Teton Village

Finished off all manner of bits & pieces including the butter, which had been with us since day 1 at Tillamook. It was emotional. We were heading for a drive that Ranger Jeff had recommended as good for wildlife. The initial impressions were not good - busy road, fenced off farmland & ski resort - none of which screamed classic wildlife viewing. Things became a little quieter & more promising once in the park. Wildlife was likely, seeing it was another thing. Gravel track came & went, a couple of stops but nothing other than a couple of squirrels. Decided to try the other option but via the visitor station - cereal & 1 litre of orange juice = waz-athon / regular toilet stops. Suitably relieved we pushed on to a riverside location good for moose. 5 screaming kids chucking rocks into said river put paid to that one. Quick stop at the toilet & back to Jackson via the visitor centre. Going over the bridge & a number of people were brandishing cameras. Quickly pulled over to see moose & moosette crossing the river to an island for a peaceful bite to eat. At least we'd seen something. Onwards & upwards, literally - the aerial tram upto Rendezvous Peak. A quick walk up there & lunch. That would have to do us for the Tetons. The top of the world hike did feel like that. Still some snow up here and plenty of paragliders - looked so peaceful & graceful - something to think about. Had our packed lunch with a spectacular view of the Snake River which has been a constant companion from Oregon to the end.
The cable car ride down was 12 mins - pretty long & gave some great views of deer and the maintenance engineer we stopped to pick up - they rode on the roof down. Not one for someone with vertigo. Then the small matter of getting to Salt Lake City. 5 hours in a car didn't really appeal. Much less when it dawned that the vast majority was endless farmland. Still once at the motorway it would be plain sailing. Err except when we got there the sliproad was closed. OK follow on to the next junction & it was open or so it seemed. Entered the motorway to find we were on a rough lane with gravel & the rest of the traffic was on the other carriageway. Concerning. Would the rozzers collar me again. Eventually the roadworks finished & whether we'd done something wrong or not we merged & went on our way. Aside from lunatic drivers in & around SLC - the speed limit being seen as the bare minimum & lane markings as a vague guide. We made it to the hotel in one piece. No more peace & quiet - Chicago's going to be busy & noisy!Read more