After short stops in Victoria and then Vancouver, where we met up with Svan's friends Michael and Elena, and our new friends Jacqui and Mark from the Orca trip, we then flew out to Salt Lake City...
By now I was starting to look like quite the "seasoned traveller", held together by duct tape and wearing as many of my clothes as possible (even if this may appear strange when heading for warmer climates) only so that the evil scale at the check-in permits me to travel.
On our latest flight, I even managed to tie shoes beneath the rucksack. It's quite the look.
Just before heading to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, we passed through Salt Lake City. It's a strange place where the 'prim and propper' meet 'Bill & Ted'. Whilst the surrounding mountains attract the extreme sports community, inside SLC a very subdued (laughing not allowed) religious atmosphere seems to prevail. We didn't really warm to this city during our 1 night stopover, although it seemed very clean, safe and modern. To top it all off, we checked directions with the hotel's concierge. He was quick to emphasise that he once made the same trip from SLC to Jackson, as we were planning, in two and half hours whilst driving a BIG and POWERFUL Ford Mustang. I think he even stuck his chest out when he said it! Even driving our "My Little Pony" renter we should still make it in four, or so he advised.... off we set at 10am with plans of arriving in the early afternoon to then arrive by sunset. Hmmm maybe some poetic license was applied.
The drive itself was however pretty and even a little eventful, hitting a new form of traffic problem - Bison herds!
The drive itself was however pretty and even a little eventful, hitting a new form of traffic problem - Bison herds!
The sunset over the amazing Teton Mountain Range was a great welcome to this next part of our adventure. I will never get tired of seeing those mountains, which are definitely in my top three...and it seems that I am not the only one in love with them....it was crazy the number of tripod stands we could spot positioned close to the road. Svan and I have developed a feeling of inferiority when it comes to photographic equipment. Thermal activity in Yellowstone and the sunsets over the Teton Range are definitely attracting the largest amount of tripods ever spotted so close to together - and I am not kidding - there must have been 30-50 at special moments. We shouldn't joke, these national parks are great to explore even if mobility and fitness have gone in the twilight years, and photography is definitely a super way to give the holiday added focus.
Jenny Lake in front of the Grand Teton
Following advice of the local Visitor Centre, we threw ourselves into a long awaited 11 mile 'must do hike', covering the Jenny Lake and Cascade Canyon within the Teton Range.
Svan on the way to Inspiration Point shortly after the start of the hike
During the hike with the Grand Teton in view
Day 2 saw us take on Jackson Hole's Ski Mountain (Rendezvous) - the "Summit Trail" as it is called is 7.2 miles, starting at an elevation of 7,000ft rising to 10,770ft by the time you reach the summit.
On the way up we found a snow cave - unbelievable for mid September!
Svan and I at the windy summit - we had made it!
Only a few visitors attempt this "altitude" hike which takes between 3 and 5 hours. Luckily we were able to catch the Aerial Tram back down as we were both feeling the effects of the 1200m elevation gain. Having now seen the mountain featured in the Travis Rice movie "That's it that's all" we vowed to come back one day in Winter to ride this amazing mountain with its incredible terrain and powder!
This was the last, and I think best, of the photos that I took of the Tetons, this time showing the sunrise......(a few tripods were present even at 7am)
Grand Teton National Park borders on Yellowstone and on day 4 we headed to the legendary "Old Faithful" where our next hotel was. Initially we were pretty underwhelmed (Canadian wilderness and the Tetons are difficult to beat) but the thermal activities got me finally hooked.
The 3 million summer visitors to Yellowstone each year clearly knew what they were coming for - well, many come for the easy access to the wildlife; fishing but also elk, moose, bison and of course grizzlies! I love the geysers (although I am still not sure how to pronounce it properly - the more people you ask, the more versions you get). So we focused on thermals and not the bears - we had seen enough and better in Alaska and on our road trip, and Yellowstone didn't seem all that safe. On the radio was news about the outcome of the investigation into the first of the two fatalities caused by Grizzlies so far this year in Yellowstone. It was clear that the "ease of access" to the wildlife works both ways.
..back to the 300 geysers and 10,000 thermal features, roughly half of the total in the whole of world. These features include hot springs, geysers, "mud pots" and "fumaroles" (steam vents). Hydrothermal activity results when surface water seeps down to meet the heat of the Earth's molten rock. Even though not shaped in the way you would normally associate to one, Yellowstone is basically one bloody great "super-volcano"! Fortunately for us though it last erupted 640,000 years ago and no sign yet of another, although there is certainly a lot going on down there.
"Old faithful" (it's most famous geyser),probably because it erupts safely and like clockwork evey 90 minutes, has by now been set up like a Disney attraction - benches, ice cream, etc. I really didn't like it. We did however venture out further and it became better and quieter. The geysers and hot springs really held a mystical quality and were fun to watch ...except for the smell (but I am used to Svan's trainers ;-) ...methinks I will regret this comment!)
Old Faithful in action
One way of leaving people (and tripods) behind was by bike or even jogging one morning - although I almost needed to administer CPR (no rude comments please). Miss 'Uphill' was for once struggling to keep moving due to a lack of oxygen. I may have found my lethal weapon to keep up with her. We certainly both felt the exercise, especially on the back of our 'Summit climb' and the flat thermal landscape deceived us into underestimating the high altitude.
The weird volcanic landscape
Of course it's all about finding your favourite geyser - "Grotto" (photo above) erupts at irregular intervals and we were lucky enough to be passing when it started splashing out hot water 15 feet into the air. It was love at first sight. It is super cool when the side vents erupt with scorching steaming hot water - see video below..
"Saphire" pool (above) had amazing colour and depth, which sadly the photo doesn't show! With temperatures of at least 70*C these are not the kind of hot springs that you would want to jump in to, even if the Kayak trip has conditioned me to handle up to 46*C!!
"Morning Glory" Hot spring
At the risk of sounding like a 'hot spring geek', the photos below are from my favourite "Mammoth" Hotspring area - it feels like a fantasy planet - not earth (and I am bringing Crossfit - see the t-shirt - to it).
The famous "Terraces" at Mammoth Hot springs are constantly changing and look amazing!
More exploring was done on our final day, with more weird and wonderful photos of the park:
Firehole Canyon
Svan in front of the Grand Prismatic Spring, the largest by area covered in the whole park at 300ft x 160ft. It's sheer size and brilliant colours were truly memorable!
Excelsior Spring - this large and impressive geyser last erupted in 1985!
Some videos....
Clepsydra Geyser
The Artists' Paintpots
The Fountain Paintpots
Excelsior Hotspring running into Firehole River
Yellowstone and Grand Teton, after a slow start, really showed why they are great places to visit. Highlights for me there were the Grand Teton Mountain, Grand Prismatic and Excelsior hot springs, Grotto Geyser and the terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs; but remember you really have to get away from the crowds to enjoy it, and steer clear of those grizzlies! Next stop Florida for a whole 5 weeks in one place for wakeboarding, golf, some chilling, and of course the chance to unpack our bags!
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