Incredible Wyoming.

At the beginning of August, we took a three-day weekend trip up to Grand Teton National Park in northwestern Wyoming. Off the bat, I was amazed and pleased at how beautiful the drive was – two-lane roads, almost completely empty of cars. Driving through places like “Star Valley” and “Cokeville Meadows.” By the time we actually arrived at our destination, I had come to the conclusion that Wyoming must be the wildest place left in the lower 48 states.

At this point, I have a confession to make: I was terrified of encountering a grizzly bear on our trip. We would be sleeping in the woods, in a puny tent, in one of the most active bear areas in the country. Furthermore, a pesky grizzly bear had just been removed from the very campsite where we were planning to stay. So I was a little scared. It didn’t help that, once we arrived, there were signs EVERYWHERE warning people about bears. Our campsite had a bear box.

I’ll end the suspense: we never saw a bear. We did, however, have the good fortune of getting a campsite about 100 yards away from Jackson Lake. We weren’t able to do much hiking on this trip because dogs aren’t allowed on national park hiking trails, so we had to take joy in the simple pleasures of the trip. One of the loveliest moments we shared: we woke up early, to a penetrating chill (up in the Tetons, it gets very cold at night even at the height of summer). We made some coffee over our camp stove and brought it down to the lake, where we watched the morning sun light up some of the most magnificent mountains on earth.

On a different afternoon, we took a walk along the rocky shoreline of Jackson Lake, throwing sticks for Pepe to fetch out in the water. Despite the chilly nights, it was warm enough to visit the beach in a bathing suit and even wade out into the water. On a deserted stretch of beach, we found some striking evidence of the volcanic activity in the area (Yellowstone National Park being just a few miles to the north) – a spring was bubbling up from the sand, and the water coming out was HOT. It felt great on our chilly toes.

After a couple of days of gawking at the beauty all around us, we drove in to Jackson Hole for a few hours before heading home. We visited the Snake River Brewing Company, which had some fine food and even better beverages. Then we enjoyed the scenic trip home, and bid our goodbyes to the Cowboy State.