After the Lockdown: A Road Trip

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

"Oh, these vast, calm, measureless mountain days, days in whose light everything seems equally divine, opening a thousand windows to show us God" - John Muir

I've always had an love for the mountains. Growing up at the foot of Pikes Peak I could sit for hours and marvel the heights and majesty of the mountain. I watched it as it passed through the seasons. Once the 2020 lock down ended I felt a strong urge to see the mountains once again, before the heat of summer hits central Arizona. And, like many people, I was feeling a sense of frustration and an inability to be creatively involved with the natural world. I knew my options were limited as a number of states around me were still in the depths of the lock down. But, Utah and Wyoming seemed wide open. So, I decided that my first trip would be to Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

Leaving my home near Cave Creek, Arizona I made an 8 hour overnight drive to Bryce Canyon National Park, intending to catch the sunrise someone along the rim of the east facing canyon. It was very cold and still dark when I arrived, below 30° F (-1 C). As the sun was about to rise, I walked out onto the vista point overlook, but found myself fumbling with both the tripod and the camera; my fingers just didn't seem to want to work all that well in the cold. In spite of this, I managed to get a few images, and then spent the next 4 hours driving along the park road looking at the vista before me at various locations along the rim road.

Despite its name, Bryce Canyon is not a canyon but a collection of giant natural amphitheaters along the eastern side of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. From the rim you can see all the way into Arizona (I could just make out Navajo Mountain in the distance).

Early Morning Light - Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

As Bryce Canyon was only a stopover point, after a few hours, it was time to be on my way to my destination, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.

Jackson Hole, Wyoming

After a quick overnight stay along the way, I was soon in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I hadn't been here in many years so I was interested to see how things had changed. The town was quiet, with face masks required everywhere in town and very few tourists. The weather was not great, cool and cloudy, with a bit of rain. But, the forecast seemed to indicate that the weather would clear by Sunday (I arrived on Friday). After checking into my hotel, Antler Inn, located in the heart of town.

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

The park had just opened days before my arrival in Jackson Hole, and spring was in its early days. The mountains were covered by a heavy cloud layer and I could only see them through little glimpses.

Grand Teton's history as a national park was mired in controversy. Signed into law in 1926 by President Calvin Coolidge, Grand Teton National Park originally called for preservation of just 96,000 acres, encompassing little more than the jagged roof of the Teton Range and the six glacial lakes that sprawl at the bottom of the mountains' eastern flanks. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., working through his Snake River Land Company, bought up thousands of acres that extended beyond that initial allotment (donating it to the federal government in 1949); adding 35,000 acres in the valley that lies below the Tetons. Grand Teton National Park is named for Grand Teton, the tallest mountain in the Teton Range, and now covers 310,000 acres (480 sq mi; 130,000 ha; 1,300 km2).

Grand Teton Range in the late afternoon, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Grand Teton range in snow, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Grand Teton range in snow, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Cloudy Morning - Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

On the day I was leaving to return to Phoenix, I took a drive out to the park as the weather had cleared up. On my first drive to Jenny Lake it was raining quite heavily, but on this day I was able to drive slowly, and enjoy the vista, with a light lunch next to the river.

Mountains and River - Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Mormon Row

In the 1890s, a group of pioneers from Idaho established a community in an area known today as “Mormon Row.” Over the years, despite snow and harsh weather, the remains of this community stood. As a testament to the hardiness of those early settlers, the remains of the Mormon settlement were added to the National Register of Historic places in 1997 as a National Historic District. Today, two picturesque barns highlight Mormon Row. Settlers John and Thomas Alma (T.A.) Moulton built these barns on adjacent homesteads.

Moulton Barn, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming