Entering Grand Teton National Park
Tuesday, June 19th
We took our time, leaving camp at 10:00 AM the next morning. It was sunny, and cool, but not cold.
We climbed a bit, coming out of the Snake River floodplain, and on rounding the next corner, saw that we had a climb ahead of us of the same magnitude as the long downhill glide we had enjoyed coming out of Yellowstone. On seeing this, we were glad for our choice of staying the night at Flagg Ranch. It would have been a long way to Lizard Creek campground on tired legs...
We settled in for a long climb, and though the climb was long, I could cycle all of it, not needing to get off and push, but resting occasionally. At the top of that long climb out of the Snake River valley, we were greeted by the Grand Teton National Park sign.
Entering
Grand Teton National Park
On entering the Tetons, we once again had consistent, wide highway shoulders, and we appreciated it a lot.
Once again, it was downhill, making the going very enjoyable. Soon we reached Lizard Creek campground, and continued a bit farther, where we took our first picture of Jackson Lake.
Our
First View of Jackson Lake - Note that it's warm enough for Malcolm
to have shed his coat
Of all the beautiful scenery we had seen, this day's scenery was (and remains) the very best. Having traveled it a few days before in a car, it was beautiful then, but nothing like experiencing it on a bicycle. Everywhere you turn your head, it was breathtaking, and we could hear the sounds of the birds as we leisurely cycled along.
Farther
along the highway, near the north end of Jackson Lake
When you travel this route by car, you have to wait for a turnout to stop to enjoy the scenery and take pictures. On bicycles, we could stop just about anywhere.
We continued southward, stopping briefly at a convenience store near Colter Bay Village. We decided to eat at Jackson Lake Lodge, and continued on with that goal in mind.
We stopped at a place where I had taken a picture decades before. I hoped to get an even better picture at this time, but the scene had changed much in more than 40 years, and it was no longer a very interesting picture, so I didn't take it.
At Jackson Lake Lodge, it turned out that we would have to leave our bicycles unattended and out of sight for a long time in order to eat there, so we decided to press on to Signal Mountain for lunch.
Near
the South End of Jackson Lake, at a Turn-Out
We stopped awhile at Jackson Lake Dam, but didn't see any outstanding pictures there, so we continued on.
A
passing hiker took this picture of the two of us, sitting by a small
lake full of lily pads with flowers
The
South End of Jackson Lake, with Signal Mountain Left of Center
Soon we made it to Signal Mountain Lodge, where we ate a really good meal near windows looking out over the lake. After that, we resumed our southward trek.
Heading
Southwest, in the Tetons, Before the Jenny Lake One-Way Drive
I was wanting to take the longer highway that winds along String Lake and Jenny Lake, but we had a long way to go before Jackson, and remembering how I had over-committed us to doing a lot of miles on the first day, chose the path of caution, not taking the longer turn-off. I'm sure I missed some great scenery, but even with this choice, I ended up with a sore right knee before leaving the park this day - apparently overtaxing my conditioning, so it was a fortunate choice.
A
More Southerly View of the Tetons, with the Teton Glacier Near the
Center
We continued southward, finally arriving at the south entrance of the park. It was at this point that I began to notice the pain in my right knee.
Near
the South Entrance of Grand Teton National Park
After a welcome rest stop, we continued our trek, coming onto the main highway heading south for Jackson. We traveled a bit slower than I would have preferred, favoring my sore knee. I found that if I didn't stress it a lot, the pain remained at a low level.
Entering
Jackson, Wyoming
Before we knew it, we arrived in Jackson, and ate at a Dairy Queen near the beginning of town. We searched awhile for a motel that would not be overly expensive. They were all expensive, but one toward the west end of town was a little better, and we stayed there.
We arrived at our motel at 9:40 PM. On this day, we traveled 57.2 miles, with an average speed of 9.2 mph. We were pedaling for 6 hours, 13 minutes. The actual duration of this day's travel (including meal and rest stops) was 11 hours and 40 minutes.