Looking for Moose
10
8/11/15
Tuesday
Gros Ventre campground
Grand Tetons, WY
No hook-ups
Went to Grand Tetons by heading south on US 20 back to Shoshoni and then US 26 to Moran at the entrance of the Grand Tetons. Went to Signal Mt campground and it was a zoo, with too many people!!!! Next we tried Gros Ventre as it was our second choice and got a much better campsite in an area with no generators, bear boxes and a lot fewer people.
Our campsite was near the Gros Ventre River where there are supposedly moose to be spotted?
11
8/12/15
Wed
Gros Ventre campground
Grand Tetons, WY
No hook-ups
Tried to hike the South Jenny lake trail but literally could not find a parking space. What a disappointment!
Went to nearby String Lake where we met some very nice park volunteers…..a couple who have volunteered at the park for the last 3 years. All the park personnel were out because there had been a black bear stealing people’s food from their ice chest the day before at String Lake.
We hiked the String Lake Trail to the south and then on to Hidden Falls. People kept saying they had seen a moose on the Inspiration Point Trail. I decided to try and hike the trail and find the Moose; Alan decided to wait below for me (too tired after the Hidden Falls hike).
The trail was very, steep with lots of switchbacks but after many stops along the way, I finally made it and saw the moose and the view from Inspiration Point.
We hiked from 11 until 5 that day!! We were very tired but also extremely proud of our accomplishment.
We stopped at Dorian, on the way back to our campsite, for something to eat and ran into John and Georgian from Boysen. Nice surprise!
12
8/13/15
Thurs
Gros Ventre campground
Grand Tetons, WY
No hook-ups
We went into Jackson to look around and get our trailer battery charged as it was not showing a full change. The town itself is named Jackson, but the entire area is Jackson Hole….tourist town with obvious money to be made and spent, however we did find the locals to be friendly.
Had great coffee at the Cowboy Coffee Co. where they had a wonderful sign in the bathroom that stated….
“Unattended children will be given expresso and a free kitten!”
Levi at the Sinclair station helped us with our battery.
We went back to the campsite and hung out for a while, a rain shower moved through, hiked to the river looking for moose and then went for a drive via Mormon’s Row to see the buffalo and then on over into the Bridger-Teton National Forest to see the Gros Ventre landslide area – absolutely beautiful area! Very remote and only a few people.
13
8/14/15
Friday
Gros Ventre campground
Grand Tetons, WY
No hook-ups
Picked up our battery and then went back to the campground. We took a drive up to Signal Mt !!!!! Very steep drive and beautiful view from the top. Do not know how the bicyclist we passed on the way up were able to complete the trip…they are amazing!!!
We went over to check out Colbert Bay area and didn’t care for it … again too many people. We stopped and did several short hikes along the way but nothing like the first day. Seeing more smoke in the distance.
14
8/15/15
Sat
KOA
Arco, Idaho
Full hook-ups
Drove through Swan Valley, ID (US 26) from Grand Tetons, WY to Arco, ID. Stopped at Palisades Reservoir overlook for lunch. Fixed sandwiches and sat on the cliff overlooking the water. Saw Osprey nests with babies on all of the electric poles.
We began to see lots of smoky haze from the wildfires from Idaho Falls to the west…..rather worrisome.
15
8/16/15
Sun
KOA
Arco, Idaho
We drove 20 miles to visit Craters of the Moon, ID .
Drove the loop and hiked the Devils Orchard.
Hiked up to Inferno Cinder where you could see 360 degree views of the Craters of the Moon.
Met the Ranger for the guided walk to the Indian Tunnel;
She talked about the plant life and the lava flows then went into the lava tube tunnel and back out a more strenuous way. The tunnels were used by the Fremont Tribes thousands of years ago. The Ranger pointed in the direction that we should be able to see several mountain ranges that are not visible presently due to smoke from the wildfires.
The Craters of the Moon area has a very unique appearance and feel. My grandfather always doubted that man actually walked on the moon, and many people believe the walk was staged and credit the Craters of the Moon area as being the actual location of the reported walk on the Moon.
16
8/17/15
Mon
KOA
Arco, Idaho
Took the day to gather ourselves. We hung out at the campsite doing laundry, replacing the speakers on the trailer and generally, doing some housekeeping.
We have met several people that have come through some of the wildfire areas and they had been rerouted or delayed because of the fires. We have had serious discussions about our original plans to visit friends in Seattle, WA, Medford, OR and Kimberly BC and have decided that there are simply too many wildfires to go around and too much smoke affecting visibility. We have decided to delay those visits and head south and east to try to get way from the smoke.
17
8/18/15
Tuesday
Ely, Nevada
KOA
Full hook-ups
We left Arco and headed south on US 26/93 into Nevada toward Great Basin National Park.
Very smoky along the way due to the smoke from the wildfires over on the west coast and from northern Idaho.
Stopped at Twin Falls, ID briefly and then headed south on 93 into Nevada.
The trip was rather long and disappointing due to the smoke but all was OK.
We went through the town of McGill that was in the middle of nowhere, but amazingly had a Greek church and a “Rexall” drug store that is actually a museum and has an authentic soda fountain.
We made it to Ely, Nevada to a KOA and had salad and pizza delivered to our campsite! What a luxury. The skies are a little clearer here but not much.
18
8/19/15
Wednesday
Great Basin NP
Baker, Nevada
Absolutely no services.
Left Ely for the approximately 100 mile drive to the Great Basin National Park.
The road we took was called “The Loneliest Road In America” (US 50) . US 50 actually came up on our navigation system as being “The Loneliest Road in America”.
Very hot on the drive and at one point the jeep actually reached the “red” zone after pulling up the second pass. We stopped at an overlook for just a few minutes and had no further issues. Actually the only way we knew there was an issue is that we noticed the dial.
Then we got to an unexpected oasis that Alan had researched and found called Great Basin National Park!!!! What a pleasant surprise in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes the plans that are the best are the ones that just happen….not an easy thing for Alan and I since we tend to over plan everything.
We moved into a campsite at the Lower Lehman Creek campground (site #4) right beside two branches of the creek coming together. What a great find.
Nothing like being right beside a bubbling brook unless it is being right besides crashing ocean waves.
Beautiful site but it was certainly unimproved we had to work a while to minimize the downhill slope.
We visited the visitors center to get info and then rested by the creek for the remainder of the day.
19
8/20/15
Thursday
Great Basin NP
Baker, Nevada
We toured Lehman Caves in the late morning.
Really an unexpected surprise. We have visited a lot of caves but this was a winner. It even had shields in the cave and those are not found in many places. Parachute shields to top that.
The story is that Lehman found this cave when he and his horse fell into the natural opening and got stuck because it was so small. He reportedly had to wait for his ranch hands to find him and get him out.
The cave was evidently used by the Fermont tribe as a burial site as there were numerous remains found at the opening of the cave.
We drove up to Wheeler Peak to look around (bicyclists here as well, amazing) which was a 12 mile drive up the mountain and looked around. 8% climb and about a 3000 foot elevation gain. Saw lots of turkeys and deer. One of the Rangers mentioned that the turkeys were brought in by a hunting club to a ranch in the valley, and they didn’t realize that the type they brought in were indigenous to highlands so as soon as they could the turkeys escaped and moved into higher elevations of the park….now they are everywhere-except not so many at the hunting ranch.
We were setting by the creek when we noticed a snake on a large rock in the stream. It had something in its mouth which we realized after closer inspection was a trout!!! We watched this snake with fascination as it maneuvered the snake into a position where it could swallow the fish whole. Must have taken about an hour but it persevered and was able to do it. I had to know what sort of snake it was and luckily had phone signal so I googled and discovered that there was only one aquatic snake in Great Basin – the Wandering Garter Snake. Since it appeared to be a match I was able to be more comfortable by the creek. After the Snake digested for a while, it slipped off the rock into the water and we never saw it again.
Great Basin National Park is one of the darkest locations in the lower 48 states. We joined Park Rangers for a scheduled astronomy program; slide show on light pollution and viewing telescopes. Telescope
viewing; Saturn (yes, you could see the rings), Albireo (double star), Ring Nebula - M57, and Lagoon Nebula – M8.
20
8/21/15
Friday
Great Basin NP
Baker, Nevada
We went to the visitor’s center and visited with the student intern (ironically, she was showing off native snakes at the entrance) and discussed the snake, we showed her the video and she was so excited that she wanted a copy.
We went back to Wheeler Peak to hike the trail to the Bristlecone Groves (2.8 miles with 600' elevation gain). Truly amazing to think that these tress are literally thousands of years old. Reportedly as much as 5000 but the oldest we saw on the interpretive trail were around 4000!!!!!
On the way back we went to Lake Teresa as a side hike. It was a cirque lake what was really pretty and tranquil. It was obvious that the lake was low but had room to fill as the weather dictated.
Very nice hiking day and it helped that the elevation was high enough that the weather was cool unlike most of our hikes thus far. When hiking always, always remembering to hydrate and keep fueled is critical! You have to basically fill your backpack with water bottles and protein snacks.
We met a nice couple from Montana that had just come from Kodachrome Basin State Park, UT; following that discussion, we decided to stay there as well; glad we did. Interesting couple, he was a retired Geology Professor and she worked for the Audubon Society.