According to Google, at least, but our research hasn’t been very thorough. We think we found proof of this theory in one of the local gift shops though. Ann gets to pick most of the stickers for our Airstream door collection and the Moose sticker is her pick but Ben saw the “I Love Big Tetons” and he just had to have it to prove the boob theory (🙄).
Now, on to regular business and our agenda for the day. As promised, we planned for a 4:45 wake up and sunrise pics of the Mouton barn at Mormon Row!
Didn’t happen lol. We didn’t wake up until almost 6 am, after probably the best night of sleep in a week! No tornados, no thunderstorms, no highways, just dead quiet. There’s a mild threat of bears in our location, but we didn’t even hear them. We slept like the dead and it was fantastic!
After a leisurely breakfast and a little more writing, and let’s be honest, after allowing the temperature outside to at least at reach 50° (which is still highly questionable in terms of appropriateness for exiting the cozy airstream), we suited up in layers, boots, sunscreen, and armed ourselves with water, energy snacks, folded up rain jacket, and of course, bear spray and headed in to the park for a big day of fresh air and incredible scenery!
We did, however, leave our infamous wiener dog, Pepper, to guard the Airstream. She sadly passed away this past March, but as she was in the process of crossing the rainbow bridge, I promised her she’d be coming along with us, in one form or another, as she has on every prior trip. She’s just a little ashy this time.
Our destination, the Jenny Lake Loop, a moderate 7.1 mile hike leading all the way around Jenny Lake. The little dashed line is the trail route. The goal is to start at the visitor center and hike around the whole dang thing. If you’re a big fat cheater, there’s a little pontoon boat ferry that will cut the hike to 2 or 2.5 miles, but we’re neither cheaters or wimps. We planned to hit the whole thing!
We started at the red dot (picture below), expertly photoshopped in as you can tell. Didn’t even use AI!
And went all the way around the lake, back to the red dot.
We saw some interesting critters on our journey. There’s a tie for the two cutest. This is the first time we’ve attempted video in the blog, so we’ll see how we do but it’s so much better in video format.
Critter number one that we saw…
And then shortly after cute critter number one, we ran into a cousin of our dear Pepper, may her soul rest in peace (even though we’re convinced she’s searching HARD for Ann in any animal form she think will get Ann’s attention).
Despite being distracted by cute wildlife, in keeping with tradition, there was an incident. Luckily the incident was FAR from the bear!
We’ll note the location of the incident on the map below:
If you’ll notice, the incident took place as far away from modern facilities and from where we parked, as was possible. Ann was pretty proud to make it this far, but it occurred with little warning, as is common with these types of incidents. At the time, we were hiking on a very steep hillside, with only a narrow path to walk, and steep, heavily vegetated hillsides above and below. There was no stepping off the path, let alone stepping off the path and squatting. A Walmart bag shoved down her pants was a solution Ann seriously considered, but she held on and we pressed on for about 1/4 mile more.
Of course, just as we find a semi-suitable spot, that’s when the isolated trail suddenly became more popular than a drive thru line at Chick-Fil-A. Ben was running interference and holding everything, while Ann quickly and discretely explored some of the local flora just off the trail, and mischief was officially managed. Luckily we didn’t have any observant 5 year olds pointing and asking “Mom, why is that lady sitting in the bushes? Can I go sit in the bushes too?”
With the pressure relieved, we were definitely quick to abandon that area and move on around the lake, which seemed to never end! What was laid out as a 7.1 mile hike, ended up racking up just over 9 miles and it took just under 5 hours to complete the loop. 21,000 steps according to the old Apple Watch. Way more than we intended for a couple of Florida flatlanders on their first hike with real elevation change in at least a year, and we are now two exhausted campers, with zero plans for the rest of the night!
We are still on the quest for an awake-ish bear (no need to be totally awake) and a moose (we’d accept a sleeping moose too), but for now, this bronze moose at the visitor center will have to suffice.
Maybe tomorrow will be the sunrise pics, since we are likely going to be asleep by 8 pm tonight!
TaterTotTales 