Howdy Stranger Yonder is Jackson Hole

I woke up at 5:30am. Something must be wrong. What could it be? I know what it is – I’m FREEZING. Holy Cow! It was 41 degrees and we hadn’t put the heat on. (It was about 78 in Huntsville at this time). I sent Ray downstairs (under the RV) for a blanket then snuggled back down again. Ray got up to run some. Showers and a quick breakfast and we were ready to go.

Anyone ever wonder what the RV dealer in Idaho Falls looked like? We can tell you all about it. When I went to slide in the rear slide it got stuck – it wouldn’t go in or out. Ray jiggled it in and decided we better go have it checked. As we started out the sensor for the rear jacks began to sound. It beeped the whole way. “Mike” at Eagle RV checked us out. He couldn’t find any big problem with the sensor (not what I wanted to hear – actually what I really don’t want to hear is that sensor beeping all the way to California.) He did find the problem with the rear slide and fixed the pin in it.

Now at 11:00am and a $100 poorer, off we go, a little later than planned.

OK first we stop to get gas. Any guesses? $3.95 per gallon. $99 on the Discover (hit the limit) and another $76 on Visa. That was about 5/8 of a tank. Mileage: 44377

Have I told you we have a library? You know all those books we brought? We stuck all of them in one suitcase and put it under the RV – we now refer to this as the downstairs library!

We leave Idaho Falls heading to Wyoming and Teton Pass. Wow! What beauty! Our RV chugged along nicely up the mountains. At the top of Teton Pass we just had to stop. The snow on the side of the road was about 10-20ft high. Parker and Preston had never seen anything like it. It was fairly warm so the boys jumped out in shorts and t-shirts to play. Ray and I followed. Ray stepped into a snow hole and the snow came up to his thigh. We decided this was the perfect place for lunch. Back to the RV for PBJs and ham and cheese sandwiches. Then the boys decided they better put on gloves (better for making snow balls to throw at each other) and long pants. They had just a wonderful time in this gorgeous area. We took a picture of Parker in front of the sign reading “Howdy Stranger Yonder is Jackson Hole” in his Dr Graham orthodontist shirt. (There is a contest for the “best summer” trip photo). We are taking some stunning pictures. We just need to decide on the best way to share them.

Down the mountain to Jackson Hole and then Grand Teton. Yes, we finally told the boys what Grand Teton really means. Needless to say, a 13 and 10 yo boy think that is just hysterical. You know, they can’t wait to get back to school to tell their friends what they saw this summer.

At Grand Teton we stopped at the Visitor Center. Parker bought a Passport Book like the one Preston got when he visited Shiloh. The book has a place for a stamp (free) and sticker ($2.50) of each place you visit. Kinda cool. I bought a walking stick. Much the same idea. Mine has Grand Teton engraved on it and there are medallions to purchase ($3.50) of all the places you visit.

We were fortunate enough to be at the Center just in time for a Ranger briefing. Very interesting – about all the animals around the area and where to spot them.

We had hoped to ride the boat across Jenny Lake and hike to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point
but we were just a little too late (due to the RV troubles and our snow play). We hope to do this tomorrow. We have heard that this hike is really spectacular now with the melting snow coming over the falls.

We went on to Colter Bay Campsite where we will stay the night. On the way we saw people along the road. We stopped to see what was going on. There was a momma moose and her calf in the trees. The Ranger has told us that a momma moose is actually more dangerous than bear when she has a calf with her. We think we’ll just take pictures from where we are.

We checked into our campsite at 6:45pm. This campground has NO hook ups and generators have to be turned off by 8pm. We quickly grab the lasagna for tonight’s dinner and pop it into the microwave. After dinner we all took a walk around the sites. A man told us that he had seen a fox just a few sites down from us but we never saw it.

At this time all the boys have gone over to the Amphitheater for a campfire. I stayed in the RV to blog. As I write I am sitting here in a dark RV with just the light from my laptop. Of course, we have no cell phone service and no internet connection. Actually cell phone has been better than I expected. We did have service today in Teton Pass and also this afternoon in Grand Teton.

The boys came back early. They had moved the campfire to the indoor auditorium because it was so cold, they just neglected to tell anyone. On the way back they saw 3 foxes. Probably within 30 feet of them.

The low tonight should be upper 30’s or low 40’s.