Jackson, Wyoming: We spent all day Sunday visiting with Mom and Gene, and before continuing north, Dave's Mom prepared brunch for us. The Lovely Lisa had sent her Grandma a "Croissant of the Month" gift. The pastries arrive frozen, require an overnight thaw, then only 15 minutes in the oven. The flavor this month was chocolate-filled croissants, which Mom served with strawberries and apricots.
Of course we had the obligatory family photo session:
Mom, Dave, Gene and meThe first adventure of the day was to find a notary. Our neighborhood (9 homes) decided to amend the CC&R's (first time in twenty years) and every "lot" had to sign the amendment and have it notarized. We pulled into a large shopping mall in Alpine, Wyoming and walked into a bank and - voila. Not only did the bank have a notary, there was a post office across the road. Done and done.
On to Jackson!
Y'all know I just love Jackson. Rustic, yet modern. Charming, yet current. Great shopping. Great views, and home to my favorite gem in the National Park System -Grand Teton.
The campground we usually choose, The Virginian (right in town!), is no longer accepting Big Rigs, so we opted for Jackson Hole Campground, about six miles from Jackson on Moose-Wilson Road. As we checked in, the clerk told us a moose has been hanging out in the campground. Sure enough, right on cue, the moose greeted us as we pulled into our site. (Learn more about the resort at the bottom of this page.)
Immediately after setting-up camp, we headed out to explore Grand Teton National Park by car, equipped with cameras and binoculars. Our route into the park today was easy - we just followed Moose-Wilson road into the southern-most park entrance.
Beaver Dam
Close-up of Beaver DamThere is quite a bit of snow in Grand Teton, and the roads opened just a few days ago. Many hiking trails are still closed. There is a lot of animal activity in the park. Bears are waking up. They are hungry and they have babies to tend, teach and feed.
Streams are full and flowing into the mighty Snake River. Much of Jenny Lake is still covered in ice.
Jenny Lake
Jenny Lake
Jenny LakeI don't often apologize for crappy photography on this site. Usually I just post my crappy photos. But this time I am so sorry the quality isn't better because this time the photos are of a grizzly bear eating a moose! The bear was very far away from me (and the safety of our Honda) and I was not going to get any closer. This type of photography is called a "proof" - proof you saw a grizzly eating a moose.
According to a park ranger, a grizzly bear killed a moose yesterday morning - conveniently at a popular overlook above a pond - and has been dining on the carcass for the past few days. The bear seemed to eat for an hour or so, then retreat back to the woods for an hour or two, then return to the buffet. Rinse and repeat. We saw the bear return from the woods to his/her dining room below a dead tree, and watched him/her gnaw-away for about an hour this afternoon.
Grizzly bear, under the tree, eating a moose
Another shot - ravens and turkey vultures lurk nearby
Moose sashimi.That was pretty exciting - and really just a stroke of luck as this section of the road will be closed over the next two days for road construction. Besides the bear/moose situation, we also observed ducks, geese, an osprey and beaver in the marshy pond area.
We continued driving through the park - simply beautiful covered in snow:
The Tetons
The TetonsWe left Grand Teton National Park just as it was getting dark and drove to Jackson for dinner. We ended up at Local, the same spot we had lunch with Mom and Gene a year ago. Would you believe it if I told you we ordered the exact same dishes again? We are so predictable.
Until my next update, I remain, your naturalist correspondent.
RV PARK: Jackson Hole Campground - Outside of town, but very convenient to Jackson and Grand Teton National Park. We have a full-service 50 amp gravel pull-through site. Bathhouse, laundry, cable TV and free wifi. A lot of trees, but both roof-top dishes found their satellites. We are paying $68. And... that is the off-season rate.
FYI: The campground is part of (and behind) the Fireside Resort, so look for the Fireside Resort sign. There is no "Jackson Hole Campground" sign (that we noticed). RVs must drive down this little lane (below) between new adorable rental cabins, to reach the RV office.
New cabins at Fireside Resort
Fireside ResortDave and I poked our heads inside the cute cabins - they have a front porch with BBQ, living area with fireplace and TV, kitchenette with dishwasher, full bath and a bedroom in the back. They are really just fancy park models. Really, really fancy. (You canpurchase one and have it hauled to you.) Have a look inside. The resort also offerGlamping tents.