Great Western Adventure: Day 8

Interested in what we did before we got to the Tetons?
Days 1-4: Chicago, The Corn Palace, The Badlands, and Wall Drug
Day 5: Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, and Devil's Tower
Day 6: First Day in Yellowstone
Day 7: First Camping/Kayaking Day in the Grand Tetons


Day 8: Grand Tetons Camping Day #2

Our guides kindly woke us up at 7am with a cutesy rhyme that I couldn’t really hear, let alone remember.  The point was that it was time for coffee and some breakfast.  They made us delicious blueberry pancakes and served them with bacon and fruit.

After packing up our tents and the rest of camp, we paddled a short distance from the island to the mainland.  We saw a bald eagle during the paddle.

Once we reached the shore we were off on a hike led by our guides.  One of them had to stand in a cold stream and help us all across a tree.

They showed us the awesome design that the pine bark beetle makes while essentially destroying a tree.

And we saw some bear scratches too.

We got a closer look at the Tetons and while resting everyone tried their hand at skipping rocks.  It is addictive.

We eventually made our way to a small lake that is formed from the runoff of the glaciers.  Some brave folks, including Nick, jumped into the 40-degree water!  You couldn’t pay me to jump in there!

Nick said it was very refreshing and I’ll take his word for it.  After our hike we returned to the shore where we left our kayaks and ate a delightful lunch that was prepared by our guides.  They had made tuna salad sandwiches, but since I’m not a fan of tuna fish, I had a delicious peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  They also served fruit and cookies.  They really think of everything!

After lunch we set out on our kayaks again for another short paddle, this time taking a rest along shore so that we could go swimming in the lake.  The water was a little cool for me so I didn’t go in, but it was relaxing just sitting on the edge of the lake and taking in the wilderness.

About ten minutes after we started paddling again with our campsite as our destination, we noticed some hefty storm clouds moving in over the peaks.  We caught up with our guide, who, upon noticing the clouds, said, “That doesn’t look super friendly.” 

He suggested that we all paddle hard to get to camp before the storm hit.  Thankfully we all made it to shore, unpacked the boat, and set up our tents in record time before the storm rolled in.  After the sky basically turned black, we actually ended up only getting a drizzle.

Once the clouds passed by we were gifted with a triple (and quadruple at times) rainbow!  It started out as a double rainbow and we all had a good time saying “What does it mean??” 

I got some great shots of bees feasting on this flower.

Once the rain stopped the bugs came out to feast upon us.  At that point we were covered in two days’ worth of sunscreen and bug spray, but the mosquitos were biting us like we were freshly bathed.  I ended up putting my windbreaker on and securing my hood and sleeves, but they still managed to get me.  It was the first time I had ever gotten mosquito bites on my face (about 6 of them).  It was not pleasant.

One poor family didn’t believe in chemical bug spray and they suffered the worst.  They stayed in the water until the very last second before dinner and then went promptly to bed after they finished eating.  It was only 7:00!  The rest of us relaxed around the campfire again, which, if you sat close enough, kept some of the bugs away. At least we got an awesome sunset!

We asked our guides about their worst clients and they told us some great stories.  We enjoyed hearing about some of the questions that previous guests asked, like “when do the deer turn into elk?”  One guest called the guide over because they said they saw bear tracks and they turned out to be elk tracks.  Another guest, whose husband was a meteorologist, told the guides that the moon was self lit, like the sun.  Where do they find these people?

After some good laughing, we turned in and had one of the worst nights of sleep that I’ve had in years.  I think we set up our tent on a few rocks and a slight hill, so neither Nick nor I could get comfortable.  Again, I was very thankful when I heard our guide make the first call for coffee the next morning.  We would soon be on our way back to running water, and that meant no more mosquito feasts on my fair buns!  Hurray!