The Thin Blue Ride - Part 2 Day 28 - Grant Village Campground, Yellowstone National Park, WY to Coulter Bay Campground, Teton National Park, WY

Sunday, July 7^th, 2019

Ride Report: 49 Miles, 1,402 Total Miles, 16.3 Avg mph, 1,795 Ft. Climbing, 3,481 Calories.

As I draft this post I’m sitting in the Coulter Bay RV Park next to Lake Jackson in the Grand Teton National Park.  And I must say, they got the “Grand” part right.  At this point in the ride, I’ve seen plenty of mountains.  But the Tetons are just amazing, as the pics below will illustrate.  Keith rode with me again today.  It was only 38 miles to the RV Park, but I added on another 11 in order to make the climb over Togwotee Pass (a mere 9,658 elevation and 3,800 ft. of climbing) after we spend a couple of days goofing off at Teton Nat’l Park a bit easier to swallow.   That ride will happen on the 10^th.   In the interim, we have two days here in Grand Teton National Park to do with as we wish.  I just wanted to lounge about The Rig after I got back.  KnK, on the other hand, are out for another “Hike”.  This time a “short one”.  Its been two hours.  How short could it be for God’s sake?  There’s something wrong with those two…

But on with the pics…

Yawn…   Another day, another continental divide.  This was early in the ride and still inside Yellowstone.  I think this makes three Continental Divides just in Yellowstone.

This was Delta’s first look at the Tetons.  Even he was impressed – which is no small thing, given his ego and all…

This is Keith and me at Lewis Falls on the way out of Yellowstone's South Gate.  It was pretty, but not impressive.  It was certainly less impressive than were the number of mosquitoes having breakfast at our expense.  Another cold morning, BTW.  Still in the upper 40s when we cleared the gate at departure.  Some nice lady with her family took this pic for us.  She must have been nice, since she did it for free while being consumed by mosquitoes.

Ya can’t pass up on a shot like this.  Prolly the only time in either of our lifetimes we’ll ride into Grand Teton National Park.  Smiles all around.

Just like with the sign – once in a lifetime.  And I have the honor of doing it with my son.  Makes me emotional sitting here now looking back on it – and it was just this morning.  This is why ya have kids.  To see them grow up and enjoy things like this with them as adults.  I’ll get the same honor when Kelsy and Parker (KnP) show up in Breckenridge for Hoosier Pass.

Keith insisted on taking a pic of me with the mountains.

I took this one once we were closer to Jackson Lake.

One last pic of the Tetons as we approached from the North...

And finally, there is this...

We had originally intended on staying at a campground near Signal Mountain, but the sites weren’t big enough for The Rig.  So, Susan snagged us a spot in Coulter Bay Campground – with hookups.  Great.  But Coulter Bay was 10ish miles short of my distance for the day, so as we passed by Coulter Bay, Keith dropped off and I continued on – only to be picked up later by Susan in the rental car.  All that to set this up…

I was riding past an area called Willow Flats, I noticed a ton of cars in a pullout, on the side of the road, etc.  Most everyone had binoculars out looking at a large field.  When I inquired, a guy with binoculars told me there was a mama grizzly and two cubs down in the flats chasing elk around.  I didn’t have binoculars with me, but when he pointed them out, even I could make out the bears – and the elk trotting rapidly away from the bears.  Here’s my pic of the bears...

The reader, at least the one who opens the pic to enlarge it, will be able to make out two elk to the right of the meadow.  Only the mama grizzly is visible in this pic as the cubs were obscured by the willows in the foreground by this time.  The mama grizzly is the dark spot in between the two pine trees in the foreground that bisect the reader’s view of the meadow.  She’s closer to the pine tree on the left.  I know, it’s a long ways away – but it’s a grizzly bear.  And those things can MOVE.  Even the cubs.  When the little ones sprinted toward the elk, they covered territory like Usain Bolt.  It was a sight to see.  Bears and elk aside...

AMAZING!  Just AMAZING!  I can’t believe I’m seeing this stuff.  I had intended to add a pic of me with the same mountains in the background, but I can’t.  I’d just distract from the majesty of the mountain.  Sometimes one needs to recognize one’s significance in relation to the grandeur of God’s creation.  This is one of those times.

WOW!  Just WOW!  Did I say WOW!?

Till next time.