Welcome to Paradise

Some of these bison got really close to us!

Me in front of the huge and beautiful Jackson Lake

Jenny Lake, still frozen over

            I think I’ve said the word “wow” more in the past two days than I did last year. This morning we were out exploring the park by 8:00. First we returned to the same spot that we stopped yesterday, so we could take some pictures with the sun in a better spot. Then we headed up to Jackson Lake! The temperature dropped a little as we got closer to the lake, and by the time we parked by one of the overlooks, it was less than 30 degrees. Jackson Lake is absolutely huge! Part of it is still frozen over, but a lot of it is melted by now. From where we were, we couldn’t even see the entire lake; it just kept on going.

            After admiring and taking pictures of the lake for a while, we returned to our warm car and drove back down the road, looking for another interesting spot to stop and walk around. On that drive we saw a small group of bison and even a moose beside the road!

            We pulled into a small parking lot near the head of a hiking trail and decided to walk down one of the shorter hikes. While out on the trail, we passed the horse stables they have here, saw a family of chipmunks and ground squirrels, and then sat by a creek to relax. We’re at an altitude of nearly two miles here, and the elevation made us tire out faster.

            After getting back to the car and stopping at a small restaurant in the park for lunch, we went to look for Jenny Lake. The hike over to it wasn’t very long, but was a little tricky since most of that path still had a lot of snow on it. Jenny Lake, which is smaller than Jackson Lake but still pretty big, was still mostly frozen over. There were a few open patches of water near the middle, but most of it still had a layer of ice over the top. We wanted to see some more wildlife, so I suggested we go back into the town of Jackson for a while to relax and do a few things, then head back into the park in the evening, when a lot of the animals are more active.

            Following that plan, we went back to the hotel for a while, then headed back into the park at about 5:30. We turned onto a small road that I’d heard was in a good spot to view wildlife. We drove slowly, looking around, and parked for a while near an overlook of a river where a few other cars were parked. There were a few Canada geese and trumpeter swans by the water that I got a few pictures of, but nothing else that we could see from that point. After going a little farther with no luck, we turned around and headed back. About halfway back to the main road I saw something and quickly told my dad to stop the car. He pulled over and we got out to see a moose mostly hidden in a thicket about 25 yards off the road. We stayed there a while and watched the moose, who eventually moved out of the thicket and gave us a better view of it. It was my favorite moment of the day, especially since we almost missed seeing it.

            On the way out of the park we saw several cars pulled over in front of us. As we came up to them we saw that a lone bison was grazing just about twenty feet from the road. Needless to say, we stopped again to admire it and take pictures before coming back into Jackson. 

A Little Piece of Heaven

            Thankfully by the time we woke up this morning, it had stopped snowing and the highways were being cleared. By 8:30, we were back on the road! The first hour or so was a bit scary since there was still snow on the road, but after we passed that, the rest of the way was pretty easy. The scenery around us got more impressive the closer we came to the park. Almost as soon as we crossed into Wyoming I saw several bison standing beside the road. The first animal that I got excited about seeing was a pronghorn, standing in a field next to the highway. The pronghorn is the fastest animal in the western hemisphere, so, having never seen one before, I was really excited. We saw several more groups of them along the way.

            At about 5:00, we officially entered Grand Teton National Park for the first time! The view of the Tetons from the road we were on was absolutely amazing; I think my mouth was literally hanging open in awe. We pulled over for a while to get out and take some pictures. We also saw some more grazing bison while driving through the park.

            When we got to Jackson we checked into our hotel, then walked around the town for a while looking for a place to eat. We ended up having a really nice dinner at a local grill, then walking over to a little ice cream shop to get dessert, and walked around exploring town for a while. When the sun dipped behind the mountains, though, it got really cold pretty fast, and we walked back to our warm hotel room.

            Tomorrow will be my first day to get to really explore the park that will be my home until October. Don’t worry; I’ll definitely bring my camera along for the adventure! 

Stuck in Colder Weather

Wonder who knows what song I'm quoting with this title... So, unlike planned, I'm writing this post in the same spot that I wrote yesterday's. We woke up this morning to see that it was actively snowing here in Fort Collins. It didn't seem that bad, though, so we checked out of the hotel early and were back on the road by 7:30 (which felt like 8:30 for us). We hadn't been on the road long when we saw a sign that the highway we needed was closed from here to Laramie, WY due to the snow. With not much else to do, we returned to the hotel, got our room back, and looked up alternate routes, road closures, and weather conditions from here to Jackson. Most of the highways were closed or at least in bad condition, and by about 10:00 we could tell we probably wouldn't be able to continue the trip today. The snow is still steadily falling outside the window as I'm writing this, and the wind is blowing pretty strong as well. Thankfully we planned to have a few extra days before I have to report to work, and the bulk of the trip was made yesterday, so we're not in too big a rush. Hopefully tomorrow we'll be able to continue though. 

I honestly don't really mind that we were pushed back a day. Call me young and naive, but this is the heaviest snowfall I've seen in my life. As long as we're here in this warm hotel (that serves dinner!), the snow outside is beautiful. 

       

Look Out Jackson Town!

            Okay, maybe there’s a theme forming as far as my post titles. And before someone asks, yes, I know that the city Johnny Cash is referring to in that song isn’t Jackson, Wyoming. Anyway… we survived day two of the road trip! After being on the road for nearly ten hours today, and passing into Mountain Standard Time, we accomplished our goal of getting to Fort Collins. Not long after getting off the highway here, we passed a pond with several Canada geese standing around it. A fairly simple sight, but I still thought it was pretty cool.  

We came a lot farther today than we need to go tomorrow, so we should be in Jackson with some time to look around the town before the sun goes down. Then, Monday we’ll finally get to explore Grand Teton National Park!  

            On the road today we got a view of the Rockies- which still have plenty of snow on them! It’s definitely a lot colder here in Fort Collins than it was in Lubbock this morning. Also rained a bit this evening. So it’s very possible that it’s snowing in GT tonight.

            When we crossed into New Mexico this morning, it felt strange knowing that I’ll be out of Texas for much longer than I’ve ever been before. But the view of the snow-covered mountain peaks made me too excited to be sad. I’ll be in Jackson tomorrow!!! 

Amarillo By Morning

            Forgive the title; being the lifelong Texan that I am, I just have to put out an occasional George Strait reference! Day one of the road trip has been successful. My dad and I are in our hotel in Lubbock; just finished having dinner with my brother. We figured we’d come see him one more time before leaving, and spend the first night here. We had lunch at a Dairy Queen on the road today. Needless to say, I cherished that meal. Don’t think I’ll be having DQ again for quite a while.

            The plan for tomorrow is to hit the road by 8:00, go up through- you guessed it- Amarillo, into New Mexico for a while, then Colorado. Hopefully we’ll be able to get passed Denver by tomorrow evening. We don’t have a hotel reserved anywhere; just going to keep on driving until we get tired and find a place! Our goal is to get to about Fort Collins, or at least near there, so the next day's drive won't be as bad. I slept a little in the car this morning, since the drive from San Antonio to Lubbock isn’t the most scenic in the world, and it’s a road I’ve already traveled multiple times. It seems almost impossible to me to drive more than an hour in Texas and not see either livestock, oil rigs, or windmills, and on the drive today we saw plenty of all of those things! We should definitely see some nice scenery tomorrow, though, going through New Mexico and Colorado. Just for fun, I’m keeping track of the different state license plates that I see on this trip. I’ve already seen Oklahoma, Colorado, California, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Florida, Arizona, and North Dakota. Wonder how many states I can add to that list tomorrow… 

See You Later, San Antonio!

            Well, I guess this is it. My bags are packed and waiting by the door, and I’ve hugged and said bye to my friends here in SA. I went out this evening with my family for one last Mexican food meal before leaving (kinda doubt I’ll find great Mexican food in Wyoming), and I admit, I got a bit emotional as I said goodbye to them. It’ll definitely be very different being away from all of them for this long.

            Yesterday I spent the day at the SA zoo, seeing all the people and animals I love one more time before leaving. I managed to avoid crying, but as I hugged and said goodbye to some of my education buddies (cough cough Laurie and Lana) I came pretty close. Not working zoo camp this summer will be weird; it’s been a part of my life for many years now. I’ll miss working with the crazy teen volunteers that kept my job interesting and fun, and the regular campers that I’ve gotten to know over the summers. But at the same time, I’m really glad that I decided to try something different this year, and I can’t wait to get up to Grand Teton National Park! The emails I’ve been getting from my soon-to-be supervisors and coworkers just makes me more excited and happy to be spending my summer this way. I really can’t wait to meet them all, and especially to meet my roommate. Since I’ve never had a roommate before, I’m curious about how that will be.

            Well, tomorrow morning my dad and I are going to pick up the rental car we’re using on the drive up, and then hit the road! To my amazement and excitement, he offered to drive me up there instead of put me on a plane. Neither of us have been in that area of the country before, so it should be a great road trip! Heading to Lubbock first to hang with my bro one more time before leaving, then on to Wyoming! 

One Week!

A week from today I’ll be leaving San Antonio for five months. I can’t believe how fast this has come! I got the job offer in early March, but it feels much more recent than that. I’ve been getting introduction emails from my supervisors at Jackson Lake Lodge, as well as the people that will be my coworkers. So far I haven’t heard from anyone else from Texas. I keep wondering if I have a “Texas accent”, or if the people up in Wyoming will sound different. Guess I’ll just have to wait and see.

I spent this afternoon hanging out at the zoo and, not going to lie, when I thought about the fact that I’d soon be leaving, I almost started to cry. Just kept telling myself that it’s not a permanent goodbye. Since I was a very regular zoo guest even before I started volunteering, this trip may very well be the longest I’ve been away from that place in my entire life.

However, all of that being said, the thought of being up in Wyoming so soon makes me super excited! I’ve looked at plenty of pictures that were taken in and around the park, but I’ve learned from behind the scenes opportunities at the zoo, seeing a picture and seeing the actual thing are two very different experiences. It’s impossible to decide what I’m most excited about. I do know that May is a great time to see the park’s wildlife with their babies. That should be awesome; I’m definitely bringing my camera!