Trip 3 Day 7 -- Idaho Falls ID to Dubois Wyoming

Left Idaho Falls early, went to Rexburg, helped DJ put the finishing touches on cleaning out her student apartment, loaded, stopped to do the grocery shopping, put the perishables in the coolers with ice, gassed up (Rexburg was the last chance for gas prices starting with a "3"!).... and finally departed about 11:00 am for Jackson Hole.  We took Idaho 33 to Driggs, which gives a nice view of the rear of the Trois Tetons.

Then, you drive up and over Teton Pass, from Victor to Jackson Hole.  It's steep up and steep down.  A 10% grade doesn't sound like much, but take it from me... it is STEEP.

Jackson Hole is a very touristy town, much like Estes Park.  The entire town exists only for tourists.  One of the more famous landmarks are the half-dozen or so arches made from antlers, including the moose antlers hanging from the middle.

From Jackson, you drive north into Grand Teton National Park.  The mountains are unbelievably majestic, and the wildflowers are all over the place.

While Debbie and DJ drove on north to Moran Junction, I took a side trip into the park itself, and spent some time taking photos of the beauty.

I didn't have any time for real hiking today, so all the photos are taken from pull-offs and turn-outs on the park road.  Even Jenny Lake has an overlook close by the road.

I took the east loop, and came back out on the Roosevelt highway just north of Moran Junction, so I had to backtrack a little.  From Moran Junction, we took US 287/26 east towards Dubois, into the Shoshone National Forest.  Just before leaving the Tetons, I saw an bald eagle hunting on the river.  I tried to get some photos, but my camera settings were incorrect, plus the eagle ducked behind a leaf in the foreground just as the shutter snapped.

The wildflowers out here are a riot of color. 

Major construction on the highway required a 20 minute stop, turning the 30 mile trip from Moran Junction into an hour and a half... two lane road populated with campers, RV's, travel trailers, construction equipment, log trucks, slowpoke locals, and even deer (no pictures, sorry, I was in a hurry).   I finally arrived at the cabin around 3:30 pm, about an hour and half after DJ and Debbie, who did not stop to take photos.  The cabin is nice. Photos in a separate blog.