theDIBB - Rocking in the Rockies: Day 10 Grand Teton National Park

Thursday 4 August - Yellowstone to Grand Teton

It was a slightly less early start today, getting up to another tasty breakfast of coffee and donut middles. Got to love those donut middles!

We were heading out of Yellowstone today and heading off to Grand Teton National Park which is just south of Yellowstone. Yellowstone gets all the headlines but Grand Teton is just as spectacular in different ways, with fantastic mountain backdrops and gorgeous lakes.

We checked out and got on our way, feeling decidedly chilly as the temperature was around 10C. Brrr!

First stop was West Thumb geyser basin to stroll the boardwalk and look at the bubbling pools. We stood as close to the edge of the boardwalk as we could so as to get a bit of warmth from the steamy water and mud!

This hot pot was particularly interesting - it used to be quite the thing to catch fish from the lake and then put them straight in the bubbling water to cook them!

It was pretty quiet as we wondered around the trail, looking at all the steaming pools and wondering which, if any, would ever erupt again.

After the Thumb, we got on the road and headed to Flagg Ranch where the restaurant was called "Sheffields" and so, of course, we had to eat there! We had a good breakfast and coffee before driving further on into the park.

Next stop was Signal Mountain Lodge for the walk up Signal Mountain. You can drive to the top but that's for wusses! We got our walking gear on and set off for the trail.

It is a 6 mile round trip and not many people seem to take pedestrian option, so we mostly had the trail to ourselves, which was lovely. The sun was out and it was getting really hot. You can see the Teton Mountains in the background here.

There were a number of bear warning signs around, so we all had sticks and got into a habit of whacking tree trunks as we went along to make some noise. I have no idea if it was the right thing to do, but it was quite good fun and quite tuneful at times!

The trail was long, but not particularly difficult and we were quite surprised when we suddenly arrived at the summit!

There are great views of the mountains and the valleys. It might not be as spectacular as Yellowstone but we all thought Grand Teton was beautiful.

The walk down was fine and again almost deserted. It did feel like a bit of a slog getting back to the car as we were all getting pretty tired but it was a really good walk and we all enjoyed it.

Next stop was Colter Bay Cabins. There had been a tent cabin option but when your guide book says they have "all the charm of a Siberian gulag" and the website confirms this, it's best to go for the next price bracket!

We had a wooden cabin and it was all rather charming. Kyle from Taiwan had left us a towel sculpture and little note saying how much he was loving his time in Wyoming.

The park guide mentioned swimming in Jackson Lake, which was just down the road, so we packed our stuff and headed off. The Lake was, unsurprisingly, somewhat chilly but okay to swim in and we had the most amazing backdrop.

What a beautiful place to go for a swim! It was a tad stony underfoot - Hannah and me wore our sandals while the boys "owwed" and "ooohed" across a beach that was like walking on Sticklebricks/Lego (for the younger readers).

Back at the cabin we chilled with beer, chips and salsa, enjoying one of those jars of cheese dip that is so wrong but yet so right!

We eventually strolled down to Colter Bay itself and had a fairly forgettable but not astronomical meal at the cafeteria. After that, we walked to the Marina to watch the sun going down and enjoy the peace.

We also met this deer.

It is a really lovely and peaceful place and we enjoyed just sitting there and looking at the views. It felt quite hidden away and as though we were as far away as we could be from anything stressful.

We also had the excitement of spotting a Vermont licence plate. Yellowstone had proved quite fruitful for licence plate bingo as they come from far and wide to visit, including Hawaii. But there were still 3 states eluding us and spotting Vermont reduced that to just 2 - the triple letter scores of Delaware and Rhode Island.

Back at the cabin, we sat and watched the bats swooping around for a little while before calling it a night. It was a lovely place to be and we were so glad we had decided to have a night there.