The campground host advises us not to go over Teton Pass; however Herb has other ideas. We leave at 6:30A in order to be 'first in line' for a campsite in the Grand Teton Natl. Park, as they are vacated. As we travel, I am as much intrigued by the road signs as I am by the awesome mountain scenery -- 'steep curve,' '10% grade,' 'park for chain-up only,' 'runaway truck ramp,' and 'trucks use low gear.' Fortunately for the cars behind us, there are turnouts along the way, and we pull over to let those vehicles pass, as we go very slow. Herb notes at one point that the computer on his instrument panel tells him he is getting one mile per gallon of diesel. (We left Victor with a full tank.)
About 25 minutes later we reach the pass and the sight we see of the tiny village below is beautiful. We made it!
As we pass through Jackson Hole, we begin to see the Tetons again, and as I exclaim, Herb tells me that we were IN the Tetons minutes ago. Oh...............
Now I see a couple of small glaciers. An easy drive on into Grand Teton National Park, we find Colter Bay Campground, and sign up for our site. It is on a loop with half-moon turnouts, close neighbors, but we have plenty of room for our slides and Jeep.
After getting settled in, we pick up our tickets for the breakfast cruise tomorrow, and look up Joan and Capt. Jim Bathurst, our friends from Port Isabel, who are working in the park this summer. We especially chose the day for the cruise when Capt. Jim is piloting. Jim now gives us a tour of the marina and a bit about how things work around here. Our visit in interrupted when he is called for a 'blue shirt' duty.
Lunch is a huge buffalo burger with copious quantities of fresh vegetables at John Colter Cafe Court. Salsa they bring out is a bit different from what we are used to in the Valley.
In front of the Visitors' Center we see pay phone booths -- strange -- but then I remember that cell phone service here is unreliable at best. We meet a guy who is interested in our trikes, and he tells us that he has ridden his trike from Portland OR to Death Valley CA. Incidentally, he is a Death Valley books author.
At the end of the day we join Joan and Jim for snacks and Happy Hour. I get to meet Izzy, the well traveled kitty, about whom much has been written. She inspects my camera at length. I want to photograph her, but I discover there is no chip in my camera. ..................but then, that's another story.
I ask Jim who should be responsible for the chip being in the camera (1) the one who uses the camera or (2) or the one who took it out to download the pictures into the computer. He agrees with both answers, and reminds me that he is wearing a sport shirt and nowhere on it does he have a badge that says 'manager.'
We catch up on the news fast, as we all have an early morning tomorrow -- Joan to the gift shop, Capt. Jim to the marina to prepare for the day's tours, and Herb and I to the marina in anticipation of a fantastic tour of Jackson Lake, views of the Tetons up close, and a scrumptious breakfast!
[No pictures posted here for obvious reason. :) ]
Willie of Walldog, Willie and Jake
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