We went to bed at 10:00 last night. Usually by that hour, it's cold outside, but tonight it was still 76 degrees, and the van was hot and stuffy. We opened the windows, but there was no air movement. There was a bright light shining on us from the hotel parking lot, and people were walking around, talking, slamming car doors. So we decided to move our bed to the middle of Grand Teton, in hopes of cooler temperatures and a quiet, dark place. So we drove for an hour in our underwear and parked at Oxbow Bend, a good place to see grizzly bears. It was 20 degrees cooler and definitely dark, but surprisingly not quiet. There was an unbelievable amount of traffic going by, and there had been traffic in both directions on the way out there.
We debated if it was a good idea to sleep in the midst of the bears. Mike was envisioning a scenario where bears smelled the food in our van and tore the windows out to get to it. I didn't think it was likely they would smell our trail mix inside the Ziploc bag inside the plastic tub and somehow tear out the van window, but I said, “Well, if that happens, we can just throw the food out the window and drive away.” He said, “I think my hands would be shaking too much to get the key in the ignition.” I said, “Leave the key in the ignition while we're sleeping.” So he did. He wanted to get out the bear spray, but I said I didn't want to sleep with bear spray, as we're more likely to accidentally spray each other in these tight quarters than spray a bear.
Then another car pulled into the small lot where we were. I said, “They're hopefully just going to do some necking and then leave.” Mike said, “Necking? What is this, the 50's?”
But they didn't leave. They were clearly settling in for the night. They made me nervous, because we're way out here out of cell range with strangers right next to us. I got out the bear spray. I'm much more afraid of humans than I am of bears. Then the guy got out of his vehicle and I could see his dark form heading our way. I felt for the safety release on my bear spray in the dark. He disappeared into the woods and reappeared near his car. I went to sleep with my right hand clutching the bear spray and my left hand tucked in between the plastic containers I'm rammed up next to.
Around 5:00 a.m., Mike woke me up with an urgent whisper that there were bears a few feet away. We stared into the darkness for a long time, and Mike was searching for the flashlight. When he finally found it and shone it on the “bears”, we realized our eyes were playing tricks on us, and there was nothing there. More vehicles started arriving. I was too cold to get out and try to find a private spot to pee before our little place got crowded.
7:00 a.m. Took a few pictures, including Mount Moran reflected in the Snake River, and moved on. Never saw any bears. Or any wildlife at all, for that matter.
Stopped at Chapel of the Sacred Heart, because I can't resist a chapel, especially one in such a beautiful setting. But what was looking more sacred to me was the potty next to the chapel.
Sadly, both the potty and the chapel, like so many other things, were closed due to COVID. We peered in the windows of the chapel. It was pretty.
8:30 a.m. GAS at a little pump in the park was actually cheaper than the $2.79/gal gas we didn't get in Jackson Hole, so we filled up. 11.7 gal x $2.46/gal = $28.82.
List of things to do next time we find wi-fi or cell service:
-make hotel reservations in Colorado
-make reservations to get into Rocky Mountain National Park (the only park that is requiring reservations)
-check weather forecast
-look up the difference between snow and a glacier, and find out if that's a glacier on Mt. Moran.
-look up how much it costs to rent an RV from cruiseamerica.com.
9:10 a.m. Teton selfie. I haven't showered for 3 days. Haven't brushed my hair or teeth for 2.
Hiked the perfect trail around Jenny Lake. Beautiful morning, and easy trail with woods, lake, and mountains.
I had to wait at least five minutes to get this picture of Mike with the Tetons behind him, because there were constantly people in there. People everywhere.
At the parking lot at the trail head, they built the sidewalk around this rock.
Saw a bear-scratched tree.
Mushroom on a tree root.
10:30 a.m. Tried to visit Chapel of the Transfiguration, but guess what? Closed due to COVID. We decided to leave and head for Colorado to beat the 6-12” of snow that we have heard is coming there on Tuesday. Decided at the last minute to drive Wilson Road in hopes of a moose sighting. No moose. Finished off the package of Oreos, changed out of our cold weather clothes into our warm weather clothes, changed out of our hiking shoes, and hit the road.
12:30 p.m. Stopped to poop at a gas station in Pinedale, Wyoming. First actual toilet, sink, soap, and water I've used in about 27 hours. Got a cell signal and checked the weather forecast, which caused us to have an emergency meeting in the middle of the gas station to plot our course going forward. It looks like we would have to do Rocky Mountain National Park tomorrow if we're going to do it at all, because a major snow storm is coming tomorrow night and all day Tuesday, which is the day we were planning to be there. We were not planning on driving that far today and don't have reservations for the park for tomorrow and aren't really prepared to go tomorrow, so we decided to head for Rawlins, Wyoming, about 3 ½ hours away (Mike says he can make it in half that time), to stop for the night, get an actual hotel with wi-fi, watch the weather, and go from there. If the storm passes and isn't as bad as they're predicting, we'll go ahead with our RMNP plan, but more likely is the fact that we'll just go home, which is a bummer because RMNP is my favorite place on earth.
1:15 p.m. Certain people were driving way too fast through the barren wasteland of Wyoming and got a $195 speeding ticket. The cop also said our cracked windshield is a violation in Wyoming “and many other states”. 92 degrees and sunny. 40+ mph winds and extreme fire danger. Mike said, “This is like the ugly step-cousin of the Badlands.”
4:00 p.m. Arrived in Rawlins, took a much-needed shower, watched the weather on TV, made decisions. On the day that we had planned to be in Colorado, there's going to be a 60-degree temperature drop and snow storm. There's also a huge wildfire burning right where we were headed. We readjusted our plan and decided to head straight east and stay in Lincoln, Nebraska, tomorrow night, and then head home on Tuesday, when we should be in beautiful Rocky Mountain National Park. Disappointing end, but it's still been a great trip.
GAS at Walmart next to the hotel. 11.2 gal x $2.15/gal = $24.21.
He even put it up for me. And Noah brought home the perfect post from work. It was cut so they couldn't use it, and he rescued it.
