#38 Grand Tetons National Park

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We left out of there and make it all the way to the Teton National Forest campground about an hour before dusk. To add a little stress we assumed there would be RV sites magically available just for us but had no reservations. As I approached the park entry point I saw a sign that said 5 out the 6 campgrounds had no vacancy and the one that did was 20 miles south heading toward Jackson Hole and so we headed that way and all I could do is think positive thoughts and hope for the best. As we pulled in we found the office was closed in this case and you just ride around and if you see something you like you just do a self-check in. Most of the sites looked like they were designed for camper around 20 feet. When we are hitched up and you count the bike rack and Kayaks around back we need at least a 60 foot driveway. We found one that looked pretty good if we went in diagonally so we took it and a friendly guy helped guide me in. It was about dusk and settled in and everything was good. This was a great ending to a pretty rocky afternoon.

Tetons

We stayed at the Tetons two nights and the first night we just settled in and next day we went exploring at the visitor center which was a most beautiful building. We just generally rode around and looked at for what makes a Teton so iconic. We giggled about the French guy who named the mountains, the Tetons (the Breasts). I told the girls he had been away from home too long so he saw what he was wanting. At the center we listened to a bear talk and learned how to distinguish the black bear form a grizzly. To be clear, these are not North Carolina black bears which are small and black. The black bears are 2 to 3 times bigger and actually brown. The ranger showed the proper way to use bear spray and how it should be used only as a last resort. When you are on trails you clap your hand regularly and especially around blind corners because you never want to spook a foraging bear, and especially not a Mom with cubs. That is a death sentence. If you meet a bear try to say calm things to it, slowly walk backwards and raise your hands to try to make yourself look taller. It’s worth knowing that you have wet your pants by now but just push on. Never run because instinctually it just makes them want to eat you and they will always out run you. They will buff charge and it’s about time for the bear spray now. If you can resist they may be done and will just walk away. I doubt many of us would have the self-control to ignore the bluff charge and patiently wait for the real attack. Only then, when they really charge you now are allowed to spay them and this will disorient them so bad you will then have the opportunity to escape. We learned that bears sense of smell is 50 times better than a bloodhound. They need to smell to find food and they need 6,000 calories a day to prepare for hibernation. When you spray them they can’t smell anything for two weeks and not eating for 2 weeks can cause them to die during the winter while they sleep. This all good to know as we will be in bear country for a month or so. To the extreme some friends of ours said the retail guy at the sports counter told them a different line that what the park ranger said. He said if you hiking and you see a bear, walk toward it and spray it right away because they are so dangerous. Keep in mind we have left the city and walked into their habitat where they were minding their own business and we see fit to proactively harm them just in case.

The next thing we did was we went to Jackson Hole to get a new thermostat for the truck. I assumed that's what the problem was. We stopped at the Mexican place and went back to our RV in that was about the size of our Tetons trip.