Traveling to the Tetons

Jackson, Wyoming: Hello from Jackson! DT ran this morning. I prepared orders for shipment and went to the post office. We left West Yellowstone and drove through Yellowstone National Park to reach Jackson, Wyoming and Grand Teton National Park.

Remember when I said there are 296,375 motorcycles in the Yellowstone area on their way to Sturgis? I am really getting fed-up with the bikers. Generally, I like motorcycles and their riders. (Would you even believe I owned a little motor scooter when we lived in Taipei? That is an entire blog post for some future date.) The bikers in Yellowstone this week give a bad name to bikers everywhere. Rule breakers extraordinaire! Cutting through traffic. Many not wearing helmets. Passing on the right. Not stopping at stop signs. Passing in no-passing zones. The list goes on and on!

There was a terrible traffic jam from the west gate to Madison this morning. Usually, this means a wildlife sighting. The bikers did not feel they needed to wait in line with we mere mortals. They cut between cars, wove in and out of lanes and just drove down the right shoulder.

I took about 15 photos of criminal bikers this morning! These photos remind me of a conversation we had with a biker in Idaho last week. He said he hated the Sturgis rally because "900 out of 1000 riders only rode a few days a year and had no idea what they were doing and gave bikers a bad name". I now agree with him. This afternoon a biker pulled out in front of us - without stopping at a stop sign - between traffic coming to his left and right. DT had to slam on his brakes to avoid hitting him (and his bitch).

Okay... sorry, I really jumped up on a bandwagon there didn't I?

Back to the traffic jam.

This traffic jam was so severe, the park dispatched rangers to wave traffic through. We crawled along for miles. Seriously. Miles. After about thirty minutes, I said, "there had better be an elephant hiding in the brush" or I am going to be pissed upset.

Wrong.

What? Seriously? A young elk?

I am sure the elephant had just left the meadow before we crawled past.

Exhausted, we stopped for lunch along the Madison River, where we split a sandwich at 7000 feet.

I can't think of a lovelier spot for a break - with Mt. Haines watching over us.

We forged-on. On our drive today we saw a bald eagle, an osprey, elk and bison - but mostly we enjoyed such beautiful scenery. Breath-taking (literally, at 8000+ feet!) views. We crossed the continental divide and took a right to Jackson.

Jackson Lake with a view of the Tetons.

We stopped at an overlook featuring views of the Tetons and the Snake River.

This is a boloria eunomia. But you knew that, right?

Cute couple alert!

And one more (for today) view of the Tetons.

We checked into our campsite. I went for a run along the road behind the campground that follows the base of Snow King mountain. This slope provides a ski run - in town - during the winter. I jogged past the rodeo at the county fairgrounds. First time I have witnessed calf roping on a run!

We had dinner at Nani's Genuine Pasta House. We have dined here before and found the restaurant to be even better than our previous visit. Too dark for photos, but rest assured we dined well and enjoyed lovely Italian wines.

Until my next update, I remain, your Jackson Hole correspondent.

RV Park: The Virginian Lodge RV Resort. Our usual and favorite campsite in Jackson. Nothing fancy at all, and really expensive - but right in town with full-service 50 amp pull throughs. Gravel sites with a picnic table on a little spot of lawn. Hot tub, pool and cafe at the adjacent hotel. Cable, bathhouse & laundry. No wifi that I can find. We are paying $62 per night. Dang.