Our day started before the crack of dawn this morning – not before the butt crack of dawn, just before the crack of dawn. The alarm went off at 4:30 and the only moving Bob did was to turn it off. Sunrise was 5:45am and we are about 40 minutes away from the spot we had picked out. Apparently we each were waiting on the other to make a move and neither one of us did. Eventually we got up and were gone before 5:30. Right around the corner from the condo we had to stop so I could get a moonset shot. So cool. Now I really wish we had made ourselves get up earlier. (Note: You don’t actually get to see a sunrise per se because you can’t see the horizon – it’s behind mountains. The Tetons are in the west so when the sun rises above the mountains in the east the beautiful golden light lands on the Tetons illuminating them. It’s the best time of day to photograph them.)
Since we weren’t going to make it to Snake River by sunrise we decided to swing by Mormon Row on the way. (Side note, there is a back way into the park from where we are in Wilson. Part of that back way involves about a 3 mile stretch of “road” that is dirt, gravel, mud, potholes you wouldn’t believe, etc.) This morning Bob opted for the front way that goes through the town of Jackson. Glad we did, it’s where we saw our first moose!!!
This guy was just grazing along side the road. So cool! (He’s about all the wildlife we saw today.) The fog was intense this morning! I wish I could capture it “on film” the way we see it but it just never comes out the same way. Mormon Row was beautiful this morning. It’s the most photographed site in the park, so we had to go take our obligatory pics.
Snake River was already pretty bright by the time we got there. Still looks a lot different than the images from yesterday. Ansel Adams made this spot famous back in the day. It looks a lot different because the trees have grown so much and obstructs the view way more now than it did then. Still pretty cool though.
Schwabacher Landing was all fogged in so we kept going to our favorite spot, Oxbow Bend … I think this is our favorite spot in the park.
Yesterday’s images were beautiful, but these? Amazing! From there we were only a few miles away from Jackson Lake Lodge – and we were hungry!! It wasn’t even 7:30! We grabbed a couple of seats in their Pioneer Grill (founded in 1955) and were pleasantly surprised at how good the food was. It sure hit the spot! The national parks don’t always have great food but the two meals we’ve had here at this lodge have both been excellent! Our server this morning was Karen, a senior from Phoenix. This is her ninth year working at this lodge. She gets out of dodge from May – October to beat the Arizona heat and loves it! Told us she’s in the Geritol dorm where it’s quiet. LOL She was priceless!
All fueled up, we were ready to go snap some shots of those peaks against blue sky instead of buried in clouds. They look so small this far away … this was my favorite.
A few miles further north is Coulter Bay (still on Jackson Lake) and there was a short hike we wanted to do there. So peaceful and serene.
By the time we left it was after noon and we were pretty much done – since we had gotten up before the crack of dawn. We stopped at a few places along the way but the lighting was just not good so we kept moving. Back at the condo we had some chill time and I’ve since gotten a notification that this area is expecting pretty strong storms through evening so I think we’re done for the day.
Well I thought we were. We ended up at Calico Restaurant right down the street for dinner. We looked online and when we saw Alaskan Halibut we were hooked. Bob called just to make sure they had it for tonight. They did. We went. Oh my … and we ordered their house freshly made bruschetta for an appetizer. Dear Lord in heaven. All I have to say is it was worth the carbs.
… and that’s a wrap!
It's a Wonderful Life! 
