Lovely Tetons

The day after the Total Eclipse of the Sun we left our lovely cabin in Island Park and headed back to Utah and home.  We had always planned to go home a way other than the I 15 which would most likely still be crowded with traffic heading south.  Glen had very much wanted to take the Ashton Flagg Ranch Road, a dirt road that takes one across eastern Idaho just south of Yellowstone Park and then comes to a paved road just south of the South Entrance to Yellowstone Park.  It was an interesting drive with lakes covered in lily pads, forested mountain sides, mountain meadows, and unfortunately near the end blackened trees where forest fires had burned not long ago.  One of the things I found most interesting was that once we went over the divide the pine trees were a different variety than those on the west side of the divide.  We stopped at Flagg Ranch for a break and found that many had chosen to watch the eclipse from this location.  We were then back in the car and heading for Grand Teton National Park.

We drove to the top of Signal Mountain for this great view of the Tetons with Jackson Lake in the foreground.

There was a bit of haze in the air due to fires in the west but we still enjoyed our view to the west of the east side of these mountains.  This mountain viewpoint provided a 360 degree view so we also enjoyed the valley views to the east as well.

Our next stop was Jenny Lake on the south end of the range which has always been my favorite lake. 

The clear waters floating right up to mountain edges are striking.

If in a boat, the sounds seem other worldly and the boats dock right up next to the "V" where one can hike up to a beautiful waterfall.

It is one of my best memories of being with my children years ago.

It is not to be missed.  I love the Tetons.  I grew up on a farm on the west side of the Tetons and looked east many a morning to view their stunning outline.

Luckily, there was little traffic until approaching Jackson Hole.  We had lunch/dinner and then headed south along the Snake River, then through Star Valley home of this beautiful temple, and then on through western Wyoming and parts of northeast Utah and then back to Evanston, Wyoming before taking the I 80 back to Utah and then on to Provo Canyon and home.  It was beautiful drive, but dark once in Evanston.  I had forgotten how lovely the western side of Wyoming could be.

Arizona travels

As we travel back and forth from Utah to Arizona, we try and stop to explore new places or places we visited years ago.  Our August trip included a stop at Walnut Canyon National Park just east of Flagstaff, Arizona.

It is estimated that people inhabited this canyon over 800 years ago.  Can you see it?

Another ancient home.  To get to the bottom of the canyon one descends about 285 stair steps.  Totally worth it!

We walked the old Navajo Bridge across the Colorado River, which we have done more times than I can count.

This bridge is just a few miles down from Lee's Ferry where boats and rafts continue to enter or cross the river just has they have for a 150 years.

This trip we planned on staying overnight at Cliff Dwellers located at the base of the Vermillion Cliffs.

Our plans were to enjoy the night sky, but an almost full moon was much too bright for us to see much.  The next morning the sun rose over the cliffs near the Navajo Bridge and created long shadows.

The moon still shown brightly to the west.

We love  driving Highway 89B along these towering cliffs.

A long way to Arizona, part 3

We woke up in Moab to a beautiful day.  We got an early start and that was a good thing as we had a very short line at the entrance to Arches National Park.  When we left a few hours later, the line seemed to be a mile long.  Our first stop was a hike which leads to an overlook of Delicate Arch.  It was a bit steep but not long.

A few last rock stair steps and there it was, an iconic rock formation.

I loved these hardy flowers in the pathway.

There are many beautiful rock formations through out the park.

Park Avenue is also a must see stop.

Once again some hardy flora.  We enjoyed our early morning hours in this beautiful park.  Upon leaving, we still had many miles to go before arriving in Arizona.