GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK

Wednesday, June 8, 2005

Today is the day we left Star Valley for Grand Teton National Park!!! Cloudy, very cool(temp.), and misty……as usual!!! But….not raining or snowing and that helps everything.
We arrived at the Park after lunch and since I am a senior citizen with my Golden Age Passport, we did not have to pay the $20 entry fee!!! HURRAY for getting OLD!!!! Plus……I got 50% off the camping fee which means that we only had to pay $7.50 per night!!!! This is cheapest we have camped in many, many years………again: HURRAY for getting OLD!!!

We were assigned a spot…..and here at Grand Teton, the sites are along the roadside of each camping loop road. You simply drive into the “pulloff area” with you number and there you are!!! No hookups (THAT campground is $40 per night!!!) so we have to rely on battery power and the generator. Generators can be run from 8am to 8pm……AHHHH, that means I can make my coffee without having to use horrible instant coffee!!!!

BUT……just as were about ready to unhook, the sr. citizen working at the cg office came “roaring” up on his golf cart and told us they had made a mistake and that particular site was taken! So, he told us he would lead us around the loops and we could take anyone we could fit our rig into…..then he decided to just take me for the ride to find a workable site, and so we found one, and then we moved the rig to the new site. It was better anyway, as the first one was in a damn mudhole…….and so this worked out really much better……YEAH!!

We unhooked, ran out the slides of the RV, and made TheHowserHouse liveable. By that time it was raining……SHOCK!!! I would have been very disappointed if hadn’t really rained today. But, we jumped into the tv(tow vehicle), and went to the cg store, etc. Looked over the goods in the grocery area and explored the souvenir area…..checking the prices…. What did we expect……of course, they are sky high!!!

Came back and it was cool enough that we decided to turn on the furnace…….and, guess what!! NOT successful…….another little glitch in our day. Oh….didn’t mention that in coming up to the park we had gone thru road construction and after going about a mile following a lead car in dirt, mud, and horrific conditions (pulling a 13,000 pound plus rig, we got back on the main road and before long met a huge construction truck who successfully threw a huge rock into our windshield and it made this huge cracked area……running cracks around in circles. Oh well……such is life on the road ….uhhhhh, did I say ROAD???

So, the furnace……after attempting to start it several times and the sun(does it exist?) setting behind the clouds and mts.(guess they are there???) the blower came on but the igniter would not ignite as it was made to do!!! DAMN thing!! So, I get out in the rain, crawl into the tv(tow vehicle…..learn the rv’ers language, please) and drove to the service station here at Colter Bay. Of course, what did I expect….they are already closed!!! There is supposed to be a RV guru specialist in all rv problems at the service station, but he has gone for the day. Soooo, back to TheHowserHouse and decided to start the generator……and guess what…..YEP, the furnace started. So began 30 minutes of trying it out with the gennie, and then without, and each time it started……HURRAY……we will not have to wear our clothes to bed!!!! So, after a “relaxing” cup of tea……the evening ended. Oopsss……no cell phone service up here that it strong enough for getting online. Will try tomorrow evening………


Thursday, June 9, 2005

Up at 7:30.…..cloudy and cold, and it has snowed and sleeted …..again!!! But it melted very quickly. At 8.….guess what I did……did you read the above paragraphs????? YEP……I made coffee with the gennie turned on for electricity!!! Ummmmm, soooo good in the forest of pine trees, clouds, sleet (again), and other friendly campers…..which they REALLY are.

The 1st Lady wasn’t feeling up to par……a bit of a headache, so we took it easy this morning. After the moisture stopped falling upon us, I took out the ladder and decided I needed to wash the back picture window which had been covered by muddy crap in the road construction travels. The next door “neighbor” came by and we began talking and soon I realized he wanted to see inside TheHowserHouse, so I brought him and he stayed for about 20 minutes talking Rving. He and wife are on a three month journey from Mass……and are here for a few days. It was good to visit with him about his adventures and minor problems of life on the road for the past 6 weeks.

After that we took a walk down to Jackson Lake, following this pathway through the forest that we weren’t sure where it ended. Saw all kinds of animal prints in the mud…..including some really big ones……most likely a moose or two. The lake is wonderful….with the Grand Tetons on the other side of the lake soaring into the clouds…….snow covered and craggy…….gorgeous!! Do you know what “grand teton” means????? French for …..Big Breast. Now…..I may be mistaken but this is what I have been told from a reliable source…….and I rather like it….ha-ha!!!

After lunch we hopped into the tv and drove down to the Jackson Lake Dam and watched a very few fishermen trying for trout. There were a couple caught while we were there……I’M COMING BACK HERE. Then to Jackson Lake Lodge….a wonderful resort and convention center. Then on down to Signal Mt. Resort and then we returned to TheHowserHouse for a dinner of Spanish Rice which the 1st Lady prepares wonderfully!

A 45 walk follwed and now the sun setting. OHHHHH, I didn’t mention that the sun did show and the clouds parted for beautiful blue sky just above the Tetons (uummmm, YOU know what they really are called!).

Now……the gennie is on for some battery life replacement and time for me to type this out, which I will cut and paste IF I can get online. And……it is about time to do so, …….sure hope I can get this out. Depends on the cell service……..

Until tomorrow…….I'm online.....hope it stays until I can publish this!!