I did much more than just hiking on my trip!
One night in Glacier, after eating dinner out at a Mexican restaurant (it was located on an Indian Reservation and observing a dry-day, so no alcohol) we drove out a bit to look at the stars. They really popped in the dark and we could see the milky way! It was pretty cold and I spent some time watching from inside the car. On the last afternoon in Glacier we rented kayaks on Lake McDonald on the west side of the park. We paddled out into the mountains in the distance and enjoyed some final views and reflections before we departed.
Seeing Old Faithful erupt in Yellowstone doesn’t fall into the hiking category, even though I walked around it for a while. The experience was overwhelmingly touristy and not as rewarding as some of the other things I saw in the park, though the actual geyser eruption was amazing – I had to tilt my camera up higher than I thought to see the whole thing. There were a lot of lodges and buildings to explore nearby, and I managed to lose my car in the parking lot for a little while.
In Grand Teton, I took myself on a scenic float trip on the Snake River, where a guide takes a group of 12 people on an inflatable but sturdy raft 10 miles down the river with views of the mountains and lots of wildlife sightings. Our guide Reed was a real outdoorsman. He kept spotting wildlife I would never have noticed, from a bald eagle in a tree to a moose concealed by the setting sun, plus lots of beavers. We learned how the river channels change dramatically as the snow melted – Reed said he took a “first descent” down a newly-opened river channel a few weeks ago, and crashed into forest when it ended.
Another Teton experience was driving up to the top of Signal Mountain, a windy, narrow drive that took about 20 minutes up to a lookout point with a great view of the whole Jackson Hole area.
In Teton Village my last evening there, I went for a walk at dusk through the village, and saw that the gondola was still running, and I read that it was free from 5-9pm. There was no line so I impulsively hopped right on for a 12-minute ride up a mountain, gaining about 4,000 feet of elevation. I stopped at the top for a quick break and looked at the lodge and people finishing up dinner at the restaurant up there, then headed right back down, now in the dark.
One activity I didn’t get to experience was the total solar eclipse, taking place on August 21, 2017, the day after I get home. Grand Teton had eclipse-mania, with swag for sale, activities, packed campgrounds, and gossip about the park running out of water and fuel over the weekend. It was getting very crowded as I left. Everyone asked if I was staying to watch the eclipse and expressed true disappointment when I said no. I’m not actually that disappointed… but I feigned a story about planning the trip around other people to get past it.
travels.of.tara 