Grand Teton National Park

On the way back, Caroline noticed that our route took us close by the Tetons.  We visited there 2 years ago and really enjoyed the Park (it is just below Yellowstone).  We  ended up spending 3 days there.  As you will notice in some of the photos that fall has come to the Tetons.  Made it even better.

The Teton Mountains.  The Grand Teton, the one in the middle, is the 2nd tallest mountain in Wyoming at 13,775.'

The Tetons from the south.

The northern part of the Tetons.

Posing at the Tetons.

A meadow in front of the Tetons.  It may have been the middle of September, but the 'fall' foliage was is in full swing.

This fire was east of the park.  It was a controlled burn that became uncontrollable. It burned the 3 days we were in the park.

Mt. Moran - 12,605.'

String Lake. 

Another view from String Lake.

The water was chilly.

Jenny Lake.  It is the most popular of the lake in the park.  It is about 2 miles by 1 mile and 260' deep.

Another view of Jenny lake.

The Snake River meanders through the Park.

The Cunningham Cabin.  A good example of a homestead ranch built in Jackson Hole in the 1880's.

Hidden Falls.

Along the bank of the Snake River.

A panoramic view of Jenny Lake from Inspiration Point - 7,200.'

Posing at Inspiration Point.

Along a trail that goes around Jenny Lake.

Downtown Jackson.  They have these antler arches in all 4 corners of the main square.

An eagle swoops down to grab Caroline.  What a minute - it's only a statue.  If only...

More of downtown (and next 2 photos).

We saw 3 moose, but  this was the best photo.

Woodland pine drop. It is a root parasite and produces very little chlorophyll.  It was about 2' tall.

A close up.  I'm not sure what these pods are called, but they are about a 1/2" across.

Hells Canyon National Recreation Area

There is a loop road in Hells Canyon that they said would take at least 5 hours.  When we started our tour in Joesph (from the north ), we found out that one of the loop roads was washed out.  That meant we had to back track through Joseph and come in from the south via Baker City.  So, our 5 hour tour ended up taking 2 days and probably an extra 100 to 150 miles. Was it worth it ?  Some what. It is administered by the U.S. Forest Service and most of their pamphlets left a lot to be desired as far as explaining what to do and the maps that outlined the Area. From looking at those maps and talking with some of the Forest Service employees, we decided that is was very difficult and time consuming to get to what Hells Canyon is famous for: the deepest river gorge in North America (in comparison, the deepest part of the Grand Canyon is around 6,000,'  in Hells Canyon, 7,993'). It is over 1,000 square miles and much of it can only be explored by foot.  We didn't have that much time.  The deepest gorge we saw was about a mile. 

On the road to the 'north' part.  There was a fire in this area about 15 years ago.  These are new lodge pole pines. 

Imnaha River.

Panorama at the Hells Canyon Lookout.

Oregon Grape.  It's the Oregon state tree.  The berries are quite tart, so I don't think they are just eaten.  They can be used in jelly, wine and dyes.

A close up of the 'grapes.'  They are about the size of a pea.

This was on the road to the 'south' portion, so we decided to check it out.

View from the visitors center of part of the Oregon Trail; you can just see it running through the middle of the photo.

There were excellent exhibits of what the pioneers looked like and the things they took along (and next 3 photos).



I'm sure the canvas didn't have any writing on it !!

Just down the road was aportion of the Oregon trail.

And, here it is.

The Snake River (and next photo).


The 3 photos below were taken from the Utah side of Hells Canyon.



Hells Canyon Dam.

We leave Oregon

Our 3 month stint in Oregon has come to an end.  We packed up and left on September 13th.  We will be slowly making our way back to the East Coast, taking at least 10 days to drive back.  We stopped in northeastern Oregon in a little town called Joseph. It was named after Nez Perce (a Native American tribe of the Pacific Northwest) Chief Joseph. After Joseph, we stopped at Hells Canyon National Recreation Area - check for that post in a few days.

Our last glimpse of the Columbia River.

A view of north central Oregon.  Not the green you are used to along the western 1/3rd of the state.

The town of Joseph.

Chief Joseph Mountain in the background. It is 9,610' tall.


A really nice life-size  bronze statute at one of the intersections.

Just south of Joseph is Mt. Howard. It has a tram going up to the summit. It is one of the steepest trams in the country.  It goes up  almost 3/4 of a mile up to the summit where there are 2 miles     of trails. The views of the  surrounding area were spectacular.

You can see 2 people walking on one of the trails.

Mt. Howard nomad.

A good looking dead tree.

A trail looking south.  Note the 2 hikers at the right edge.

Looking north.

Looking west.

Looking east.

The lake left of center is Wallowa Lake.

A closer view of the lake from the tram. You really can't see it, but at the tip of the lake is Joseph.

Caught this rainbow while on the road to Hells Canyon.