we met one of the locals - a Sage Grouse; aka a feathered brown blob! She really was quite acclimatized to tourists, just standing there calmly eating as we clomped down the asphalt path in our cycling shoes to take her picture… Alas, after all this adventure, it was time to ride down - slowly as we didn’t want to connect with any of the pot holes! Then back to the truck into the head wind, thankfully the ride didn’t seem to be as hilly as we thought it would be when we were riding the other way! It was a wonderful ride, and we were pleasantly bike tired enough to go directly back to the cabin, via the store to get some bread for lunch the next day…

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Carl’s Travel Trivia

Yesterday’s Answer: Debris left by a glacier as it retreats.
Today’s Question: What was the maximum speed on Carl and Maria’s decent of Signal Mountain?

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Comments

[Kristi Tafolla]

average speed
3mph plus your average speed