Grand Tetons, Bears, and the Return to Reality

Yesterday I woke up on Shadow Mountain and spent the first half of the day exploring Grand Teton National Park. After the stress of the last few days, it was exactly the reset I needed.

My route took me through Antelope Flats Road, Mormon Row, Schwabacher Landing, Snake River Overlook, Elk Ranch Flats, Oxbow Bend, Willow Flats Overlook, and Signal Mountain Summit. It wasn't a big hiking day. My legs were still reminding me of the climb to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point the day before, so I kept things short and focused on enjoying the scenery.

Mormon Row was one of my favorite stops. There's something surreal about standing in front of a small homestead built in the late 1800s and imagining what life must have been like there. What really made me laugh was realizing that the house I remodeled back in Wellington was still roughly seventy years older than this famous little cabin. Even so, the view those settlers woke up to every morning is hard to beat. In summer, it looks idyllic. In winter? With feet of snow, brutal winds, and isolation? I'll happily admire it from a photograph.

Snake River Overlook was absolutely stunning. The water was crystal clear and looked incredibly inviting. After the previous day's hike, I wanted nothing more than to climb in and wash off some of the dust and sweat. Unfortunately, the river had other ideas. It's fast-moving, cold, and not exactly designed for casual soaking. Probably for the best, but it was tempting.

One of the stranger moments of the day happened at Willow Flats Overlook. Shortly after I arrived, a park ranger pulled up and started asking visitors if anyone had heard someone yelling for help. Apparently a report had come in from somewhere in the area.

The thing that made it unsettling was that Willow Flats is covered with warning signs. Hiking is prohibited because of increased bear activity, and yet it sounded like someone may have gone into the area anyway.

Before long there were multiple ranger vehicles, an ambulance, and a search team assembling. I never did learn what happened. Hopefully whoever was involved made it out safely, and hopefully any bears involved did too. It was a sobering reminder that those warning signs aren't there for decoration.

That bear situation didn't exactly help with the nerves from the night before.

I had spent the night sleeping on Shadow Mountain and still had leftovers from my Rocky Mountain oysters and burger tucked away in my cooler. The park recommends keeping food secured in a vehicle, which I did, but they also casually mention that bears are perfectly capable of tearing into vehicles if they're motivated enough.

Normally I sleep with the windows cracked slightly for ventilation, which suddenly felt a lot more exciting than usual.

Sleeping arrangements were an adventure of their own. I originally tried folding down the seats and sleeping stretched out in the back like I had done years ago on a trip to Mexico. Unfortunately, the Sentra's interior creates a surprisingly uncomfortable hump right where you don't want one. To make matters worse, finding a campsite had been difficult, and the only spot I found left the van parked on a pretty steep incline with the nose pointed uphill.

After a lot of shifting around and muttering to myself, I gave up and folded everything back upright. Surprisingly, sleeping mostly seated and leaning against the rear window ended up being the most comfortable option.

The payoff was waking up before sunrise and watching the Tetons slowly light up in the morning glow. That alone made the awkward and cold night worth it.

I made sure to leave the park a little after 3 PM. After my recent encounter with a deer, I have absolutely no interest in driving at dusk if I can avoid it. I made it back to my now-familiar Walmart parking lot and was relieved to find the van exactly where I had left it. Pizza, a quiet evening, and a normal night felt pretty good.

On the drive out, I stopped at a pull-out along the Continental Divide—one of those quietly impressive markers you find scattered through the Rockies. It’s essentially the line where water decides which ocean it’s headed for, either flowing west toward the Pacific or east toward the Atlantic. Sitting up there at over 9,800 feet, it felt like standing on a weird kind of halfway point for the entire country’s water system. Of course, I couldn’t just stay in the car. I climbed up the slope to a nearby snowbank and, instead of touching grass like a normal person might need at this point in life, I touched snow in the middle of June just because I could. Cold, ridiculous, and exactly the kind of small moment that makes a road trip feel real.

Today has been much less exciting and much more practical.

I've been making phone calls, tracking down receipts from my shuttle ride to Casper, checking with the auto body shop about parts and repair timelines, and doing a very glamorous load of laundry in the back of the van. I briefly considered solving my dwindling underwear situation by simply buying more at Walmart, but common sense eventually prevailed.

The biggest question right now is still the repair timeline.

I'm reaching out to the homeowner for my upcoming pet sit in Oregon to see if there's any flexibility in my arrival date. Depending on when repairs actually begin and how long they take, I may need to make some creative plans involving flights, vehicle storage, family assistance, or some combination of all three.

At the moment there are still too many unknowns to make any final decisions.

So for now, I'm trying not to stress about things I can't control.

Looking back, I'm really glad I took those two days to explore Grand Teton National Park before diving back into the logistics. It was exactly the mental break I needed.

Tomorrow, assuming everything goes according to plan, I'm hoping to drive to Thermopolis and spend some time in the natural hot springs. A day soaking in hot water sounds like a pretty good way to forget about insurance claims, repair estimates, and deer-related adventures for a little while.Read more