Grand Tetons and Jellystone

 

So much has happened the past 4 days, I don't know where to start!

We arrived in to Grand Teton National Park on a beautiful blue-sky morning; welcomed by a spectacular view of the tall granite spires that make up the Grand Tetons mountain range. Snow capped and striking, it was hard to stop gazing at them. Spent 2 nights there, in a quiet campground next to Jackson Lake. The National Parks in the States are really well set up for visitors and fully prepared for educating us clueless tourists. We went along to one of their evening Ranger programmes, about Bears & their interaction with humans, and was really interesting! Have to admit, the National Park Service are doing a damn fine job, and the rangers are so enthusiastic about their jobs, & eager to chat to you. The next day, armed with our new 'pepper spray Bear Repellent' (super strength), we ventured out for a nice 4 hour hike / bike ride up near Emma Matilda Lake. Brent had the Bear Spray attached to his belt, hanging off him like a pistol. We heard some animals rustling in the bush partway through our walk, and Brent instinctively goes straight for the spray (made me jump a mile) – only to realise it was just a group of mule deer. Ah well – at least we know he has quick reactions! We still have plenty of 'grizzly country' coming up in our travels.

Moved northwards to Yellowstone National Park – a mere 20 miles up the road. This is THE place to do wildlife spotting. It's funny, people drive around all day looking for the slightest movement in the bush, from the safety of their huge 4WD vehicles. If 1 car pulls over the side of the road, all other cars slow down, and some stop – and it's like a mass frenzy to spot the animals, with their huge big lens cameras and binoculars. Turns in to a big traffic jam. Highly entertaining. During our travels in Yellowstone we saw 1 moose (apparently very elusive and difficult to spot, so we were lucky with that one), 4 black bears, heaps of big hairy bison, some native Yellowstone cutthroat trout facing upstream in some rapids, lots of elk and mule deer, and pronghorn (aka antelope) as well. Didn't see any grizzlies though! Yellowstone gets a whopping 30,000 visitors a day traipsing through the park. Even though it is a huge park, the only way to get away from the crowds is to go for a walk. Et voila! All the crowds disappear. Surprise, surprise. We did that today, on a 2.5 hour hike to 'Beaver Ponds', which was just bliss! Didn't see any beavers though....

The other side to Yellowstone is all the thermal activity – it sits on a very volatile piece of land which spits, steams and hisses all the time. The park contains half of the world's geysers, including 'Old Faithful', so named because it spouts huge volumes of water on a predictable and regular basis. Cruising along in Albert, we just happened to turn up to the big tourist site of Old Faithful about 1 minute before it set off. Great timing! Also saw lots of beautiful, brightly coloured thermal terraces, mud pools, fumaroles and some very unique geological features. It is definitely a spectacular park; it is getting close to a perfectly balanced & natural ecosystem where wild animals can freely roam, and has lots of unusual attractions, but we found the crowds a bit full-on. So, have moved on to quiet, remote and sparsely populated Montana, In the cruisy, hippy and laid back town of Bozeman at the moment. Off to check out their mountain bike trails tomorrow!