Was up in Yellowstone National Park for a day. Didn't do much, just did a big loop omitting Old Faithful and Mammoth Springs. It was a Saturday and no way was I gonna fight those kind of crowds. Did see a lot of buffalo though.
08/26/07 Paddling Jackson Lake (Colter Bay):
There's only a 5 mile stretch of Teton National Forest between Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. I wasn't really thinking much of anything driving down but then I got a look at the northern part of the Grand Tetons. When I saw Colter Bay I stopped to get my permit and dumped the sea kayak into the water right away. A short paddle and I was sitting across from those magnificent peaks.
I paddled towards them but just mostly just lazed around enjoying the view for a couple hours. Great stuff.
08/27/07 Hiking Two Oceans Lake Trail (6.5 miles round trip - 9 miles round trip to Grand View):
Since I'm camped at the north end of the park for a couple days I tried to find something at that end of the park to do. Saw a bunch of cars parked on the side of the road on the way to the trailhead. They had spotted a bull moose with a large rack browsing in the woods near the Oxbow of the Snake River so I stopped for a few photos.
Two Oceans Lake got its name because they originally thought its outflow went to both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Two Oceans Plateau sits on the Continental Divide and some of its waters flow both ways but not the lake.
The lake is 3 miles long. I followed the east side and had some glimpses of the Tetons peaking over the trees. Nearing the far end, something made me stop and look at a rock in the distance. I watched it for 30 seconds or so and it turned out to be a wolf looking back at me. I never did see its outline until it moved. Then it trotted back into the woods, stopping to look at me a couple of times. I had gloves on and couldn't find the start button on the camera with them on. By the time I got them off and got the camera on he was gone.
I no sooner had put the camera away than a bald eagle flew overhead. By the time I got the camera out and on it was gone. I no sooner put the camera away again than a red tailed hawk flew away and landed in a tree. I got the camera out and on and it flew off to another tree. By the time I got the camera up and focused, it was gone. Three opportunities and no picture.
A trail sign said Grand View was 1.0 miles away. I knew it had good views. I also knew it was pretty steep. It was pretty steep and it did have good views of the Tetons across Jackson Lake.
I returned on the west side of the lake. I didn't think there would be any views and there weren't. The reason I came that way is I had heard a bunch of sand hill cranes making a racket earlier and was hoping to see some. No luck though. In fact, I rarely saw the lake from that side.