What a Difference a Day Makes

As ugly as it was on Wednesday, it was just beautiful yesterday. We are glad that we changed the schedule so that we could finally see the Tetons. It was also a good decision to stay in Jackson instead of going to Rexburg, ID. Downtown Jackson was bustling in the morning and we took a lot of pictures, but, since we wanted to show more of the mountains, we only included these 2 below:

So, the plan for yesterday was to take the main road again (Route 191, 25 and 89) back the way we came in, and to stop at the turnouts that we stopped at on Wednesday and couldn't see the mountains. That meant saving the Tram ride for another trip. Also, the road that we were taking was also the way we had to go in order to pick up the road (Route 26, 287) to take us to Riverton. Anyway, I tried to do a before and after for the few pictures we took through the clouds on Wednesday. Below are 3 such pictures, all taken at different turnouts on the road:

BEFORE  

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

The horses in the last picture were still there from Wednesday, but they were further away from us yesterday. You get the idea though of how completely different the 2 days were.

It was so spectacular everywhere you looked on the entire stretch of road, it was hard to decide which pictures to include in this entry. Below are just a few that are good examples of the grandeur of these mountains:

One of the stops we made was on a river access road that took us right down to the Snake River where we saw a rafting company launching several rafts:

The last picture was taken from the turnout just above the river where we could see the rafters starting down the river. There were some other great shots of the Snake River as it ran south in front of the mountains:

Just before stopping at the Lodge at Jackson Lake, we took this shot at a turnoff:

The Lodge at Jackson Lake was a beautiful place where we spent a lot of time, and even had a cocktail on the outside veranda. This shot was taken while there by a very nice gentleman that offered to take a shot of the two of us:

After leaving the lodge, we headed out to go to Riverton. The drive from the Grand Teton National Park to Riverton was another spectacular drive through forest, mountains and unusual rock formations. Below are some shots we took of a town called DuBois that was about half way to Riverton, and some of the unusual formations there. It was just a beautiful, small town with lots of charm:

We arrived in Riverton just before 6 PM and we checked into the Holiday Inn, showered, and went to dinner before heading to the casino. We probably should have stayed at the hotel, since we both lost the small stake we had for the casino. Actually, I was ahead once again, but got greedy, and lost it back to the machines. It is always great fun for us so we consider the funds used for casinos as entertainment money.

It was a wonderful day in a beautiful location of the country. We love the Jackson (Hole) area and wouldn't mind spending a longer period of time there - perhaps in a workamping environment. It's great to have these options available and so far, we have placed northwestern Wyoming at the top of our list as a real possibility for long term summer enjoyment. There is a lot to do, and the beauty is unsurpassed.

Today we travel back home to Cody through Thermopolis and the Hot Mineral Springs again. Josie has been looking forward to that since we stopped there a couple weeks ago. Until tomorrow...