Is It Naptime Yet

After we left Rawlin in Logan, Utah we started the long drive to Grand Teton National Park near Jackson, Wyoming. We were hoping to get a camp site for that night, but since you can’t make reservations, I was a little concerned that we’d be left sleeping in our car. (I had tried to convince Jon that we should book a hotel, but Jackson, WY is one of the most expensive towns to sleep in.)

It was overcast so I’m not sure when we finally reached Jackson on Sunday, July 10th. We drove past the mountain range and drove for what seemed liked miles and still could not find the turn out to head towards the campground Jon thought we should stay at. We decided to turn back and ask for directions at the Visitors Center, but daylight was fading, and it was getting later. I felt sure that we’d be sleeping in our car that night. We got directions and information that the camps had filled up at 8 pm the previous night. It was just a little after 7 pm, so we were pushing our luck. We got back on the road, and realized we had turned around only a few miles short of our turn off. We reached the ranger station and were given the last spot at Colter Bay Campground, it was a little before 8 pm. We set up camp with mosquitoes swarming. It was not fun, especially for this desert girl. We got things ready and settled down for the night. There were about 10 of us in the tent that night, four Blakes and at least 6 mosquitoes.

The morning was cold, but beautiful. We made pancakes for breakfast, and packed up camp to go exploring. The Colter Bay Visitors center had an interesting exhibit on some Indian artifacts that had been part of a private collection. We also took a hike on the Lakeshore trail around a bay of Jackson Lake. It was beautiful, especially as we hiked near the shore. I loved seeing the lake meet the mountains and forests on the other side, something I’d never seen in person.

After a quick lunch we started our drive towards Yellowstone. We wanted plenty of time to set up and get ready for camp that night.

We stopped for the traditional picture by the national park signs as we left Teton and as we entered Yellowstone. While taking the one at Yellowstone an Oriental couple who was leaving, from taking their own picture in front of the sign, pulled back in and offered to take a family picture so we could have everyone in it.

We had reservations for four nights at Yellowstone, July 11-15th. We were able to get an awesome site within our camp which allowed us some privacy, lots of space to explore and a view of Yellowstone lake. If there was a way to reserve a specific site, I’d stay at Bridge Bay Campground in spot F 266. Many of the sites have no shade and you’re just right next to everyone, but this area had forest, and in our case we had a creek with fallen logs to walk on and places to explore.

We set up camp and enjoyed a meal that night. After eating we cleaned everything and packed all our gear into our car. We made sure to have nothing in our tent that would attract a bear or any sort of wildlife, but especially a bear. So each night we’d get ready for bed and Jon would take our jackets and clothes to the car. Then in the morning he’d bring me my jacket and I’d get the clothes for the girls and I for the day. Fortunately, we never had a bear near our camp, which is exactly how I wanted it.

I think it was a little rainy this night so we went to bed early and prepared for the next day.

Visit Family Vacation 2011 Pictures- Part 2 to see the pictures that go with this post.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 26th, 2011 at 10:05 pm and is filed under Family, Life trips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.