Into the Mystic: Les Trois Tetons

Currently In: Rawlins, WY
Heading to Loveland, CO tomorrow

We spent a couple of days exploring Grand Tetons National Park. Some French trappers dubbed them Les Trois Tetons back in the day.

There are turnouts at several stops along the main road in order to view the mountains from different vantage points. Each of the peaks has its own name, with Grand Teton being the highest peak.

Teton Galcier is on the northeast side of the Grand Teton. Galciers were important in the formation of the mountains and canyons.

This group of peaks is known as Cathedral Group. Teewinot Mountain is on the left, Grand Teton in the middle and Mount Owen is on the right.

This is Mount Moran. It is made of gneiss and granite, which are among the oldest rock in North America.

We took a drive up Signal Mountain to get these expansive views of the National Park.

Jackson Lake

Jackson Hole valley

We continued our drive on the first day looking for wildlife in the Snake River area. Because it was so hot that day, most of the wildlife were in hiding trying to stay cool!
We got up early one morning to hike around Jenny Lake when it was relatively cool outside. Jenny Leigh was a Shoshone Indian who helped an 1872 expedition. The survey team named the lake for her. This is part of the Jenny Lake trail.

Here are a couple of views of the Lake in the morning stillness.

Hidden Falls was the goal of that hike.

And a view of the Mountains from the trail as well.

We decided to take a shuttle boat back to the start of the trail to get a different perspective of the lake.

Ben was our tour guide and he provided information on the trail, the mountains and the wildlife in the area. There was a lot of discussion about climbing Grand Teton. The record holder has done it in 6 hours (up and down)! There is another record for traversing the Tetons in 25 hours. It was all crazy talk as far as I'm concerned.

The top of the Cascade Canyon Trail was closed for repair and the trail from the bottom was too long for us that day, but I got the best photo of the canyon from the lake.

Both days at the Grand Tetons we had lunch near String Lake.

Families come to String Lake for the day to enjoy the water and boating.

I was determined to dip my toe in the water in a National Park. We met a family from Salt Lake City while we were enjoying the beach and Jacob joined me for this photo. Wow! The water was cold.

We took the opportunity to visit a couple of historical sites at Grand Teton as well. Although the mountain range was declared a National Park in 1929, all of the surrounding area did not become part of the Park until 1950. In the meantime, other development took place on land which is now the National Park. An example is the Chapel of the Sacred Heart dedicated in 1937.

The inside has a simple beauty.

The most historic hotel in the park wasn't built until 1950 - the Jackson Lake Lodge. It has more of a modern feel.

I love the stone entryway.

There are expansive windows highlighting the Tetons!

My other favorites were the fireplace and the chandelier.

By this time we were ready for some refreshments. It was hot (high 80's) both days we were there. This is Jackson Lake with the Tetons in the background.