We are still in the Moab, UT area today heading to Canyonlands National Park. There are two paved road accesses to the park and we chose to tour the most popular, The Island In the Sky entrance. The temperatures reached 105 today so we limited our hiking to 2.3 miles.
Drive from Moab to Canyonlands
Hike to Whale Rock
Canyonland Views
Hike to Upheaval Dome First Overlook
Green River Overlook
Grand View Point Overlook
Buck Canyon Overlook
And in that dry, desolate area this beautiful cactus.
Hike to Mesa Arch
View through the arch
Shafer Canyon Overlook
Leaving Canyonlands NP we headed west on I-70 back to Salt Lake City, UT
June 11
Travel day from Salt Lake City, UT to Lyman, WY
Beautiful drive leaving the Salt Lake City area.
Capturing wind energy along I-84
June 12
Travel day from Lyman to Grand Tetons National Park, UT
Along our drive today we spotted antelope, prairie dogs, a cattle drive along the highway and a lot of desolate landscape for miles and miles.
This lake was quite a surprise amidst the miles of desolate landscape.
And then just like that, the green mountains appeared!
The Highway cattle drive
Hoback River on our approach to Jackson, WY
Antler Arch in Jackson
Our last visit to the Grand Teton NP was in 2006. Because this park ranks high on our "always ready to go back to" park, we decided it was a good time to revisit. Larry's cousin, Sherry and husband, Louie live just outside the park in Dubois so we plan to visit with them as well.
Our first look at the Grand Tetons.
Once we settled in at Colter Bay Campground in Grand Teton NP, we ventured out for a short drive. And what a grand surprise we had -- our first bear sighting! This grizzly was munching down on something.
It was cloudy and cool -- 50's this evening. Awesome views!
White pelicans. Couldn't make out the other birds.
June 13
Today we stayed in the Grand Teton NP. We've had off and on showers and the weather continues to be on the cool side. Right off the bat, we spotted these elk trying to decide whether to cross the road or not -- not!
Snake River running through the park.
It's a great day for wildlife! Violet-Green Swallow
Iconic bison in Grand Teton NP.
Spotted this moose near the bridge leading to Jenny Lake.
Barn Swallow
Chapel of the Transfiguration
Creek running out of Phelps Lake
It's hard to tell, but there is a huge waterfall coming down in the tree area of the mountain.
Jenny Lake
String Lake
Jackson Lake Overlook
Jackson Lake
These daisy-like flowers were blooming everywhere.
What's left of the glacier on Mount Moran
Views of the valley from Signal Mountain
Views of the Tetons from Signal Mountain
Water lily in a pond on Signal Mountain
Views from Signal Mountain Lodge
Jackson Lake Lodge - 60' window panes overlooking the Tetons
June 14
Our drive over Togwotee Pass to Dubois
Met Sherri at the Cowboy Café for lunch in Dubois then headed out to her and Louie's cabin on the Mountain. A view of their cabin from afar.
Sherri and Louie's cabin high on the mountain. And what a beautiful cabin it is!
This is their view from the porch, kitchen window and dining area -- awesome!!!
We had a great visit with Sherri and Louie and will be back tomorrow.
View of the Pinnacles heading back to the Tetons.
What a treat on the way back into Grand Teton NP -- 2 bear sightings. The first one was hard to capture on camera, but this guy practically jumped out in front of our car crossing the road. Unfortunately this pic was taken through the windshield and into the sun. Better than nothing!! He was moving fast!
June 15
Today we headed back over to Sherri and Louie's. They took us on a tour of the Dubois area showing off some of the many big lodges in the area. Some famous names that have had or do have property in the area are Disney, Studebaker, Schwinn and the CEO of St. Jude.
This is a view of the Tetons from Togwotee Pass.
Such diverse landscapes in the Dubois area.
Sherri, Louie and Larry at the Pinnacles on Brooks Lake
Brooks Lake
Sandhill Crane
Sherri and Louie
We had a great day with Sherri and Louie touring the Dubois area then coming back to the cabin to cook the last of the gulf coast shrimp we brought with us to share with family and friends. We had a wonderful meal of Sherri's shrimp scampi, Louie's rainbow trout, and Larry's famous shrimp slaw. And the best of all, Sherri's Pecan Pie. Yum, Yum!
June 16
Today Sherri and Louie will join us at the Tetons and then we'll head over to Yellowstone NP for the day.
Old Faithful
Geyser Basins
Picnic lunch by Gibbon River
This elk was cooling off in the river.
Their horns were like velvet.
Beautiful views in the park.
This black bear from the road appeared to be up in a tree, but actually he was laying on a log with his nose towards the tree.
We watched this black bear for quite some time. At one point while looking through the binoculars, he stood up on his hind legs and gave us a show!! Wished I'd have had my camera at the ready.
More magnificent views.
Yellowstone River
Yellowstone Lake
Lewis Falls
Lewis River
View of the Grand Tetons leaving Yellowstone NP.
We had a wonderful 3-day visit with Sherry and Louie and sadly had to say our goodbyes. Back at the park we noticed that some kind of weather event happened while we were gone. A micro-burst, with 80 mph winds, ripped through the park resulting in some major damage. Luckily we were spared. These guys weren't so lucky.
While out taking damage pictures, I wondered over to the lake to take these last few pictures of the Grand Tetons late evening.
Till next week...
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