Wyoming - and a frosty morning

Altho we have a couple days to drive thru Wyoming.  We choose to scramble the eastern side of the state as we have passed thru a few times before including just a few weeks ago.  Instead of more museums the choice was to enjoy some of the high country in the National Forests for a couple days.  As the road climbs above the farmlands it has a hint of the landscapes of northern AZ and southern UT.


Just outside of Grand Teton National Park we settle in at Turpin Meadow.  For $6 a night the campsite includes a nice picnic table, fire ring and pit toilets.


And cool temperatures.  There’s frost on the picnic table as I head out on my morning walk.  And oh-the-embarassment as Fran wears socks with her sandals.  At least they match the rest of her outfit, but ….


Altho we enjoyed the walk on the dam at Jackson Lake, we did not have the picture-perfect reflections this morning.


Last time we were in Grand Teton the trails at Jenny Lake had been washed out so we chose not to go, this trip it had to be the most popular stop in the park.  Hence again we did not stop, but were able to park at the Lake Taggart trailhead.


This is an easy ~4mi loop or a ~3mi out-n-back.  The trail rises gently thru aspen trees.


There’s a young black bear along the the trail munching on berries.  This is a popular trail and soon a bear-jam forms and the young bear leaves.


Shortly the trail opens into a meadow, with the lake just beyond.


From here most people go back the way they came in, but it is less than a mile more to make this a loop using the Beaver Creek Trail.  We choose to make it a loop and had the Beaver Creek trail very much to ourselves, so much so I was beginning to wonder if we missed a turn.


There are a lot of young tress that were crushed by the weight of snow.  The trees survived, but with a very noticeable bend in their trunk.  This one makes for a perfect rest stop.


The Beaver Creek Trail is more exposed wandering down thru mostly meadows, but the lack of trees does offer some great views.


And lots of wildflowers



For our first night in Idaho we stayed at another Forest Service campground at $6 a night on the Palisades River just below Palisades Dam.  The Palisades will meet up with the Snake River in a few miles.


We’ll meet the family in Idaho Falls next.