Not so Grand Tetons

The drive across Wyoming incrementally built up the excitement as I approached the Grand Tetons National Park. It started on flat farm land filled with cattle. The Rockie Mountains were visible as specs in the distance. After Casper, WY, the road was still straight, but the landscape became spotted with irregularities - some caverns, some rolling hills, and occasional eye-catching ridges and crevices. Eventually, the road began to meander as it followed the Wind River, all the while the Rockies were growing. Finally, at the cowboy town of Dubois, it was up and away climbing 3000 feet in elevation in short order.
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At the crest, and around a few curves, the Grand Tetons only 40 miles away presented themselves for the first time. And I was underwhelmed. I kept expecting as I got closer that their colossal 13,770 feet of elevation would be breathtaking. But it just never happened for me. I think part of the problem was that the base of the mountains was already 7,000 feet up, so only 6,000 feet were above the high plateau they rested on.

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Many other National Park aficionados have ranked this park as one of the best, and sometime it has been their favorite. But Grand Tetons doesn't even crack my personal top 10. I should add that I was deprived of some of the best views because the most exciting road in the park was (prematurely in my opinion) closed for winter.

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Essentially, the park centers around 3 mountains, Grand, Middle and South Teton. And they really are stunning. But from a distance, once you appreciate them a few times, they don't get any better. In order for me to have had a more dramatic experience, I should have: come 2 days earlier while the best road was still open, then gone directly to Jenny Lake and caught a ferry across it to the base of the mountains, then hiked up Grand Teton until the altitude and beauty made me dizzy. That might have put it in my top 10, but it would never break into my top 5. I even ended up driving through the park at dusk, and didn't encounter a single animal, which extended my lack of enthusiasm. I suppose this could all just be a case of hyped up expectations not being met.

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After completing my tour of the park, I intended to head north, and re-enter my number one park, Yellowstone. But again I was stymied as the only road between the parks was closed for repairs, and I quickly went from 5 to 300 miles away from a Yellowstone entrance.

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So I am holed up in Jackson Hole, WY, a pretty ski resort town just south of the Tetons. Perhaps my biggest expectation beater for the day is that I am staying at a Motel 6, and this is by far the best I ever stayed at...they even gave me slippers upon registering.