The day that almost was!

August 5 – The car was packed and we were ready to head out at 9.  Unfortunately the skies opened up on us and we drove in and thru rain all the way to Driggs, ID.  We had decided instead of trying to get into Yellowstone this morning and deal with lines of traffic we’d go south and east to Jackson, WY and north through Grand Teton National Park and enter Yellowstone at the south entrance so I could get the passport stamps and we would re-visit Jackson and Grand Teton.

View of Grand Tetons from ID

By the time we arrived in Driggs, we both needed a bathroom stop and saw a nice grocery store, Broulim’s, and went there.  What a great grocery store out in the middle of just about no where!  Too bad we weren’t heading back home or we’d have done some major shopping.  I did manage to find my tapioca flour and xanthan gum.  Bill got a good buy on Snapple and we picked up a few other things that would travel well.

Steep road ahead

From Driggs you take Teton Pass over the mountains and down a steep grade of 10% to Wilson, WY.  Then it’s not far at all to Jackson.  We didn’t really recognize anything until we

Bill at one of the arches

got to the town square park where all four corners have arches made of elk antlers.  Traffic was as horrendous as expected and no where to park so Bill dropped me off at the corner to take photos but then he found a spot right on the end where I was.  We took our photos and hopped back in the car to head north.  We

Jackson ski slopes

could see the ski slopes on the mountain sides.

There is a new visitor center that we don’t think was there when we last visited, National Elk Refuge and it’s park of the National Park Service also.  I got several stamps for my book and we picked up some literature.

Bill with George Washington in
downtown Jackson

The official Grand Teton VC is at Moose Junction just a few miles up the road.  We sat in the car and ate our lunch first and then went in.  This is where we took our first close up photos of the Tetons.  I started taking photos over in Idaho but it was still over cast.  It wasn’t the clearest of days at lunchtime

From the Visitor Center

either.  There are 2 roads north through the park, one is a regular road with fewer stops but longer if you plan to exit into Yellowstone.  So we took the more traveled road that all of the visitor centers are on and goes directly into Yellowstone.  The building is beautiful with one side all glass to give you a great view of the mountains.  There were nice exhibits with animal pelts so kids can see what different animal fur feels like and about their claws.

Receding glaciers

I took lots of photos of the mountains and what is left of some of the glaciers.  It’s sad to see the exhibits of how much they have receded in the last 25 years, 15 to 25 per cent.

Walkway to the ferry shuttle

At the Jenny Lake Visitor Center there were tons of cars and RV’s parked all along the entrance road and then out on the road.  We weren’t sure why but think it was because there is a ferry shuttle from their marina to Inspiration Point where the Hidden Falls are.  If we had planned to stay a night there we would have gone on it but not this time.  Bill dropped me off to get my stamp and picked me back up after circling the parking lot.

Jackson Lake from Colter Bay

We stopped at several more overlooks to get some glacier photos but were never exactly sure which ones they were.  The markers at the pull outs were not terribly definite, but at least we got pictures.

From the Colter Bay Visitor Center the view from the back deck was spectacular.  There were boats in the marina on Jackson Lake, which is a very long lake and wide in the center.  We didn’t stay long, just enough for a few photos and to get my passport stamp.

At some point the road changed names to the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway.  He bought up 32,000 acres of land in the 1920’s and against the wishes of the locals he donated the land to become part of the Grand Teton National Park. 

Last view of Jackson Lake
and the Grand Tetons

As we approached the south entrance of Yellowstone, which borders Grand Tetons, the rain started.  I ducked into the ranger station there to get a stamp, then we drove in the nasty rain to Grants Village where we go left to Old Faithful.  Well, here’s when our day took a drastic turn.  The Inn check-in time was 4:30 and our dinner reservation was for 5:30 so we started thinking we’d end up just parking the car and going in to dinner and unload and check-in after.  When we were about 25 miles away a little dim light came on in my head and I started thinking about all the passport stamps I’d gotten today and they were all dated August 5.  Then the light got brighter as I thought the reservation said August 6!  I got out our confirmation and low and behold, yes, we planned everything on the wrong day! 

I was terribly upset and could not figure out why we made the reservations for a Thursday, knowing we work on Friday and now what were we going to do.  Bill said to look on the bright side, at least we were not a day late and lost our money!  We had no cell service and could not call the RV Park to ask about changing our days, so we just headed on back to West Yellowstone.  I was on the brink of tears as I hate to inconvenience other people and if they had plans.  Oh it was not a fun ride.

Madison River in Yellowstone

On top of our mistake, the traffic heading out was backed up, the worst we had been in so far.  Finally, we found the reason, one lone buffalo minding his own business, just grazing along the road.  As soon as we got past him we sailed on in to West Yellowstone and stopped for dinner at the Wild West Pizzeria.  Before even ordering I called the

Traffic problem

RV Park to tell them our dilemma and see what we could work out.  They were all planning to go to the parents’ house for a get together and I asked if we could work tomorrow a half day and another half day next week and have Friday off.  She said she’d call me back.  We felt certain they would work something out for us and she called and said we could work in the morning and we’d figure out later the rest.

What a relief!  We enjoyed our calzones and salads for dinner but boy, it was expensive.  Won’t do that again, but at least we left with enough for dinner on Saturday night after work.

Other than having to unload all our “crap” and re-load it tomorrow, we were lucky that it all worked out!  Just another day in the “normal” life of the Chambers family!