The Gratts Go West: Grand Teton National Park

On our last night in Yellowstone, Ben shook me awake at 3:12 am.  Fran had called an ambulance for Harvey who was having a medical emergency.

Fran had everything organized and was ready when the EMS arrived.  Harvey was calm and in no serious distress, but he knew he needed a hospital.

EMS decided the best hospital was in Idaho Falls, Idaho, which was a little less than 3 hours away.  So Fran and Harvey left while Ben and I packed up and waited for first light at 5:30 am so it would be safe for Ben to make the drive.

Once Harvey was treated and the emergency was over, Harvey said he was willing to continue on with our trip as planned.  To say he was a trouper would be the understatement of the year!

We left Idaho and headed to Grand Teton National Park still on schedule.  We got to see some of Idaho which was beautiful.  We drove over six hours and saw three states in this one day.

Soon we entered Grand Teton National Park and got our first look at the Teton mountain range. I was so thankful we had all made it!

We stopped at a turnout for the first of many pictures.

We can't believe we made it!

We saw bison at the Willow Flats overlook, a popular place to see wildlife.

We officially entered the park at the Moran entrance by our lodge. 

We stopped for pictures at Oxbow Bend.  The big mountain in these photos is Mt. Moran which stands at 12,610 feet.  

Fantastic photo by Fran!

Sun sparkling on the water.

We made it to Jackson Lake Lodge at 3:00 pm right on schedule!  

View from the lobby.

Our double queen room was the nicest of the in-park lodging.  

Ben and I immediately made our way to the Blue Heron lounge for a drink with a view of the mountains and Jackson Lake.

My huckleberry margarita was much better than at Old Faithful.

Round two!  Mine was a huckleberry lemonade.

We saw some elk off in the distance.

Fran and Harvey joined us and we had a dinner of nachos and burgers at the lounge.

Fran and Harvey coordinated their evening attire.

After dinner, Ben and I went back out for sunset.  This was the only night of the whole trip we stayed up late enough to see it!

The day didn't start out the best but it certainly ended on a high note!  The next day started bright and early for me and Ben and we were in line for coffee at 6:00 am.

Sunrise faces.

Today Ben and I were going to do the hike to Inspiration Point at Jenny Lake, the most popular hike in Grand Teton National Park.  This hike required us to take a boat over the lake so that the hike would be manageable in the time that we had.  The parking lot and the boat shuttles are full by 9:00 am so Ben and I wanted to be on the first shuttle at 7:00 am.

Let's go!

We saw an elk on the side of the road, but once again, he had his back to me!

Warning: graphic elk content

Of course there was beautiful scenery along the way.

Our first look at Jenny Lake, which is the crown jewel of Grand Teton National Park.

We had about a 15-minute walk to the boat dock and we were second in line at 6:45 am.

Here we go!

Of course I knew to sit on the left for the best views.

Our hike to Inspiration Point would be about two miles round trip and we would stop at the popular Hidden Falls on the way.

We came to a waterfall and at first I thought we were already done!  But this wasn't Hidden Falls.

Continuing on the trail.

See why it's called Hidden Falls?

At Hidden Falls, a nice man took our picture and then I took one of his family.  And then people kept asking me to take their picture too.  It was fun though and I enjoyed doing it.

The spray from the falls was so refreshing!

It was about another half mile to Inspiration Point. 

Please ignore my crazy eyes.  It was early.

We made one more stop at Hidden Falls on the way back.

Then it was back to the boat dock for our ride back over the lake.

Approaching the dock.

Look at all those people.

This was just part of the line waiting for the next shuttle.

The early bird gets the shuttle!

We had so much fun doing this hike!  Back at the lodge, Ben and I were starving so we had a delicious breakfast burrito and huckleberry pancakes!

Breakfast of champions.

After breakfast, we left the lodge to do the 24-mile scenic drive on Teton Park road, which is half of the scenic loop that goes through the park.  This was the drive we would have done if we had entered the park from Yellowstone.  Along the way, we would go back by Jenny Lake so that Fran and Harvey could see it.  

Some photos along the scenic drive.

Fran had the idea for this picture and I thought it was so cute!

Since today was our 19-year dating anniversary, I asked Ben to have a kissy picture with me.

Still dating after 19 years!

Teton Glacier is to the right of Grand Teton and left of Mount Owen.

Mount Owen (12,933 ft), Teewinot Mountain (12,330 ft) and the Grand Teton (13,775 ft) form the Cathedral Group of mountains in the Teton range.

String Lake. This is another popular hike in the park of about 4 miles that I would love to do if we ever visit again. 

We entered the one-way Jenny Lake scenic drive hoping to score a parking spot at the Jenny Lake Overlook.  Harvey's accessible parking pass had helped us out the whole trip, so we were hoping it would work it's magic again.

Success!

This is what the parking looks like for Jenny Lake if you don't get a spot in the lot!

Next we stopped at the Chapel of the Transfiguration which is a chapel built in 1925 that has a view of the Tetons in the background.

Back at the lodge, Harvey went to the room to rest and Ben, Fran and I did the short Lunch Tree Hill hike which starts from the back of the lodge.

There was a momma moose with her baby out in the clearing.

Ben and I got cleaned up and then hit the Blue Heron Lounge before dinner.

Dinner was at the Mural Room, the nice restaurant in our lodge.  I actually did my hair for the first time on the trip!

Fran modeling her new barrettes.

I got the trout which was delicious and Ben got a filet.

After dinner, Ben and I went to the lounge for one more drink. This was our last night at Jackson Lake Lodge as we were spending the next night at a hotel in Jackson.

The next morning started like all the others -- with a huckleberry latte in the lobby!

I had planned for Ben and I to take some sunrise pictures on our last day and then we were all going to head to the Jackson Aerial Tram on the way to our final hotel in Jackson, WY.  But those plans changed once Harvey was no longer able to walk far distances.

So Ben and I decided to head out early so I could take some photographs at the four most famous stops in the park. 

I practiced using the camera along the way on the drive.

We spotted some elk off in the distance.

The first stop was Schwabacher Landing which is a popular stop to get the reflection of the mountains in the Snake River.

A kind lady offered to take our picture.  I wasn't exactly camera ready but I didn't want to say no!

Next were the barns at Mormon Row that have the mountains in the background.  These barns are very famous and a very popular spot for pictures. 

The more famous barn is the T.A. Moulton barn which was down the road.  Ben and I drove down there and I had it all to myself for awhile before the crowds got there.

While I was taking pictures of barns, Ben took pictures of ground squirrels.

The next stop was the Snake River Overlook, which is the site of the famous Ansel Adams 1942 photograph.

Ansel Adams took his photo in black and white so I edited mine to recreate it.

Our last stop was Oxbow Bend where I had one more chance to get the reflection of the mountains in the Snake River.

This was a really fun morning spent photographing all the famous sites in Grand Teton National Park.

We decided to spend a leisurely afternoon hanging out at Jackson Lake Lodge.  We couldn't check into our hotel in Jackson until 4:00 pm so there was really no reason to leave the great view we had.

We decided to have lunch at Blue Heron.  Ben and I split a burger and Fran and Harvey split the grilled cheese.

Eventually it was time to make the drive to Jackson and say goodbye to the Tetons.

Shortly after booking the trip, we decided to add one more night.  By then, there wasn't a room available at the lodge, so we rented rooms at a small hotel in Jackson, WY called the Huff House Inn.  The plan was to explore the town of Jackson before leaving for the airport the next day.

This was definitely the nicest room we had all trip.

Even our bathroom was picture-worthy!

Our rooms had a little balcony.

Harvey got settled in the room and Ben, Fran and I walked around Jackson.

The town arches are made from elk horns that the elk shed each year.

The Million Dollar Cowboy Steakhouse where we would be having dinner that night.

The huckleberry ice cream at Moo's is known as "award winning."  We liked Wilcoxson's better!

Back at the hotel, we all got ready for our last dinner of the trip.  This dinner was to celebrate Fran and Harvey's 58th wedding anniversary that had passed a few days before. Dinner was just a small gift from Ben and I to thank them for the wonderful trip!

Still look like newlyweds.

I had the filet and salad and we ordered sides for the table.  Everything was really good.

It was a nice way to end our trip.

Ben and I sat out on the balcony after dinner.

Not ready to leave.

We had coffee out there the next morning.

Still not ready to leave.

The hotel fed us a delicious breakfast.

And then, the time finally came where we had to say goodbye to Wyoming and the wonderful Teton mountain range.

One last look.

Goodbye beautiful Wyoming.

Words can't begin to describe what a fabulous trip this was! The snow, the mountains, the wildlife, the geysers, the scenery--all of it was amazing and unforgettable. A huge Thank You to Fran and Harvey for taking us on another wonderful adventure!

And especially to Harvey, for putting on a smile for the rest of us and making it through those last few days and never complaining.  We love you!

And a big Thank You to Ben, for happily driving us over 1,000 miles over three states, across mountain passes, in the snow and through bison jams! We couldn't have done it with out you!

“In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”~ Abraham Lincoln

The Gratts in Wyoming 2025