Today we explored a driving loop just a bit north. After we got to Jackson, we again climbed aboard US 191, the John D. Rockefeller Memorial Highway, and charged north to Moran Junction and the Moran entrance to GTNP.
In Jackson, we glimpsed one of the famous Antler Arches, made from the annually discarded antlers of male elk. There is an arch at each corner of this city park, but there were way too many people and way too little parking for us to stop.
At our next stop we watched a rock climber scale a shear cliff face. Go for it!
North of Moose we began to get closer to the Tetons. It's almost a religious experience to contemplate such grandeur.
Spring comes late to this high elevation, and these wildflowers were competing with the peaks for attention.
Stopping along the southeastern edge of Jackson Lake gave us a whole new perspective on these famous peaks.
Across the lake:
And north toward Coulter Bay:
At 6,772 feet elevation, Jackson Lake freezes in the winter, but is spectacular in the summer.
Just south, Jenny Lake is almost hidden, like a blue gem tucked into a glacial fold.
The glaciers on Mt Moran are receding due to a warming climate. They have lost a significant amount of mass in the last fifty years, but are still a magnificent sight, if even from a distance.
The water in Jenny Lake is just about as clear and cold as you could find anywhere!
It was getting on toward time to eat lunch, so we bailed off the highway onto a gravel road that led to Lupine Meadow, looking for a nice picnic spot. Unfortunately, this is what we found at the end of a two mile road:
So we backtracked onto the highway and went a little bit south to Teton Glacier turnout, where we slurped smoked clams, lightly salted parmesan crackers, nuts and fresh cherries while looking out the windshield at this:
I tell you what....this has got to be one of our favorite places. Each and every state in the Union has its appeal and its attractions, and they are all memorable. But this is somehow special.
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