Living In The Moment – Grand Tetons National Park – Jenny Lake – Sunset

DISCLAIMER….This post documents our vacation from September, 2019. We continue to write while being at home because of social distancing due to the coronavirus. This post takes us into Grand Teton National Park on Day 2 of the park (Day 7 of our vacation) where we had just finished up our second paddle and stopped at Jenny Lake for the sunset before heading to Victor, Idaho for the night. I encourage you and yours to visit all the beautiful places that the USA has to offer once our great nation overcomes this terrible obstacle in front of us. If you missed any of the Living in the Moment posts from this series, the links are listed at the bottom of this blog. Stay safe and God bless, we will get through this!

After a wonderful day on String Lake, the late afternoon light was kicking in and the wind picked up, as it usually does late in the day. As we were leaving the parking lot, we decided one more pitstop was in order to complete another one of the items on our bucket list. It was Jenny Lake time! We had looked forward to seeing this beauty before we left the Sunshine State. And luckily for us, we noticed the crowds around the lake had quieted from earlier in the day. We wouldn’t have a lot of time to spend because we still had a long drive ahead of us. We were staying that night in a great B&B in Victor, Idaho (more on that in our next post). So, we needed to drive from Grand Teton through Jackson Hole and over the pass to get there. In other words, our normal vacation schedule and…we loved it.

When we got to the lake, the sunset peaked through broken clouds with the wind blowing hard enough to almost knock me off my feet a few times. When you have strong winds in a mountain environment, it’s a lot like gusty winds in a city with tall buildings. The wind gets channeled into certain areas and greatly magnifies the force. So you can be walking in an area that has light winds and you walk out from around cover and wham, the wind hits you with a big invisible surprise. With the wind blowing and the sun saying hello and goodbye through the clouds, it was time to take a few moments and explore one of the crown jewels of Grand Teton.

• 

• 

• 

We walked around the hiking area for a bit up top and then went down the trail to the shoreline. Waves were crashing over the rocky formation at the base. We got sprayed by icy cold water a couple of times but we had our rain gear on so no big deal. It was magical being there with Frank, breathing in the fresh mountain air, sitting on the large boulders and taking in every bit of this natural wonder.

The 2 days in Grand Teton National Park flew by so fast. We were not ready to let it go, but we had reservations and a pretty good drive to Idaho for the night. We’ve already penciled in a large list of places we want to explore when we pay this amazing place another visit in the not too distant future.

Before leaving, we stopped up on the rim of the lake for one last goodbye view. We saw a Bald Eagle flying like a fighter pilot in the winds, swooping, circling, banking and diving. It was amazing to see and a little puzzling until we looked down at the surface of the lake. We knew he wasn’t fishing with the waves on the lake being so chopped up, and he wasn’t. He wanted some water fowl for dinner. He was literally dancing in the air, circling, diving, banking, circling, diving and banking over and over trying to catch a Common Merganser. Every time the eagle dove, the Merganser submerged. The bird would come up for air, the eagle would dive down…over and over again. The Merganser won that round. After several minutes, the Bald Eagle gave up and flew away with an empty stomach.

With big smiles on our faces and thankfulness in our hearts, it was time to get going. Now I was ready to mark another state off my list on my way to get all 50. We’d be spending the night in the Spud State. Idaho here we come.

Next stop, Dreamcatchers Bed & Breakfast in Victor, Idaho.

Living in the Moment is what we do while enjoying our time in nature. If you missed any of the other Living in the Moment Series, you can click on them here. Just After Take Off, Day 1, Day 2 Mammoth Hot Spring, Day 2 Traffic Jam, Day 2 Undine Falls and Lava Creek, Lamar Valley – Slough Creek, Day 2 Trout Lake, Lunch at Otter Creek, Mount Washburn, Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, Paddling the Yellowstone River, The Tiny House, Old Yellowstone Trail, Gibbon Falls – Drive to Old Faithful, Old Faithful, The Lakes, Jackson Hole, String Lake, Colter Bay, Paddle on String Lake. Please look forward to our next post as the adventure continues.